Muscle Patterning

Let’s talk patterning. No, not the home decor kind - the movement kind.

Patterning is the order in which muscles fire whether it’s to stabilize or move.

Muscle patterning is very important to make sure that certain types of muscles are doing certain types of motions. For instance, primary movers are doing their primary job of moving a joint and stabilizing muscles are doing the job of stabilizing a joint.

Not every muscle is ‘one or’ and instead a ‘both/and’ situation. For instance, the glutes needs to act as both a primary stabilizer in a single leg stance and as a primary mover during gait.

For example, when running, the glute on the standing leg should be acting as a stabilizer, while the opposite glute should be acting as a mover to extend the hip.

The issue of muscle patterning is when muscles don’t know when to do their job. A common example of this during gait is when the glute does not act as a stabilizer on the standing leg so other musculature must fire to provide the lateral hip stability. The core issue is that the gluteus is not doing it’s primary job. As a result, the TFL muscle loves to take over.

Let’s discuss why this may happen, and how to change it.

Reasons a muscle might not know how or when to fire:

  • Poor positioning (posture)

  • Poor muscle memory

  • Weakness

  • Physical limitations (lack of mobility)

How to address muscle firing:

  • Relax musculature that is overcompensating (foam roll TFL)

  • Make sure you have passive range of motion by stretching into that position (hip extension in runners stretch)

  • Work strength in the new range of motion (strengthen glutes in hip extension)

  • Train the muscle in the range of motion in similar positioning (go from strengthening while laying down to standing up - increase functionality)

The goal is to relax the musculature that is compensating and to help the proper muscle to fire FIRST in certain movements. It’s not that the secondary muscle shouldn’t fire, but it shouldn’t be firing first and strongest. In other words, the tiny TFL shouldn’t be doing the primary work of the ‘ole gluteus.

Thinking you have a compensation going on? Relax one side of the joint and strengthen the other in a wider range of motion!

Need a professional to help establish these muscle patterning issues? Contact me.

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