What is it and who really needs it?

You may be hearing the term “corrective exercise” more and more nowadays and wondering what it is and who could benefit from it. I will explain in very simple terms so it becomes easy to understand.

The best way that I can summarise corrective exercise in my own words is a method of employing techniques to address and improve imbalances within the musculoskeletal system caused by compensatory changes in how people sit, stand, lie down and move. It is an evidence based exercise intervention based on concepts of anatomy, biomechanics, and kinesiology (the study of movement) and helps people understand, feel and change how they hold and move their bodies to address and shift these malalignments, imbalances, problematic movement patterns and improper posture that often lead or exacerbate muscle and joint pain.

A professional certified in corrective exercise partners with a client in all phases of corrective exercise by assessing standing posture and moving patterns while at the same time involving the client by explaining their particular compensations, so that clients are able to better understand their bodies. The next steps in corrective exercise are strategies involving myofascial release (or loosening of tight areas in the muscles and the fascia surrounding the muscles, utilising very simple equipment like foam rollers and small balls), stretching and then strengthening of specific muscles or groups of muscles. The myofascial release, stretching and strengthening portions of corrective exercise may all occur in the same exercise session. A very important aspect of corrective exercise is that the client is a very active participant in the learning of what is causing his/her/their particular musculoskeletal challenges and how to fix them. The exercises are typically done within the corrective exercise sessions and also involve exercises being done at home in between sessions within the context of the available time that the client has. A corrective exercise specialist also partners with clients using coaching techniques to help the client come up with and practice effective lifestyle solutions with regards to posture, movement and pain. This may involve, as part of a holistic plan, postural strategies both at work, at home, during leisure activities and during sleep. Finally, pain can also be exacerbated or even caused by how we relate to and deal with stress as well as how we relate to the experience of pain. As such,in order to help clients relate optimally both to life stressors and to the experience of pain, I offer mindfulness coaching techniques accumulated through many years of study, workshops and formal mindfulness certification as well as obtained through my past experience of almost 20 years of working as a nurse with patients with painful conditions.

Anyone can benefit from corrective exercise! However, there are many situations where it is particularly helpful. Different occupations, life stages or situations involve different types of stresses to the musculoskeletal system that may cause different compensatory patterns. For example, a woman who is pregnant may have very tight lower back muscles due to the weight of the baby pulling her centre of gravity forward and contributing to an increased anterior pelvic tilt (where top of the pelvis moves forward and the bottom tilts back, causing the low back muscles to become contracted and painfully tight). This type of imbalance is quite different from the student lazy sitting studying with a rounded lower back as he sits with his buttocks at the edge of the seat, leaning the shoulders on the back of the chair or couch and rounding the lower back leading to possible discs beginning to posteriorly protrude (assessing whether a disc is protruded or not is not within the scope of corrective exercise - but assessing pelvic tilt is). Ultimately, the source of low back pain in the two above clients, which muscles may be tight and which ones may be weak/lengthened is quite different and may require different corrective exercise programs.

Another example could be an office worker who may have very tight chest muscles, rounded shoulders and upper back, forward neck posture and tight hip flexors from sitting at a computer for most of the day. There may be chronic back pain and neck pain. Deciding to go to the gym may be very helpful. However, by utilising corrective exercise within the context of training or in separate sessions from training, a corrective exercise specialist may assess that before loading the client with chest strengthening exercises, it may be most helpful to begin by working on stretching the tight chest muscles and strengthening more the back muscles as part of correcting the body’s prolonged stay in this constricting hunched over work posture. However, a mechanic working a lot lying on his/her back, may have other types of compensatory patterns and therefore a very different corrective exercise program. Apart from occupation, certain life stages - student life, pregnancy, the postpartum period, the breastfeeding period, or advancing age with the effects of osteoarthritis, can all cause a variety of different compensations which may lead to chronic pain and possibly put the body more at risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Even injuries can cause pain in other areas of the body, as a person may try to shift the body posture to compensate for the injured area. Different sports can also create different areas of imbalance. Even more interesting is exploring and helping clients understand how different areas of the body are related in chinetic chains - so that sometimes pain can be stemming from the area where the discomfort/pain is felt, but sometimes it may actually come from another area above or below the painful site.

A corrective exercise specialist is not a physiotherapist working to rehabilitate an injury, but is a professional working to optimise how the body moves in order to prevent injury and chronic pain or contribute to its improvement.

Ultimately though, it is not about how the body needs “correcting” but about the incredible abilities that the body has regarding what it can do - so that the focus becomes on helping it do what it is actually so capable of doing when we bring awareness or mindfulness into the picture! Corrective exercise, I feel, is very in line with the joy of movement because it gives clients the tools of understanding the incredible power, capability of change and resilience of their bodies. Just like there is so much power that comes from the awareness of mindfulness - there is incredible personal physical power that comes from getting attuned to one’s ease and flow of movement! Corrective exercise helps people awaken to how their bodies feel standing and moving in space and to the personal power that they have to make changes that bring ease of movement and freedom from, reduction and prevention of pain!