Hit The Off Switch
Let your body relax. You’ll run better
Visit physiotherapist Freddie Murray at his private clinic, Remedy, in plush London hotel The Ned, and you’ll find a man with drooping shoulders and crossed legs, slouching forward as he quizzes his patients, trying to get to the bottom of the aches, niggles, pains or injuries from which they are suffering,
It’s surprising – there are few people you’d expect to personify perfect posture better than the man tasked with honing the bodies of elite athletes (Premier League players) and celebrities (Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl credits Murray with transforming his body after a leg injury). But this embodiment of relaxation is exactly what, according to Murray, you should be looking to emulate for most of your day.
‘Muscles are like light switches – they should be either on or off – and neither state will cause the body problems,’ he says. ‘But if they’re constantly working away in the background – like a dimmer switch – when you’re essentially at rest, they’ll quickly fatigue, leading to increased tension, muscle stiffness and the sensation of pain.’ Indeed, many experts now believe walking around in a state of stress that has you wound tighter than a jack-in-the-box, coupled with training schedules that focus on activating and strengthening muscle groups, is giving rise to an •
increase in muscle injuries. Think bruxism – the unconscious clenching of the jaw muscles that can lead to chronic pain, tension headaches and dental problems. Or the creeping – often debilitating – lower back pain, tight shoulders and stiff neck that can develop whenever the wheels start coming off at work or home. If only you could flip the switch and turn them all off.
ALL WOUND UP
This constant stress on our bodies doesn’t just affect our running, it can also spell problems for our health. Musculoskeletal issues, including back pain, neck tightness and upperlimb problems are the second-most common cause of sick days in the
UK, costing the nation 30.8 million working days in 2016 alone, according to the Office for National Statistics, and accounting for around one in five of all GP appointments.
The issue is that it seems easier to try to correct imbalances or strengthen weak muscles through exercise regimes than tackle the root causes: a fixation on flawless posture, a desire to look as sculpted as possible and a high-stress existence. ‘Society doesn’t advocate people slouching and relaxing their stomachs – it doesn’t make for a good look on Instagram,’ explains Murray. ‘But it’s not a sin to relax, to slouch and release your stomach muscles.’
Letting it all hang out, he insists, is actually normal and healthy, if only because it encourages the body to switch from the sympathetic nervous system (which powers your fight-or-flight response) to the parasympathetic system, known to conserve energy, slow the heart rate and relax your body.
Peter O’Sullivan, professor of musculoskeletal physiotherapy at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, is also attempting to re-educate the masses on how to treat and prevent muscular pain. He believes that a large part of the problem is the belief that strong abs are the holy grail of fitness. He explains that, 15 years ago, almost all the research being published directed experts to prescribe sufferers of persistent back pain with core-strengthening moves. Patients were told to brace their abs and target the transverse abdominis (the deepest of the abdominals) with static planks, which worked for some, but, for many, actually perpetuated the problem.
In recent years, O’Sullivan has challenged the evidence and identified the issue. ‘Increased activation of the abdominal muscles increased the activation of the back muscles, creating a bracing effect on the spine,’ explains Murray. As a result, everything seizes up.
O’Sullivan’s work also sparked a re-evaluation of the importance of ‘good’ posture. ‘To date, no research has found any relationship between posture and musculoskeletal injuries, damage or the development of pain conditions,’ says Dr Eyal Lederman, an osteopath and honorary senior lecturer at University College London’s Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science. ‘If you’re experiencing pain, what position or posture you sit or stand in is unlikely to be the cause.’
It turns out that there’s no such thing as perfect posture. Indeed, a study published in Manual Therapy, in which 295 physiotherapists were quizzed on what they believed to constitute a neutral spine or good sitting posture, showed that only a sitting posture that ‘matches the natural shape of the spine and appears comfortable and/or relaxed without excessive muscle tone’ was recognised by all as beneficial. Murray adds that, by pushing the idea of bracing your muscles, you are failing to appreciate your body’s natural strength.
‘Most acute back pain tends to get better on its own after six to eight weeks, because the spine is so strong. Sucking in your stomach or holding yourself upright is not necessary – at best – and, at worst, it’s damaging.’
Then there’s the issue of stress and anxiety, whether situational or chronic, which causes the body to tense. Lederman explains that, despite extensive research, the reason tense muscles lead to pain still isn’t known. A potential theory
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT POSTURE
is the notion of sensitisation: that pain is created within the central nervous system – in a state of stress itself – and that triggers the illusion that the muscle or muscles residing in the particularly stressed area are painful. ‘Because the experience of pain resides within your nervous system, it’s readily influenced by your emotions and moods,’ says Lederman. ‘This could explain why relaxation, which is also a central nervous system process, can bring about an alleviation of pain.’
CORE VALUES
It’s much better, the experts say, to focus on using the muscles you actually need for movement, rather than over-recruiting all the time.
‘A lot of people think they’re using their deep core muscles correctly, but are, in fact, over-recruiting them,’ explains Lynne Robinson, founder of subscription channel and app Body Control Pilates. ‘To move well, you need muscles working at their ideal length and strength, recruited in the correct order with the right degree of activation by a healthy nervous system. Well-aligned joints will have good range of movement, be stable and have ligaments of a perfect length and tension, and a fascia framework that has just the right amount of give and tautness.’
How to achieve this is a more complicated story. ‘This is the aim of Pilates,’ adds Robinson. ‘You’re training your body to stand, sit and move well with ease, so this becomes automatic, never conscious.’
As for Murray, he’s interested in moving away from the idea of constant muscle activation, and towards a more holistic approach, in the hope of reducing stress. ‘Everyone will experience tight muscles and pain at some point, but now we know the body, including the back, is inherently robust,’ he says. ‘However, if your sleep and exercise are compromised and your stress is elevated, your chances of tightening up and feeling pain increase. I’ve learned to value sleep more than ever – I have a hot bath every evening to relax and I mix up my exercise sessions, because variety of movement is so beneficial.
‘Getting your lifestyle in order is a great tonic for your physical and mental state,’ adds Murray. So, give yourself a break and take a load off.