Dooley Noted: 3/18/2016
I want you to picture a man hanging from the edge of a cliff.
He is gripping tightly to the cliff’s edge, as the rocks crumble towards his face.
Sweat covers him – for he is doing the greatest work of his life just to hang on for it.
Now, I want you to picture yourself walking up to that man.
Stand on the edge of that cliff, and watch as his eyes look desperately to meet yours.
Now, picture yourself rushing to him, crouching down.
He trusts you in his time of need.
Picture yourself taking his hands – as you accept his trust.
Now – let go of his hands.
Sound like a ridiculous option?
I see it happen every day, right here in New York City.
The cliffs are people teetering on the edge of their muscular stability.
Bones start moving past their stable points, and the muscles lock down in an attempt to stabilize joints.
The muscles grip on for dear life – bringing awareness of tightness to their owner.
People turn their attention to those muscles in a mistaken instinct that the awareness means they should stretch those muscles.
But stretching a muscle seeking to provide stability is like letting go of that man’s hands on the cliff.
You may be stretching out the last grip on stability that you have left.
This happens in whiplash.
This happens in ankle sprains.
This happens to various joints in various situations.
If you are stretching something and the awareness resolves, good on you.
But if you continue stretching something that keeps tightening,
consider that you may be making the problem worse.
Help that man – and your muscles – off that cliff.
Get assessed and corrected by a movement specialist.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley