In today’s video, David Fitzgerald talks about the three main components of musculoskeletal health. If you’re interested in knowing more about the ways of improving your physical health, then this article is the right place for you.
Flexibility, strength, and coordination are the three components David will analyze in his video, suggesting specific exercises aimed at optimising each and every one of these components and your musculoskeletal health in general.
As always, this article will give you an outline of the topic in this video but do check out David’s vlog below to know more about what he has to say.
When patients ask David what the best exercises are to preserve their physical health, he often refers to what he believes to be the three key things when it comes to musculoskeletal health. The first of these is flexibility; the ability to move with different ranges of movements, requiring the muscles, joints, and ligaments to be sufficiently flexible to allow the patient to move in any direction they want to move.
The first key component: Flexibility
Usually, the aging process makes the tissues become less elastic so, naturally, there is a stiffness in the tissues, which can only be countered by some specific exercises. Another element that might compromise flexibility is conducting a lifestyle that requires you to always keep the same position, this can be sitting or driving. So, lack of flexibility would be the first priority.
In general, females tend to be more flexible than males and, of course, there are people who are particularly flexible (hypermobility), who are more prone to injuries, especially if they don’t do general exercise to keep their muscles stimulated. A large proportion of the population (mainly over 35-years-old) needs to do flexibility exercises to preserve their musculoskeletal health and range of movements.
There are many types of exercises for flexibility; some people enjoy classes better than one-to-one training while some people are more prone to choosing the latter. Yoga would be the best exercise for the flexibility kind of regime, however, a flexibility program can be tailored to thee òpatient’s needs, allowing them to exercise at home two or three times a week without the need of any specific tool.
The second key component: Strength
With “strength”, David is not referring to strength and power, but to making sure that your muscles are sufficiently strong to manage your body weight in different positions to avoid tissue strains and irritations. A lack of strength can lead to difficulties in making certain movements or pain in the areas affected by the lack of strength and exercise.
Unless you do something specific to preserve your strength, it will tend to deteriorate over time, making it hard for you to do some of the most common movements we do every day, from bending over to pick something up to squatting to sit on a chair. We lose 1% of our muscle mass every year after the age of 40 unless we do any special exercises to preserve it, with the muscle turning into fatty tissue, depriving your body of the strength it needs to conduct some simple daily activities.
So, the second tip David has for his patients is to maintain and improve their muscle strength if there are deficits in that.
The third key component: Coordination
Coordination and balance are partly related to muscle strength, however, a lack of balance can lead to falls and uncoordination which often leads to sprained ankles and injured knees. Of course, just like the two previous key components, it is important to find the perfect combination of exercises to work on your coordination, identifying what your strengths and deficits are. Very often, it also happens that patients need a mixture of exercises to work not only on their coordination but also another one of the three key components.
A tailored approach is the most efficient way to preserve your physical health and have a strong body in the long run. Gymnastics is one of the best activities if you’re looking for something that will tick all the boxes for an overall improved musculoskeletal health.
So, this is all for today’s topic; make sure to watch David’s video to know more about what he had to say and keep an eye out for next week’s all-new vlog.
