Joints

MMMMkay kids, settle round the campfire for part two.

Last week I made a change from the usual philosophy of training towards the practical. The things we can argue are facts, at least to the best of our current knowledge. I said this week was going to be joints and fascia, but realised this was too much. In anticipating a lot of TLDR we'll just look at joints today and fascia next week.

Quick. Your bones are the movable structure, your muscles are the things that move em.

The joints are where those structures meet.

Joints

A joint is simply where two bones meet. That's it. But how they meet, what holds them together and how they are designed to move is where it gets funky.

Different joints are designed for different jobs and they are very opinionated about it. Your hip is a ball and socket, built for big movement in multiple directions. Your knee is essentially a hinge, it wants to flex and extend and gets very unhappy when asked to do much else. Your spine is built for controlled segmental movement, a little at each level adding up to a lot overall.

Your shoulder acts like your hip, your elbow like your knee, etc.

Work to Rule

This is why it's so important that joints do what they are meant to do. If a shoulder joint doesn't flex, a person has to extend their lower back to get their arm over head. If a hip doesn't internally rotate the leg properly then the knee will have to take over the twisting. Doing things we aren't designed to do makes us cranky. Joints are the original labour unions. Work to rule.

Be a Strong Puppet

Last week, bones are not stacked on each other. The joint keeps space between two bones. Muscles, tendons and ligaments are like the strings on a marionette. When muscles become weak, or muscles on one side of the joint do more than the other side, this space can start to disappear. The cartilage that surrounds and maintains this delicate balance can become subject to wear and tear as we age, especially when we are constantly smashing bones into it.

Get Greasy

Joints need lubrication. This lubrication is called synovial fluid. Not only does it keep the joints moving smoothly, it delivers nutrients to the tissues around the joint. Super important because cartilage doesn't have a blood supply. No synovial fluid, no nutrients.

Unlike blood though, there is no pump to push synovial fluid around the body. Synovial fluid is created by movement.

Move the joint, fluid circulates, cartilage gets fed. Stop moving it, fluid stagnates, cartilage slowly deteriorates.

Your joints need you to move to survive. So when someone tells you to rest a sore joint and avoid all movement, that advice needs some serious nuance. But I promised no rambles. Just remember, motion is lotion baby!

How to Train Em

Gravity is a bastard. The more the weight of the world pushes down on you, the harder it is to maintain those joints. So here is what we do to keep the joints grooving.

Controlled articular rotations (CARs) Slow, controlled movements that take a joint through its full available range under tension. They feed the joint, maintain the joint capsule and tell your nervous system that the range is safe to use. Joint maintenance basically. You see these at the start of most classes, hip circles, shoulder circles, etc.

Strength at length

We do small resistance exercises at the very end ranges of the joint. You know those seated leg lifts….making sure we keep our hips flexing. Those nasty IYT’s we do for our shoulders. Makes sure those little muscles that can get our arms over head still work. 

They are gross, they suck but they are so important. And so neglected. 

Resistance training through full range Every time you squat to depth, press through a full shoulder range or hinge all the way down, you are feeding your joints and training your body to be strong where it is most vulnerable. Training in shorter ranges of motion might feel good for the ego, but it sends the signal to the body that we don't need that range anymore. Don't keep up with the expense of maintenance, like a non-profit government funding. Use it or you won't get it next year.

Movements over muscles We train movement patterns, not muscles. This helps us equalise the amount of tension and strength being used by muscles on each side of the body.

If all we do is bench press then you will develop huge chest muscles, but those chest muscles will be way stronger than your back muscles, pulling your shoulders forward and screwing up that joint balance we talked about.

Therefore if we push, we counterbalance with a pulling pattern. And do this with every major joint and movement pattern. 

We focus on awareness Building movement awareness is our bedrock. If you can't feel the muscle or the joint then how do you know what your body is doing to move? Creating a deep sense of proprioception is the key to long term training and why we focus on form over chasing PRs.

That's it, joints done. Next week we are going somewhere even more misunderstood. Fascia.