Perhaps the best way we can envision how interconnected the musculoskeletal system is would be to think of our modern-day evolution of a marionette: robotics. Scientists have recently developed state-of-the-art robotic arms and legs connected directly to the brain to replace the amputated limbs of veterans and accident victims. It has taken decades of research and millions of dollars in funding to make a robotic arm capable of doing such simple tasks as holding a pen, shaking someone’s hand, or holding a glass of water without breaking the glass, all from the commands of the person’s own neurological system. The reason this has proved so difficult is that every single movement in the human body, every simple command, is the result of millions of messages from the brain. Even the smallest movements, like lifting our little finger or smiling, require a chain reaction of muscles acting in concert. When a muscle is injured and has trouble moving, all the other components of that muscle chain will also be affected, and your range of movement will be hindered in ways you might not expect.
OUR THREE TYPES OF MUSCLES
Smooth muscle: Controlled by the autonomic nervous system; may be generally inactive, and then respond to neural stimulation or hormones, or may be rhythmic
Cardiac muscle: Found in the heart, acts like rhythmic smooth muscle, modulated by neural activity and hormones
Skeletal muscle: Moves us around and is responsible for most of our behavior; most attached to bones at each end by tendons
In any one day of our life, we make hundreds, even thousands of movements, each involving different sets of muscle chains. Movements as simple as standing up, sitting down, getting into and out of bed, and brushing our teeth all require a different series of muscle chains. We take these simple movements for granted, but each one of them relies on each of our 620 muscles remaining active and strong—as well as our ligaments and joints.
LIGAMENTS KEEP US STEADY
Bones are attached at the joint by connective tissue, especially ligaments and tendons. The tendon is the connective tissue attaching a muscle to a bone. The ligament is the connective tissue that attaches a bone to a bone.
CONNECTIVE TISSUES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
Ligaments: Attach bone to bone, have little or no ability to repair themselves if torn or overstretched
Tendons: Connect muscle to bone, have minimal elasticity
Cartilage: Provides a frictionless surface; cushions and prevents wear on the joints
Fascia: Fibrous material that covers, surrounds, separates, and joins bones and muscles
Ligaments are described as stabilizers of our joints that prevent our bones from slipping and sliding every which way. Ligaments are tight bands of a collagen-type tissue that attach bones together and protect the joints. They are very stiff—and that’s a good thing. They are designed to be very stiff with the smallest amount of flexibility. A ligament at its healthiest should be flexible enough to allow range of motion from 4 to 6 percent. However, if the ligaments are never moved, as in someone with a sedentary lifestyle, they gradually harden and lose their flexibility.
The primary purpose of ligaments is to support our joints, keeping them safely aligned to prevent instability in our hips, knees, and ankles. If ligaments weren’t stiff, our ankles would collapse as we used our feet to take a step, our knees would collapse inward or outward with every step, and our hips would sway uncontrollably with every movement. Ligaments must be tight enough to support our weight, but should also have a certain degree of elasticity.
JOINTS MAKE MOVEMENT POSSIBLE
Joints are found at the meeting of two bones, attached by ligaments or tendons, and moved by our musculature. Joints come in many different shapes and sizes, from finger joints—which are small and relatively straightforward—to wrist, hip, knee, ankle, and shoulder joints that are large and complex. Each joint plays a vital role in the mobility of our bodies and each is necessary to the efficiency of the body as a whole.
The muscle activates the function of the joint—and when muscles are tight or imbalanced, that has a direct effect on the range of motion. All range of motion is controlled or animated by the muscle functions of the joint.
Where two bones meet, we have various types of spongy cushionlike buffers, cartilage, and disks, which are necessary to prevent the surface of the two bones from grinding against each other like sandpaper. Protecting this buffer is essential to lasting joint health. If your finger joints are stiff or painful, you will struggle to hold a knife and fork, get dressed, button buttons, or tie your shoelaces. If your hip joints are stiff, you will struggle to sit down and stand up. Even the simple task of walking will be painful and strained. We need our joints to have full range of motion and be pain-free in order to be able to function on a basic level, and feel comfortable in our bodies.
Joints also require lubrication, in the same way a piston or door hinge does, and this is provided by something called synovial fluid, which is found in synovial sacs that surround every joint. Our joints are designed to bear the heavy load of the body, and to slide smoothly and effortlessly in specific directions. They really could and should remain healthy for the duration of our lives. Our joints are largely self-sufficient entities, requiring minimal upkeep to function properly for decades. Unless they are damaged from neglect, trauma, or disease, they will not disintegrate on their own.
So if joints consist of strong durable material that is made to last our lifetime, and “age-related” joint damage is really a misnomer, why are joint pain and damage so remarkably common? Let’s dig a little deeper.
STIFFNESS AND INFLEXIBILITY: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OILY BATH
We’ve talked about the fact that muscle training without flexibility work can leave many vigorous exercisers with rigid muscles, a condition that leads to chronic aches and pains. Muscles need to be strong and flexible, because if they become too contracted they lose mobility. And, of course, anytime muscles don’t move they begin to atrophy. But there’s another factor involved that we don’t often acknowledge, something I call the “oily bath,” one feature of the fascia that connects the musculoskeletal system.
