Re: tight movers, joint position

the concept is simple. you want proper joint centration for proper movement. this means that each joint must be properly centered in the socket to provide for optimal movement, force creation and force absorption, etc. if it is not, then muscle compensations can occur as well as wear/tear on the joint itself. both can lead to bad things as you can imagine and definitely less than your potential.

each joint as muscles surrounding it. if one set of muscles is not working properly, or has become short or tight, or atrophied, etc., then the joint may not be centrated any more during movement.

in the case you describe at the hip joint, if the hip flexors become dysfunctional and/or tight, then these can cause problems with the opposing muscles, like inhibited glutes as the neurological signal between the two becomes problematic. so tight, always on hip flexors are telling the glutes to never fire. in a normal functioning human, this is the correct response of an agonist/antagonist muscle pair. in a dysfunctional human, it can cause the hip to glide anteriorily as you attempt to flex your femur at the hip and then this can cause impingement.

similar things can happen at the shoulder joint where the shoulders can be biased forward due to tight pecs and pec minor among other structures. this weakens the posterior muscles and over time they stop firing. then you try to press and you wreck your shoulders because now they are attempting to rotate up while not being optimally centrated at the shoulder.

having said all of that, the diagnosis of what exactly is happening with you can be a bit tough. it was why i went to Roop. i hit a wall at the possibilities but he gave me (of course) the one i hadn’t considered – second time he did that to me haha! but he’s the guy with the credentials and experience…

always remember the categories to work on:

1. soft tissue
2. motor control
3. joint centration

go through all the possibilities – test/retest on every one. toss the ones with no effect, keep the ones with some effect. and remember it can take one session to see change, or months. yes the months part sucks.

good luck and let me know if you have questions on the above.