J4C – The following article has 478 words. Copyright permission is granted when used without alteration and when bio is included. This is Part 3 of a 3 part article. It may also be used alone.

The Strengthening Misconception

By Julie Donnelly, LMT

When you can´t bend a joint you are often told to strengthen the muscle that pulls on the joint. My work with thousands of clients, including elite endurance athletes, has proven just the reverse. The logic of the body is that you actually need to lengthen the tight muscle that inserts into the joint. In fact, I tell my clients to first look at the area where they are feeling pain, and then find out which muscle inserts at that point. If you can´t bend a joint, look at what muscles should be stretching to enable the joint to move. The likelihood is great that the tight muscle is the cause your problem. If you press along the length of the muscle you will find points that are painful to touch; these are spasms, which are commonly called "knots." The contracted muscle becomes like a tight band, preventing the connecting joint from moving. You´ll be amazed at how quickly you will regain full range–of–motion when you release the "straps that are holding you bound" by lengthening the contracted muscles.

Another piece of the strengthening misconception occurs when a person feels they are losing power in their muscle. Many times the person isn´t feeling any pain in their body, just a general feeling of loss of strength. You know you are exercising, but still you aren´t as strong as you were, so you feel you need to increase your strengthening exercises.

To demonstrate this topic we´ll use the biceps of the upper arm as our example. For those who forget, the biceps are the muscle that Popeye would flex to show his strength after he ate his spinach.

If you wanted to pull a heavy object toward you (in this example you need to keep your body still), you would stretch your arm out all the way and then pull on the object. If you stepped closer to the object so your arm is now bent, you can see that you wouldn´t have as much strength to move the heavy object.

In the same way, when a muscle is already shortened by either a spasm or a tight contraction, it won´t have the full pulling power it needs to function properly. You need to lengthen the fibers to their optimal length so they can pull with full strength. When this is done you will be able to do the exercises that strengthen the fibers, and still move easily and freely.

© 2003

Julie Donnelly is a licensed massage therapist specializing in the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries. She has co–authored several self–treatment books, including "The Pain–Free Triathlete" and "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome–What You Don´t Know CAN Hurt You." She teaches Julstro self–treatment workshops nationwide and is a frequent presenter at Conventions and Seminars. Julie may be contacted through her website: www.julstro.com.