791 Words to Change Your Mind to Help Your Body

One of the most difficult things to do is convince someone that something they’ve never heard of, that is completely different may be better for them. All the expected challenges and rebuttals come up. “Why are you the only one saying this?” “How come everyone else is saying the exact opposite?” “Why aren’t the top doctors doing this?” “Why haven’t I heard this before?” Those are the kinds of things you hear when something is new and different.

It’s exciting to be at the forefront of something so new. It’s also very challenging because no one knows what you are doing or what you are talking about.  

With so many people not getting the results they want, staying with what is familiar despite it not helping, or giving up because they think they have tried everything – I need to do some convincing. So, set your reluctance aside for a moment and hear me out. I’ll keep it short.

If you had knee, back, shoulder, whatever pain, and you tried something and it helped you, then you are all set. Do not even bother reading this unless you suspect you could have gotten better sooner. 

Most professionals look at your issues in a specific way. They look at where things hurt and feel some “part” is the cause of the pain. They think some tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia, bone) is the problem. Whether it is too tight or loose, bound up, knotted, adhering, too weak, or too imbalanced, they blame some tissue. Some say you need more blood flow, your bones are in the wrong spot, or your posture is the problem. Many professionals look at the state of the tissue and blame the state for the problem. In other words, they say the tendon is inflamed, so you have tendonitis and the tendonitis is causing the problem. This, instead of thinking the inflammation is a result of something else.

Certified Muscle System Specialists don’t look for a part, a piece, or a place, where something is wrong. We don’t look for a part of the anatomy to blame. We won’t tell you a muscle is too tight and you need to stretch it. We won’t say “it’s your piriformis or psoas”. We won’t ever say, “since your pain is in your hip, something must be wrong with your hip, therefore we need to do something to your hip”. You see, blaming the location for the problem feeds the belief that something is wrong with some stuff in that location so something needs to be done to that stuff. That’s just not how we see things. Here is how we see things:

We look for aspects of your muscle system where control quality is low. What does that mean!? It means instead of looking for a part, or a place, we are looking for how well you control a segment or segments of your body under specific challenges. Simply put – can you hold your body in highly specific positions against a load? The load varies. The positions vary. The durations vary. It is all highly specific, personalized, and organized. Identifying the positions where control quality is low tells us where improvement is required. Find the positions of reduced control quality then improve that quality. That’s our goal.

But why? Why try to improve control quality instead of just focusing on where it hurts? Here is why:

1.  Focusing on pain location is often akin to searching the dummy for the ventriloquist’s voice.

The voice is not coming from the dummy’s mouth. The number of reasons for pain is vast. The number of ways pain can manifest in a location for reasons that exist outside that location is also vast. Simply from an odd’s perspective, focusing on location almost never makes sense.  

2. The way you move is connected to the way you feel.

The ONLY thing that controls how you move is your muscle system. The lower the quality of control you have over your muscle system, the less well you move, and the worse you feel when you move (when you try to use your muscles). Ask yourself this, “how do you think it would feel when you go to move (use your muscles) and the only thing responsible for moving you (your muscles) don’t function at a high enough quality?” Maybe pain, tight, stiff, achy, restricted? Improve the quality of control you have over your muscle system -> move better -> feel better (less pain).  

To recap: Certified Muscle System Specialists look for positions, not places, and low-quality control not things like tightness, inflammation, or pain. We seek to improve that control quality so you move better because the way you move is linked to the way you feel.

Forging a professional relationship with an Exercise Professional who is a Certified Muscle System Specialist – working in conjunction with your medical providers – is a smart decision to improve your muscle and joint health. Together you will work to obtain, and sustain, a high quality of life based on high-quality movement – avoiding breaking the Camel’s back and making a mess by overfilling the cup.

𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗭𝗘, 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗟𝗬.