Regular Technique Assessment Is Paramount

When it comes to training and strength and conditioning, I take the view point that we are always learning and looking to expand our movement literacy, improve training technique and efficiency and work on our deficient areas.  This can relate to mobility, stability, movement quality and movement variability.  I will recommend to my clients as well as do this myself regularly and undergo regular self checks as well as checks by other professionals to get feedback as to where there are opportunities to improve.  A perfect example is one of my clients at Principle Four Osteopathy that I consulted with recently.  They have shown great progress coming off a rather debilitating back injury and are now making some great gains with returning to lifting as they were pre injury.  As part of our consultation, I like to assess my clients both in a traditional osteopathic/physiotherapy assessment, as well as general movement patterns and then take a look at how they are performing their exercises.  This also includes clients sending through videos of them lifting at normal training loads.  In the image below you will see an example of how the client is performing a back squat and you can see the bar tilt to one side.  Whilst their perception might be that the bar is straight, the actual reality is that it isn’t.  Now imagine if they continue to train like this without correction of the bar position under heavy loads for extended periods of time.  Whilst the body might be capable of compensating for this for a period of time, eventually it may say no more and alert the individual by creating pain through injury.

Remember there is always a benefit to consult with others when it comes to training so that you can assess your exercises and movement so that you can address things before they become an issue and stop you from achieving your training goals.

This blog post was written by osteopath Heath Williams of Principle Four Osteopathy.

Principle Four Osteopathy is one of Melbourne City CBD and Docklands leading osteopathy clinics.  We provide a range of services that includes hands on manual therapy, exercise prescription for rehabilitation, strength and conditioning and performance, functional movement screening and ergonomic risk assessments.

If you would like to find out more about our practice, please check us out at www.principlefourosteopathy.com.   Appointments can be made by calling 03 9670 9290 or booking online at www.principlefourosteopathy.com.