Muscular harmony is important for optimal movement. You want muscle groups to develop similarly so that one group doesn’t become disproportionately large compared to others. When muscles develop unevenly, it is known as a muscular imbalance, and it can put you at risk of an injury or impact your athletic performance. Fortunately, recognizing and correcting muscular imbalances is something we do with great frequency at OrthoRehab Specialists. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at why muscular imbalances develop, the symptoms they present with and how a physical therapist can help you overcome them.
Causes And Signs Of Muscle Imbalance
Muscular imbalances can develop for a variety of different reasons, but some of the most common factors that can lead to muscular asymmetry include:
- Acute Injuries – An injury to a specific area can cause one muscle to remain weaker than others. For example, if you tore your left hamstring and never really worked to help the area get back to a pre-injury level of strength, there’s a good chance there is now an imbalance between your left and right hamstring muscles.
- Poor Posture – Having poor posture can put static stress on certain muscle groups, slowly overloading them and causing them to weaken. Over time, this can lead to muscular imbalances in areas like your neck, back and hips.
- Inactivity – Along a similar vein, prolonged inactivity can lead to muscular imbalances. Our bodies crave activity, and when we deprive them of exercise and physical activity, muscles can atrophy. Prolonged inactivity can lead to different muscle groups to weaken and increase your risk of muscular system imbalance.
- Overtraining – One common cause of muscle imbalance that we see more frequently at our clinic is an imbalance caused by overtraining or poor exercise habits. Muscular imbalances are more common in children and tweens who specialize in a singular sport at a young age, or in adults who only pursue the same exercise program while ignoring other muscle groups. For example, if you’re only doing biceps curls with your dominant arm, or you’re only testing the same lower body muscle groups with your exercise routine, there’s a good chance that some muscular imbalances are present between systems.
Knowing the signs of a muscular imbalance can help you detect a potential issue before an injury develops. Symptoms that may suggest you’re dealing with muscular asymmetry include muscle pain, stiffness, balance problems, muscle tightness, decreased flexibility or a noticeable strength difference between opposing bodily systems, like your arms or legs.
Fixing Muscular Imbalances
The first step in overcoming a muscular imbalance issue is to hone in one exactly where the imbalance exists. You can try to do this on your own, but if you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms, oftentimes the quickest way to identify an imbalance and begin an effective treatment protocol is by connecting with a physical therapist. We’ll conduct a physical exam and put you through a few simple movement screening tests to look for muscular symmetry throughout different key systems. We’ll also have a conversation about your exercise and athletic habits to determine if lifestyle factors could be contributing to a muscle issue.
In most instances, muscular imbalances can be treated with a combination of targeted physical therapy and other lifestyle modifications. For example, physical therapy can address a muscular imbalance in the spine, and improving your posture habits or becoming more active can help keep muscular systems harmonized. Physical therapy will help bring balance to your muscle systems, but other lifestyle modifications will be needed in order to keep the condition from eventually returning.
Let us develop a physical therapy program that addresses any underlying muscular imbalance issues that you’re dealing with. Don’t let a lingering muscle issue cause problems for your athletic habits or your daily routine. Optimize performance and reduce your risk of a soft tissue injury by correcting muscular imbalances with the help of an individualized physical therapy program from OrthoRehab Specialists. Give our office a call today at (612) 339-2041 for more information or to set up an appointment.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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