Muscle Imbalance: Why Does It Occur And How To Correct It?
A muscle imbalance occurs when there is no harmony in the body’s muscles, due to poor posture or repetitive movements. This has important day-to-day implications, in addition to causing pain and limitation of movements.
Among other issues, muscle imbalances can be a potential cause of injury. This is because they affect the position of the joint at rest and change the trajectory during movement, so that we do not do what we want to do.
The good news is that a proper exercise program can help improve muscle strength and increase joint range of motion. These are essential to eliminate muscle imbalances.
Why can a muscle imbalance occur?
The American Council on Exercise states that muscle imbalances can also be caused by overuse and the wrong type of use. This is because each joint is surrounded by muscles that produce and control movement.
But if the muscles on one side of a joint get too tight from overuse, those on the other side can become weak from lack of use, leading to muscle imbalance. Below we see the most common causes in athletes and in people in general.
In athletes
The most common cause of muscle imbalance in athletes is repetitive movements. This is because, due to overuse, the muscles shorten, forcing them to remain in a semi-contracted state. This causes the joint to change position. To avoid this, it is necessary to identify movement patterns and train with antagonistic or compensatory gestures.
Another reason for muscular imbalance in athletes is the performance of exercises in a single plane of movement. By not training in varied planes, he insists on restricted work, limiting the trajectory.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that bad posture and bad technique in the execution of exercises is also a cause of muscular imbalance during sports practice. This is one of the additional reasons to consider when considering technique and posture.
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