Fascia is the stretchy connective tissue that forms a protective web surrounding every tissue in the body, all the way down to the cellular level. Day and night, every cell, muscle, nerve, bone, and joint in the body is bathed in the fascia’s oil, nourishing the surface of our muscles, cells, and joints, and preventing friction from occurring as we move. This oily bath is equivalent to oiling the outer membranes of the cells of our muscles, preventing them from adhering to one another; without this lubrication, our cells would become glued together, making us stiff and rigid. We need this lubrication so that our nerves, tendons, and ligaments can move effortlessly.
Stiffness is one of the most common signs of aging. The hardening of fascia is just one of the causes of stiffness, and can be prevented, slowed down, or reversed with regular exercise. When people are stiff, even something as simple as stretching an arm above the head becomes challenging, as does walking up stairs, along with many other aspects of normal daily activity. When we are stiff, we feel like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, and, like the Tin Man, we need our joints to be lubricated in order to move freely. In order for this method of lubrication to work, we must move constantly for the oil to maintain its liquid form and to allow for absorption. If we don’t move, the oily bath that is intended as a means of lubricating our bodies can have the opposite, unintended effect.
If you use coconut oil in your kitchen, you know that when it’s left sitting unused for a period of time it will harden. This is true of most oils—an oiled but unused hinge, the oil in the engine of an abandoned car, or the oily bath of an inactive, sedentary person. If you are sedentary, the lubricating oils can harden; effectively secure the ligaments, nerves, or tendons inside the sheath; and leave you feeling tight, stiff, and old. Similarly, when you put on hand cream, if you don’t rub your hands together, the cream stays on the surface. Oil not constantly softened through movement and absorbed into th
e body will stay on the surface of the joints and muscles until it solidifies, becoming hard and thick. Like hand cream, the oily bath needs to be melted through the friction of movement in order to be absorbed and rubbed in.
Subcutaneous fat, the fat underneath our skin; and visceral fat, the fat that surrounds our internal organs, both function in a similar way. When a cadaver is cut open, the autopsy will reveal whether or not the person had an active lifestyle, just from the visual evidence of layers of this hardened fat. Someone who has had a sedentary life will have layers of hardened oil or fat throughout the body. This layering of hardened oil is both totally unnecessary and easily preventable. We all should be concerned about preventing this buildup, as the hardening contributes to locking down the body and causing rapid aging (as well as exposing us to dangerous heart disease and chronic inflammation).
When we sleep, we remain nearly immobile for up to 8 hours, but the lubrication of our cells does not stop. When we wake up, we need to move around in order to stimulate the oil that had been bathing our bodies while we slept and make it absorb into our cells. The natural stretching that we often do upon waking up is helpful, but it’s not enough. The more out of shape a person is, the less likely he or she is to move sufficiently and the less the oil will be absorbed. This leads to a vicious circle: as the oil hardens, it makes the person feel stiffer and less willing or less able to do exercise. Many people find themselves on this slippery slope that makes them feel old as they become less mobile.
Mother Nature’s oily bath was intended to keep the shafts of muscles, nerves, and tendons lubricated and moving freely throughout our lives; it was never intended to solidify and restrict our movement. Movement is essential to keeping all the various body parts functioning, and the oily bath is an essential part of being pain-free, comfortably mobile, and young.
SPREAD THAT OIL AROUND
Often, when we experience a minor injury or bruise, we are inclined to baby the injured area. We believe that we need to protect an injury and give it time to heal. But, unless a doctor advises us otherwise, often that is the worst thing we can do! Protecting a minor injury often leads to a much graver injury.
Movement is essential for healing; nonmovement puts us on a trajectory that leads to a hardening of the body’s lubricating oil, cell atrophy, and stiffness in all of the surrounding areas. Immobility sets in place a chain reaction where stiffness leads to more stiffness, the end result of which could be a lifetime of chronic pain. Clients often tell me that a current serious injury had its genesis in a smaller, treatable injury that was never allowed to heal properly. That minor injury most likely didn’t heal sufficiently because they stopped moving after they became injured.
If you suffer a minor injury, you need to melt your body’s hardened oil with regular and gentle full-body exercise. I emphasize gentleness because rough exercise could end up causing or aggravating injuries. Think of pulling an old bandage off a cut and ripping part of the scab with it. We don’t want to tear any muscles, nerves, or tendons. By doing gentle, daily movements, you start to work on the hardened oil so it will soften and release. I have had many clients experience an abrupt loosening of their muscles, which they say feels like a sudden release, allowing them an immediate greater range of unrestricted movement. This type of sudden release or loosening comes as a surprise, but the feeling is never painful. Usually, they have been doing gentle exercise for months before it happens, and that’s good. It takes time for the body to heal itself—don’t get impatient if you don’t feel that your muscles are loosening up as rapidly as you would like. You never want to force your body; you’ll be more likely to heal the injury, rather than reinjure yourself, if you allow any “stuck” muscles to release gradually with consistent and gentle exercise.
