The hip and the knee

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When interested in the human body, it is critical to make links!

A recent study did just that as it looked at patello-femoral pain in runners and associated it with a lack of mobility at the hip.

Individuals were studied for 6 weeks as they were asked to perform muscular strengthening exercises. Some of these individuals had pain and others didn’t.

Either we chose for this group to strengthen muscles of the hip or of theknee.

The individuals that suffered from knee pain that completed the program gained in adduction, external rotation and internal rotation of the hip.

The individuals suffering from knee pain that did not complete the program had less impressive gains than the ones who completed it.

What’s fascinating about this is that, whether these individuals used a strengthening program or not, it is the ones with a stiffer hip joint that hadthe most knee pain.

When one considers that a lack of hip mobility can be associated to a static imbalance of the pelvis, why would we not calibrate the pelvis to allow for optimal performance?

The amygdalae and emotions

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We most likely all want to know how to better manage our emotions. According to recent studies, it is possible to have an impact on our amygdalae, these nuclei located deep in the brain responsible for our reaction to stress.

Up until now, technology (MRI) has allowed us to analyze the impact we have on our amygdalae. It is reliable but not overly accessible.

More recently, researchers have shown the benefits of cerebral training via electroencelography. It is a more accessible method that allows for better comprehension of the mechanisms involved in managing stress.

In the context of a particular study, it was shown that to learn how to control the stress response generated by the amygdalae could have a positive effect on management of emotions.

John Kristal, editor of Biological Psychiatry, stipulates that we recognize biofeedback and meditation as being most likely capable of managing stress.

So, if standing upright represents a form of stress, is it fair to think that if we optimize this strategy, we activate the frontal cortex and the behavior of the muscular system?

When one considers that such a thing is possible, is there a better moment than now to create balance?

http://neurosciencenews.com/amygdala-emotion-neuroscience-5018/

The vagus nerve and depression

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The brain is made up of two nuclei that manage emotions: the amygdalae. There is a network of nerve fibers that make a bridge between the frontal cortex and the amygdalae.

Researchers have demonstrated that these connections are crucial in how we manage emotions, keeping in mind that it is the role of the frontal cortex to regulate the stress response handled by the amygdalae. When connections between the frontal cortex and the amygdalae are compromised, it can be more difficult to manage our emotions.

Transcutaneous stimulation of the vagus nerve has demonstrated positive effects on the relationship between the frontal cortex and the amygdalae.

Stimulation of the vagus nerve brings the body into a state of calm. It could be because of this effect that it is easier for the frontal cortex to connect and administer the stress response, which is the amygdales’ job.

When one considers that transcutaneous stimulation is not readily available for all, one could think that improving posture can contribute to decreasing stress that the body manages, which can favor a parasympathetic state.

It could be for this reason that calibrated clients often report that they manage emotions better!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27559632

Posture and dyslexia

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We know that exercise is considered generally good for learning. We even know that certain forms of exercise are more beneficial than others since they favor specific parts of the brain, more so. Recently (2015), researchers wanted to know if postural training could improve postural control of dyslexic children.

32 dyslexic children were studied. 16 of them participated in a specific postural exercise program.

According to the Psychiatric American Association, dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder characterized by a difficulty to read even if the intelligence of the reader is adequate, that he is educated and motivated to read.

The literature indicates that, generally speaking, dyslexic children have poorer postural control than children of the same age that are not dyslexic. These symptoms can make us think of an immature cerebellum.
Other studies stipulate that dyslexic children have less balance.

With the use of medical imagery, it has been demonstrated that dyslexic children could have a smaller right anterior lobe of the cerebellum. As well, it has been demonstrated that the brain of dyslexic children could be smaller.

When one considers that the brain is plastic and that we can modify the way it organizes motor or cognitive responses, in the context of the study provided here (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0130196, the hypothesis was formulated that a regimen of postural exercises could help these children acquire better balance.

The researchers did, indeed, demonstrate that postural training could improve the postural control of the participants.

So the question we should ask ourselves is the following: had we improved proprioception of these dyslexic children with Posturology, would the results have been better?

It is subconscious proprioception that activates the cerebellum, which is affected in the present case. And since the cerebellum is responsible for coordination and motor efficacy, it’s hard to think that results would not have been even better!