Compressive Vs Decompressive exercise
When it comes to the human body the spine is really the engine for movement. Almost all nerves ability to do their job (motor control) are dependent upon the spine being in an ideal position. If the spine isn’t in an ideal position the body ages faster. As the famous Chinese proverb goes “You are as old as your spine.” That should be on the wall of every gym, yoga studio, court, field etc. across the world.
Compression of the spine and joints in general is caused by things like lifting weights, running, martial arts, improper stretching, jumping etc. and minimal amounts when standing and walking if you’re health. Compression isn’t necessarily bad, it’s more so that when you compress the spine and joints constantly and never do anything to decompress them it will age your entire body much faster.
In order to counteract all of this compression of the spine and joints it is important to decompress them. Things that do a good job of this are passive hanging from a bar, myofascial stretching / ELDOA, yoga done correctly, stretching done correctly, lying in the corpse pose on the ground, inversion tables and much more. Here at Davidshealthyliving the approach we use depends on each individuals unique situation.
Signs the body is balanced
Your weight shift distribution between your legs when standing is almost perfectly even
If you drew an imaginary vertical line from your ear straight down to the ground your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles will be in alignment with that imaginary line
If you drew an imaginary horizontal line from one eye to the other, one shoulder to the other, one hip to the other, one knee to the other and one ankle to the other it would be close to perfectly straight.
When the body is in balance it’s a sign that your spine and your joints are ready for compressive exercise. The more you do exercise when the spine and joints are not in good alignment the more damage you’ll do to the joints, ligaments, tendons and spine. This ages you faster and creates pain.
Suggestions
Do the ELDOA. It’s the best form of decompressive exercise there is. Created by the legendary osteopath, Guy Voyer it has been shown time and again through imaging like X-ray and MRI that it creates more space for the intervertebral discs, foramina and spinal canals. I would strongly recommend working with someone in person before trying to do this on your own. There’s a lot of subtle nuance to the ELDOA.
Hang from a bar at least 3x per week. Aim for 3 minutes of passive hanging on those days and 90 seconds of active hanging. This will strengthen and stretch the shoulders. If you’d like a more in depth hanging routine you can check out this blog post from Ido Portal. https://www.idoportal.com/blog/hanging
If you currently experience pain after doing compressive exercise like deadlifts, sprinting, jogging, overhead press, rows, squats, lunges, martial arts etc etc. then IMMEDIATELY STOP and take a long look at your mindset, rest and nutrition habits with a diet-sleep log and x-factors. If you don’t know what the x-factors are check out this blog post & video to get an introduction.
Ask the question to yourself…. why am I unaware of what causes me pain? If you already know what’s causing your pain then ask “Why do I do continue to do things that I know cause me pain?”
