Common Muscular Weaknesses • Hacker News Board

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#21

Post by ohaideredevs » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:22 PM UTC

User23 wrote: post #18

ohaideredevs wrote: post #2

I really wish there were places that could legitimately analyze muscle imbalances and suggest corrective exercises. The internet only works for the most common ones, such as pelvic tilt, and sometimes you mis-diagnose yourself. A lot of the "great" information online is bro-science, and doctors generally don't care at all, so neither is optimal. P.S. The military uses fancy position sensors to track muscle imbalances…

A properly trained massage therapist can do this for you. However you probably won’t find one at your local $49 massage factory. Search for “integrated manual therapy” or “orthopedic massage” along with some talk of sports or athletes. Be aware there is a ton of woowoo magical thinking in the field, but there really are practitioners who can identify weak firing patterns and suggest corrections.

I will look into it, ty.

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#22

Post by asark » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:26 PM UTC

ohaideredevs wrote: post #7

lm28469 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really wish there were places that could legitimately analyze muscle imbalances and suggest corrective exercises. I think what you're looking for is a physiotherapist's office. Somehow we now expect to find everything on internet or apps, and avoid human interactions &c. The truth is some things need in-person expertise and advices given by experts.

I had IT band and hamstring attachment tendinitis. I went to the best orthopedic doctor in the city. I explained my symptoms very clearly. He did identify the IT band tendinitis and walked out of the room. I had to catch him "after the appointment" to ask him why the back of my knee hurts then. He THEN did additional tests and identified the other source of the problem. This is my experience, always. At best, the doc…

An unfortunate amount of my interaction with doctors has just been waiting for them to diagnose me or a family member with the same thing I already figured out is probably going on, so we can get the drugs or treatment to fix it. Self-diagnosis on with the Web has a bad name for a good reason, but with a critical eye you can nail what the doctor's gonna say damn near 100% of the time, or at least narrow it down to the couple things they'll run tests to decide between. It's kinda fun but also kinda sad knowing everything they're gonna say and order in advance because you read stuff on the Web for 10 minutes before the visit. Obviously never let on that you've done that.

The best are when you go through a couple and they can't figure out WTF is wrong and you finally get one who's like "oh yeah, I can't believe they didn't check for this, circumstances and your symptoms make it pretty likely and it's not uncommon" and you're like "yeah, I f*cking know, I read some Wikipedia before the first visit and have just been walking you all through the process of figuring it out, while I pay you for the privilege, but I can't push too hard or you'll think I'm a crank".

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#23

Post by wespiser_2018 » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:36 PM UTC

goostavos wrote: post #20

wespiser_2018 wrote: post #14

I've been working a 5x5 barbell program, which has me squat 3 times a week, for the last year. I've never felt stronger, or faster in my life! (I'm 32). Exercise has had a very positive effect on my feeling of wellbeing, and I am glad to see that the big 5: bench press, shoulder press, row, squat, and deadlift, at least address the major sources of muscle weakness! I would strongly recommend anyone interested in lift…

Just as a minor complaint, "Stronglifts" is just Mark Rippetoe's intermediate program lifted directly from his Starting Strength book and shamelessly rebranded. If people are just getting into lifting, you can't do better than Starting Strength[0] for background info and mechanics on the main lifts. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook...

Yea, that's another great program for beginners!

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#24

Post by scruple » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:37 PM UTC

ohaideredevs wrote: post #7

lm28469 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really wish there were places that could legitimately analyze muscle imbalances and suggest corrective exercises. I think what you're looking for is a physiotherapist's office. Somehow we now expect to find everything on internet or apps, and avoid human interactions &c. The truth is some things need in-person expertise and advices given by experts.

I had IT band and hamstring attachment tendinitis. I went to the best orthopedic doctor in the city. I explained my symptoms very clearly. He did identify the IT band tendinitis and walked out of the room. I had to catch him "after the appointment" to ask him why the back of my knee hurts then. He THEN did additional tests and identified the other source of the problem. This is my experience, always. At best, the doc…

> ... but I find doctors literally worse than useless in most cases.

Yeah, same here. My hot take is: if you're not an elite athlete then you're basically shit out of luck and you are on your own, regardless of how much money you might be capable and/or interested in spending on your problems.

I have retrocalcaneal bursitis and a chronic muscle tear in my left calf. I ran through nearly a dozen people, specialists and physical therapists and physiotherapists, and no one could help. They wanted to give me cortisone injections in my heel or sent me to the ER for DVT for the calf. I spent a lot of money to _not_ be helped by these people over a period of 4 or 5 years.

I eventually found a legit physiotherapist (he works with some local athletes... MMA fighters and a couple of NHL players, so there it is) who wasn't just out to take my money from me. Through him, the chronic muscle tear is now managed completely (when I feel it coming back, I give him a call and pop in for a few sessions of excruciating deep cross-friction massage that keeps me exercising without needing breaks) and the bursitis is managed entirely by myself through a daily stretching and mobility routine that he helped me develop.

I am honestly concerned about what happens to me in the future. If he retires or moves or if I move. If I have new minor/major injuries to contend with at that point then I'm going to be back to this dreadful search or worse, having to give up specific exercises that I enjoy.

edit/ Oh, and another horror story that I managed to forget about. I popped 2 ribs last fall (brain fog, was lifting too heavy while I was tired and just trying to grind a workout out) and couldn't get it properly diagnosed either. Went to my GP, he thought it was a muscle strain. Sure, okay. I believed him. So, I had a week long backpacking trip 3 days later that I ended up going on anyway. Hurt like hell. I knew it wasn't a strain by the time I got home. Popped in to see my physiotherapist and he was able to isolate and diagnose the issue in just a couple of minutes. How can my GP miss this? You literally rub your fingers between my shoulder blade and spine and it was as clear as day. I went to a Chiropractor for a few sessions, in addition to some rehab at home like rolling on a racquet ball, and now everything is back to normal. This sort of shit, "professionals" who are utterly horrible at their chosen profession, borders on fraud for me.