As a society, we are trained to expect rapid, even immediate, results, but sometimes we have to display a bit of patience and give our bodies time to change on their own. The process of softening any hardened lubricant within the body is one of those times.
LIGAMENT STIFFNESS, SHOES, SKATES, AND BOOTS
We are the sum of all the parts of our bodies; when one part is functioning poorly, the whole body is adversely affected. This rule is particularly true of our ligaments, which attach every joint in our body. Ligaments are vital to our every movement: When they get stiff, they restrict the movement of the surrounding tissue—in much the same way a cast or brace does—leading, inevitably, to muscle weakness and atrophy.
When the ligaments harden and become immobile from lack of use, we can barely move the affected joints. When the ankles stiffen from tight ligaments, walking becomes difficult, as we need mobility in the ankle joints to help in the propulsion of our bodies.
This lack of ankle mobility makes walking, climbing stairs, and just about anything else more difficult. The stiffness that started in our ankles causes a negative chain reaction right up the legs into the knees, hips, and spine. The result is a severe slowing down of your life and a rapid feeling of aging. For runners and other people who are used to moving their bodies with ease, this ankle immobility can feel devastating.
The repercussions of immobile, rigid ligaments reverberate throughout the entire body, causing muscular imbalances, poor posture, and chronic aches and pains. Tight ligaments slow us down and bring about arthritis and the possible need for joint replacement. Tight ligaments are totally preventable, but only partially reversible.
LOSING ENERGY THROUGH YOUR FEET
I have worked with many young, high-performance athletes who have poor energy. Many times these fit young people mysteriously have trouble completing competitions. The common assumption is that their lack of energy is due to a weak cardiovascular system, and the prescription is often further cardiovascular exercise. However, when we test these athletes, we find that they often have above-average cardiovascular strength.
We have discovered that these athletes’ lack of energy is often directly related to tight, weak toes and ankles that have been locked in running shoes or orthopedics their whole life. Once we get them to take off their shoes and begin strengthening their ligaments and improving their flexibility, they make miraculous gains in energy. Unlocking the ligaments of the foot and ankle begins a positive chain reaction that leads to higher energy levels and increased mobility throughout the body.
Even in the fitness industry, the importance of maintaining flexible ligaments, particularly in the feet, has long been overlooked. Discussion of the need for flexibility is generally restricted to muscles; ligaments are never talked about! Tightness is assumed to be caused by muscular inflexibility, but, in reality, inflexible ligaments are what lead to inflexible muscles.
Try the following experiment: Tighten your ankle joints so that they cannot move. Then try walking with no movement in the ankles. The first thing you will notice is that you cannot walk very fast. You will find yourself shuffling like an old person. You should also notice that after about 10 or 15 steps your knees, hips, and back start hurting.
Now imagine yourself in a permanent state of locked ankles, the equivalent of tight ankle ligaments. Your entire life would close in around you as you slowly shuffled around in pain. This is the walk you see among many residents of old-age homes.
Try the same experiment with your fingers: Lock your fingers and don’t let them move and then try to close a button, write a note, or pick up a cup! Losing mobility is very scary. The good news is that it is preventable, and depending on the degree it is reversible through gentle movement.
The body is held together and mobilized by a series of muscle chains, which are themselves held together by links made up of ligaments. When the ligaments are immobilized, the entire chain is blocked from movement. Consider a stiff ligament’s impact on these entire muscle chains:
Toe ligaments: Believe it or not, one of the major chains in our bodies begins with our toes and goes all the way up to our neck muscles. Any tension or immobility in the toes hinders ankle mobility, leading to stiffened calf musc
les, and quickly spreads to the rest of the chain, causing stiffness and pain as far up as the back and neck. Maintaining healthy mobility of toe ligaments will relieve the entire chain of pain and stiffness.
Ankle ligaments: Did you know that the strongest joint in the body is the ankle? Most people don’t! If you stop to consider the job it has to do, supporting the full weight of your body all day long, you will understand why it is so strong. We need strength and mobility in our ankles so that they can safely bear the burden of our weight as we walk, run, jump, or just carry on our daily lives.
THE IRONY OF HIGH-END FOOTWEAR
In addition to a sedentary lifestyle, another common cause of ligament immobility in our feet is high-end running shoes and orthopedic footwear. Ironically, these supports are designed to prevent foot injury and pain, but when our feet become accustomed to this padding, they come to depend totally on the shoes for support. Because they have to do less work themselves, they get weaker. This dependency has created a real problem of muscle atrophy and immobile ligaments of the feet and ankles.
I am the first person to advocate the necessity of high-quality footwear, both for daily life and for sports. But we have forgotten that we also need strong, flexible toes, feet, and ankles. We cannot make them strong and flexible if they are always safely locked in protective footwear that is designed to stop them from moving!
Aging Backwards_10 Years Lighter and 10 Years Younger in 30 Minutes a Day Page 6