How to Restore the Natural Curve in Your Neck

Most of us take daily movement for granted. We roll out of bed in the morning, muddle through our morning routine and head off to work or school without giving a thought to how our bodies are performing. We may then spend the day sitting in front of a computer, standing at a cash register, driving a delivery truck or performing other occupational tasks that require minimal exertion, again taking it all for granted.

But over time, most people experience a decline in physical performance. Tasks that once seemed easy become a challenge, your energy levels drop, and fatigue and brain fog become the new normal. Markers for metabolic health begin to set off alarm bells as blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids escalate. Your joints become stiffer and you lose the pep in your step.

While most people accept physical decline as a natural part of aging, there are steps you can take to slow and reverse the process. Functional movement therapy helps you perform your day-to-day tasks with more energy, less wear and tear on your body, and fewer signs of metabolic disease.

Functional movement therapy engages the nervous system as a whole, not just individual motor units. The goal of functional therapy is not strengthening. It is to improve motor control and enhance movement, engaging muscles in coordinated patterns and co-contractions that improve and maintain dynamic stability in multiple planes of motion.

During a functional therapy session, movements are initiated from a stable base of support, engaging muscle chains rather than individual muscles. The patient or athlete focuses on a specific task relevant to the tasks or skills they perform on a daily basis.

Nikolai Bernstein (1896-1966) was a Soviet Russian neurophysiologist know as the Godfather of motor control and motor learning. His extensive body of work described how the Central Nervous System (CNS) controls posture and movement. Bernstein’s theory was that human movement is controlled through adaptation to loads placed upon it, that large movements are made up of several smaller movements, and that any alterations of smaller movements will affect the larger movement as a whole.

Sadly, Berstein’s theories contradicted those of famous Russian physiologist I. P. Pavlov, and after receiving the Stalin award for science in 1948, he was soon forced to discontinue his work for several years. Bernstein’s ideas only became known to Western scientists in the 1960s, when his book, “The Co-ordination and Regulation of Movements,” was translated into English. His legacy as an innovator was recognized globally, and today research labs and departments at prestigious universities, including Harvard, bear his name. Hundreds of scientific papers about functional training are published every year, based on the laws of Bernstein’s motor control theory.

Functional therapy goes beyond muscle strength and control to improve overall health. Because all of the body’s systems are interdependent, improved motor control also affects breathing, cardiovascular health, the immune and limbic systems and emotional wellbeing.

Benefits of functional movement therapy include:

• Improved motor control
• Improved proprioception
• Greater movement efficiency
• Better distribution of force loads
• Increased energy production
• Improved microcirculation
• Improved brain and CNS function
• From muscle and fascia perspective and therefore reducing energy efficiency
• Improved circulation to the brain
• Better balance
• Greater joint stability

Anyone can benefit from functional movement therapy because we all develop bad postural habits, motor deficiencies and muscle imbalances during the course of daily activities. Functional therapy can be used to support rehabilitation of orthopedic issues, neurologic disorders or sports injuries. Rather than target singe systems or structures within the body, functional therapy seeks to integrate all components of the neuro-musculoskeletal complex and force them to cooperate. As neurophysiologists like to say, “What fires together, wires together.”

There are a number of disciplines that promote functional movement for healthy adults with no trauma or postural issues. Yoga, tai chi, kettle bell training and other disciplines support functional movement, so long as the participants are consistent and have the capacity to safely replicate complex movement patterns.

However, anyone with neurological or postural issues or seeking rehabilitation for an injury should seek the assistance of a physical therapist, chiropractor, athletic trainer or other movement practitioner.

Some functional therapy methods require special training and certification, including:

• DNS (dynamic neuromuscular stabilization)
• AIM (anatomy in motion)
• PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation)
• Spiral dynamics
• SFMA (selective functional movement assessment)
• Gait analysis and retraining