Squatting, Your Brain & Remaining Mobile - a guest post by Dr. Matt

Today we have an awesome guest post from Dr. Matt Bradbury! Dr. Matt is a husband and father of two girls from Georgetown.  He attended York University where he studied Health Sciences. He further went on to attend the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College where he received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He lectures regularly to various community groups and businesses and has a practice in Georgetown.  Dr. Matt has a special interest in paediatrics and behavioural disorders. He enjoys the outdoors, camping, and hiking.  Dr. Matt is also an avid weightlifting and CrossFit athlete competing in various competitions!  
Make sure to follow him on IG @mattbradburyolf
​and contact him at drmatt@onelifefamily.ca if you have any questions!

For Mom & Dad - What's so great about the hips and in particular the squat?

I had this conversation just last week with a mom in my office.
She asked me "why do you talk so much about the squat in your blog?" .

I mean there's two things I'm really passionate about when it comes to health:
i) Neuro-Structural Health
ii) Regular Weightlifting - in particular the squat when it comes to Weightlifting.

My reply was ... "if you squat regularly you can...":

• increase/maintain your muscle mass (large change in hormones with big movements like the squat)
• you load your bones so that they stay strong
• you help maintain your ability to move
• maintain your independence

So, overall you can generally move BETTER if you can do this one movement.
[By the way - her response was great too: 'if you can't squat you won't be able to use the washroom independently and you'll end up needing someone to look after you’.]
This means that if you can find ways to improve your squat it would be a good thing. [I'd like to show you 3 possible factors to improve upon here].
It will also help you to build your capacity as a mom or dad and remain functional (possibly free of some aches and pains too) to keep up with your life and your kids.
Now, if I was going to start anywhere on my hips and improving my overall mobility... start with the couch:

Couch Stretch: Remain in this position for 30 sec to 3 minutes. Notice as well in this picture it shows the hip flexor muscles and pelvis.
The couch stretch opens up the front of your hip and allows you to help break up the negative effects of sitting on your hip and spine. This is one you can do when you're relaxing on the couch in the evening.
My other go to hip movement that allows for good motion in that hip is right here:

This is like sitting at the bottom of your squat and really loosening those groin muscles so that you can help undo the effects of sitting.
Now the important thing to remember is that there are always going to be things you "feel" - but there are also things you won't feel when it comes to your health. You may feel tightness in the hips, be sore at times in the glutes - but if your spine in particular is shifted and stuck it's always going to be a factor in how you move and recover (regardless of whether you feel a structural shift).
Of course, if your pelvis and/or lumbar spine vertebrae are shifted it could mean poor mechanics (movement) in your hips/groin. But, as well - there's something else that may be going on as a result of a shifted spine with possible pressure on the nerves (distorting communication between your brain and your muscles/organs) - your flexor muscles may be overly tight
[This is something that only a Neuro-Structural Chiropractor would assess for.]
These are muscles such as your hamstrings/hip flexors/biceps/etc. So, your mobility may be challenging you and your nervous system communication may be impaired (because of a structural shift) causing very tight flexor muscles.
Remember, a shift may be affecting you in ways you feel but also in ways you may have no idea about.

As with anything health related...remember that repetition is required to make changes. So, practice these first two tips daily and consider the proper motion of your spine as a factor in how you function and move. You'll start to notice changes in your mobility and quality of life if you’re consistent.
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Written by: Dr. Matt Bradbury