The numbers of people suffering from chronic back pain and neck pain due to extensive work at a computer or hovering over a mobile device is increasing rapidly. In today's modern world more people are becoming sedentary, spending at least 10–15 hrs a day at work, in the car, at school, and home in a position of bad posture, that results in stiff hips and stiff thoracic spine. Stiffness in these two joints is a disaster to our joints as we need both of these areas to provide great mobility, in particular with rotation as used in walking. Lack of mobility at these two areas creates problems for joints above and below as the body searches for alternative methods to move. We have been so conditioned to react to injuries by using pain relief methods, as opposed to looking at WHY you got the problem in the first place. The thoracic region is so unique in that it really can create problems all throughout the body but it will not suffer with any pain, and go completely undetected with most treatments. In this article, I am going to explain exactly what happens when you lose thoracic mobility, what causes it, and what you can do to get it back.

When we experience pain or tightness in an area of our body we have been told we must stretch, massage and loosen the affected area to regain the lost mobility of the joint or muscle. This is the typical approach of health therapists, corrective exercise and most rehabilitation programs. And in most cases it is the most logical place to start, and often pain will subside and things go back to normal quite quickly with this approach. However in some cases this can be the worst thing you can do! For the person who has TOO MUCH flexibility, otherwise known as hyper-mobile, will not respond well to this approach, as they lack stability and need to be tightened up, not loosened. For 15 years I have worked with over 1000 people with all types of injuries and when I first started I rarely came across this case. However, in the past few years I have seen a huge increase in these cases, and many times people come to see me after having tried several therapists, trainers and various health modalities that did not work, or even made the condition worse. I am not sure as to why this seems more common, and I see this problem mainly in females, but I believe one big factor is the rapid growth of Yoga and Pilates style training that emphasize more flexibility. And while both these are great forms of exercise, they have the potential to ruin the joints of a hyper mobile person if not used wisely, and especially if you do not move well standing up.

One movement that has a lot of confusion and controversy surrounding the "correct technique" to use is the SQUAT. For a long time people have been told to keep their knees behind their toes or it will cause serious knee damage. This teaching is still used in many gyms and fitness centres today, yet the basis and logic for this instruction is more likely to cause harm and dysfunction than prevent it. If you watch elite weightlifters competing you will see their knees always go over their toes, and the taller they are, the further they go. And not only do they not have knee pain, they have legs stronger than most people on the planet. What causes knee pain has more to do with hip and foot mechanics combined with poor movement strategies that were either taught or learned from an early age. In this article, I will explain the theory behind the squat and help clear up what the correct movement you should be striving to achieve really is.