The following information details how you lose your performance potential when performance robbing muscle imbalances are left unaddressed. We'll begin with the most common thing we see at the studio when people come in for their first session: loss of movement skill due to losses of postural integrity.

I. Typical Postural Distortions Seen at INTEGRATE Performance Fitness:

- Forward rounded shoulders + head
- Increased lumbar spine curvature
- Tight Muscles: psoas/quads, hamstrings/calves¸glutes/ IT Band
- Weak Muscles: Glutes/ hip stabilizers, lower abdomen,
- Dysfunctional movements: poor balance, poor rotation, decrease hip extension
- Joint Pain: low back, knee, neck

II. Origin of Low Back Pain (LBP): Tight and Weak Muscles
- Lower back region bears most of the weight of your body
- Lower back pain is the most common musculoskeletal complaint
- The most common reasons for medical evaluation
- Approximately 80% of the adult population will suffer from pain related to the lower back during their lifetime

III. LBP most often occurs from:
- Strained back muscles and ligaments
- Improper or heavy lifting
- Sudden awkward movements
- Sometimes a muscle spasm can also cause back pain
- Often, there's an accumulation of the stress with one particular event unleashing the pain
- Sitting at desk all day leading to shortened psoas causing:
- Joint Pain: LBP, knee, neck, shortened hams/glutes/quads
- Headaches behind eyes
- Pain at base of neck
- Shoulder impingements
- Sit all day, don’t sit to exercise
- Repetitive stress uni-planar motions: running, riding a bike and swimming
- Muscle imbalances caused by weak: glutes, lower abdomen
 

IV. Poor static posture:
- Forward rounded shoulders
- Slumped over position
- Protruding neck
- “Swayback”

V. The primary causes for decreased bodily performance/joint pain are Muscle Imbalances (MI)
MI’s are typical of poor posture: forward rounded shoulders, headaches behind eyes, tender neck base, diminished lung capacity, joint pain, chronic injuries just to name a few.

VI. Your nervous system learning how to control your body correctly is the key to movement success.
Your nervous system initiates and controls all human movement. The more faulty your posture is, the more commands your brain has to give for you to move. Balanced muscles enable a direct line of communication from the nervous system to your muscles.