This is a very important article to read for anyone who works in the field of human movement. When it comes to developing functional movement, often the very first step and goal is improving the body’s capability for full range movement. Movement happens about the body’s 360 joints and the degree in which they are able to achieve movement is referred to as ‘range of motion’ or ROM. Each joint must fulfill a specific degree of ROM in order to move in a way that maximizes the body’s biomechanical output, conserves energy, minimizes the leaking of forces, and inhibits the tendency for other muscles need to overcompensate. This is known as functional range. Below you can see a nice and simple example of this where a pelvic imbalance can produce compensations further up the chain at the neck. If ROM is limited, two things happen: first of all the movement must go on and so other joints must move more in order for the body to reach its destination. And two, in order for the muscles to ea...

We often hear the term homeostasis tossed around when discussing matters of health and medicine. This term refers to the balancing act of health. Too much of either extreme will contribute to disease and dysfunction, and homeostasis is our body's ability to regulate itself and find balance with the extremes that life throws our way. It could be compared to the thermostat in our home in that it carefully senses changes to the environment and then uses what's called a ‘negative feedback loop’ to correct the changes returning us back to our desired state of balance. Homeostasis is a Latin term that literally means 'staying the same' and that 'same' we're speaking of is our state of health. Homeostasis sounds to be quite the static term but in actuality it's quite the opposite. It is a dynamic flux continually seeking health in relation to its environment and is constantly making adjustments every second of our day. When the body is healthy the sensitivi...