Dance Conditioning Part - I Are your postural muscles holding you back? Postural muscles are a set of muscles that are designed to stabilize and mobilize the body. These muscles are designed for endurance and are the most utilized set of muscles in the dance population. The postural muscles are meant to support and work with the deep core stabilizing muscles and phasic, or outer unit, muscles of the body. However, if the deep core muscles and the phasic muscles aren’t working properly the postural muscle will take over and work as stabilizers and mobilizers. In other words they start to do all the work! The result is tightness, pain, reduced flexibility and mobility.
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These muscles are made up of 51% or more of slow twitch fibers. Postural muscles are tonic in make up, which means they are designed to contract at lower loads for long periods of time. They have a greater capacity for sustained work but are prone to shorten due to overuse, underuse, force and trauma. Postural muscles can become hyperactive, tight and painful at times. If the postural muscles are tight so is the surrounding fascia. This affects the way we carry ourselves, flexibility, mobility, balance, alignment and posture. The treatment for this is to release and relax. The deep core stabilizing muscles consist of: • • • • • •
Transversus Abdominis Multifidus Diaphragm Pelvic Floor Muscles Posterior fibers of the Internal Obliques Lumbar portions of the Longissimus and Iliocostalis
These muscles originate or insert at the vertebrae and generate little or no movement during activation. They are tonic in makeup and consist mainly of slow-twitch muscle fibers. They are designed to contract at lower loads for long periods of time. Stress, pain and trauma can inhibit their ability to fire and because movement can occur without activation of these muscles they can shut off. Each mUvmethod class is designed to reduce pain in the body and release muscular, fascial and neural tension, particularly in the neck, upper, mid and lower back. Lower back pain can have a direct effect on the firing patterns of the Deep Core Muscle. As we work to eliminate and reduce pain students are able to activate this set of muscles.