Something quite often seen in the world of physical therapy are issues with the nervous system that interfere with the proper toning and strengthening of muscles. Your nervous system could be interfering with the ability for your muscles to strengthen the way they should be due to neurological disorders that have gone unnoticed or unchecked. If you have any of these common nervous system related issues and are exercising regularly you may be noticing that you aren’t getting the strength in your muscles that you are looking for; or even worse yet, you could actually be causing the muscles to weaken.
There are five common nervous system related issues that could be hindering your muscle strengthening and injury prevention efforts. These nervous system issues can actually inhibit the natural path your nerves would send from your brain to your muscles and other body parts; thereby, compromising the efficiency of your muscles contracting the way they should in order to strengthen. Basically, think of these nervous system issues as being someone that intercepts your phone calls, sometimes taking messages and other times simply hanging up or forgetting to get the message to you. You get your messages but not efficiently. This is exactly how your muscles react; they get the signals to tighten & loosen but not enough to make a difference in the strength if they were getting the complete signal the way they should. These nervous system issues can actually impair your quality of life when left unattended.
The five common nervous system related issues that could be preventing YOU from activating the optimum number of muscle fibers each time you exercise are :
- Impaired Circulation – with impaired circulation the blood flow to your muscles is limited. If your circulation is limited then the communication with the muscles & joints will be negatively impacted.
- Muscle Imbalances – when muscles are imbalanced (some stronger while others are weaker) it can result in poor and improper movement patterns. This can also cause falls and tripping.
- Reduced Sensitivity of Joint Receptors – this can actually cause issues by impairing the feedback from the muscles to the brain.
- Lack of Balance/Poor Coordination – when coordination and balance is off it results in further muscle imbalances.
These common issues can actually be impairing your ability to strengthen and tone your muscles, even if you are exercising regularly. At Live Your Life Physical Therapy we are specially trained to focus on and recognize these nervous system issues and work with a team of health professionals to repair them.
Your nervous system controls each and every muscle in your body. The link between the mind and muscle tends to weaken with age unless you take steps to challenge these muscles consistently. This is where Live Your Life Physical Therapy can help.
Once we, or your physician, have diagnosed any neurological issues we can put together a physical therapy plan to help you work on these issues. Once we begin working on the problem at hand we can then begin working on making sure you continue to regularly challenge your muscles so that they remain strong and healthy. It can actually be a matter of safety, not to mention a matter of quality of life as your muscles deteriorate. Don’t let that happen. Call Live Your Live Physical Therapy today so we can perform a comprehensive assessment and create a customized program for you to live your life to the fullest!
Dedicated to Keeping You Active & Healthy,
Dr. Eva Norman
President & Founder
Doctor of Physical Therapy