Space
Space is the initial requirement for movement, without it nothing happens. It sets the stage for a gradient to be possible and gradients are the foundation of motion. We all move around by creating and shifting pressures. For that to even be possible we must have a space to work within. Imagine trying to breathe with a collapsed lung, there is no space to work within, therefore there is no breath.
We often talk about decompression as a means of managing things like back or neck pain, yet we ignore this principle with other joints or soft tissues. The fact of the matter may be that without an initial decompression we cannot create the momentum to move. Let’s take the shoulder for instance and put it in a context of the bench press. Lying on the bench reduces the space available in your upper back right away via compression. The barbell overhead is affected by gravity and immediately applies compression on your chest wall. Your front side and your back side have effectively been squished together like a tube of toothpaste. This is a tremendous position for producing force and lifting heavy weights. The amount of available movement is minimal, space is restricted, and high pressures can be generated via musculature. With that set up, heavy weights move, you don’t.
Apply that principle to all regions, any joints and every tissue type. Repeatedly putting your body in positions and utilizing musculature over and over, that pattern gets trained. Memory develops and you ingrain this strategy such that it becomes difficult to move away from it, it is the dominant pattern. Efficiency matters, so space gets minimized to access this position easily the next time. Movement options get reduced, and memory takes over.
We are always looking to maximize efficiency, sometimes at our own expense. The space of possibilities is large, but once a useful and effective pattern emerges it gets repeated. This is super helpful at times, like when you repeat your same route to work for twenty years. In the context of movement, it can also be useful, but variety and recreating possibilities may be a good way to avoid repeated focal loading.
Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist