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#25

Post by ChuckMcM » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:39 PM UTC

ohaideredevs wrote: post #2

I really wish there were places that could legitimately analyze muscle imbalances and suggest corrective exercises. The internet only works for the most common ones, such as pelvic tilt, and sometimes you mis-diagnose yourself. A lot of the "great" information online is bro-science, and doctors generally don't care at all, so neither is optimal. P.S. The military uses fancy position sensors to track muscle imbalances…

One of the interesting things my trainer did before we started was three sessions of analysis. Measuring flexibility, symmetry, strength, and recovery. We then put together a plan to fix issues identified from that to get to a solid baseline, so that when we work all the muscles together to get better systemic performance they participate in the motions as designed.

This was stuff that he learned getting a kinesiology degree SJSU and followed up with the personal training coursework. And for a data set of one, it has helped me tremendously.

So the bottom line for me is that while there is a lot of questionable stuff out there, there are also people who have actually studied and worked on the mechanics of how all this works, which lets them create exercises that achieve a specific result. For me, I'm not interested in being a weight lifter or showing off how strong I am or big my biceps can be, I just don't want to end up driving a mobility cart around Walmart to pick up groceries when I'm 80!

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#26

Post by 100kg » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:40 PM UTC

goostavos wrote: post #20

wespiser_2018 wrote: post #14

I've been working a 5x5 barbell program, which has me squat 3 times a week, for the last year. I've never felt stronger, or faster in my life! (I'm 32). Exercise has had a very positive effect on my feeling of wellbeing, and I am glad to see that the big 5: bench press, shoulder press, row, squat, and deadlift, at least address the major sources of muscle weakness! I would strongly recommend anyone interested in lift…

Just as a minor complaint, "Stronglifts" is just Mark Rippetoe's intermediate program lifted directly from his Starting Strength book and shamelessly rebranded. If people are just getting into lifting, you can't do better than Starting Strength[0] for background info and mechanics on the main lifts. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook...

This is true, I agree. Even if you don't use the exact Starting Strength program (cleans can be intimidating for a novice), the info is good.

I'd also like to add that I've tried GSLP and found it to be my personal favorite between these 3. More important than that, however, is just going to the gym consistently. Don't get too hung up on picking the "perfect" program.

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#27

Post by [deleted] » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:45 PM UTC

scruple wrote: post #24

ohaideredevs wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had IT band and hamstring attachment tendinitis. I went to the best orthopedic doctor in the city. I explained my symptoms very clearly. He did identify the IT band tendinitis and walked out of the room. I had to catch him "after the appointment" to ask him why the back of my knee hurts then. He THEN did additional tests and identified the other source of the problem. This is my experience, always. At best, the doc…

> ... but I find doctors literally worse than useless in most cases. Yeah, same here. My hot take is: if you're not an elite athlete then you're basically shit out of luck and you are on your own, regardless of how much money you might be capable and/or interested in spending on your problems. I have retrocalcaneal bursitis and a chronic muscle tear in my left calf. I ran through nearly a dozen people, specialists an…

[deleted]

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#28

Post by MFLoon » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:48 PM UTC

ohaideredevs wrote: post #2

I really wish there were places that could legitimately analyze muscle imbalances and suggest corrective exercises. The internet only works for the most common ones, such as pelvic tilt, and sometimes you mis-diagnose yourself. A lot of the "great" information online is bro-science, and doctors generally don't care at all, so neither is optimal. P.S. The military uses fancy position sensors to track muscle imbalances…

I'd contend that the very notion of muscular imbalance as pathology is somewhat in the realm of bro science. It's not that the mechanical descriptions in the article are inaccurate - weak abdominals will negatively impact your squat, sure - but there is no causal association of said imbalances or strength deficiencies with injurious outcomes. Doing a movement with less mechanical advantage just means you have to work harder to do it; but if you're physically able to do the movement, you're not going to injure yourself just by virtue of doing the movement, even if the movement doesn't conform to the mechanical ideal. The actual correlative with injury risk is stress. The cause of confusion is that doing the same movement with the same resistance but less mechanical advantage will be more stressful and thus have a higher injury risk.

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#29

Post by modeless » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:49 PM UTC

goostavos wrote: post #20

wespiser_2018 wrote: post #14

I've been working a 5x5 barbell program, which has me squat 3 times a week, for the last year. I've never felt stronger, or faster in my life! (I'm 32). Exercise has had a very positive effect on my feeling of wellbeing, and I am glad to see that the big 5: bench press, shoulder press, row, squat, and deadlift, at least address the major sources of muscle weakness! I would strongly recommend anyone interested in lift…

Just as a minor complaint, "Stronglifts" is just Mark Rippetoe's intermediate program lifted directly from his Starting Strength book and shamelessly rebranded. If people are just getting into lifting, you can't do better than Starting Strength[0] for background info and mechanics on the main lifts. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook...

Starting Strength is good to have around for reference, but the nice thing about Stronglifts for me is the app. It's high quality and makes the program very easy to follow. https://stronglifts.com/apps/

Re: Common Muscular Weaknesses

#30

Post by copperx » Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:49 PM UTC

A long time ago, I read this, and it got me thinking about muscular imbalances: "Somewhere inside every man's body, there's a weak link, a weak muscle waiting to fail."

https://www.mensjournal.com/features/everything-you-know-abo...