Benefits of Corrective Exercise and Why it’s Essential for Women

Most people think of massage therapists when their muscles are tight and their joints hurt. Corrective exercise is a science-based type of physical training. Even if you go to the most experienced massage therapists, the benefits of adding corrective exercise far outweigh the benefits of either alone.

Corrective exercise has a lot of benefits for us ladies, but the most important ones are to fix movement compensations and imbalances.  Let's go over exactly what this all means and what can you do now for better posture.

Correct Imbalances with Corrective Exercise

As a personal trainer, my primary goal is to help you achieve your fitness goals while minimizing your risk of injury. One common issue that can hinder your progress and increase your chances of injury is movement compensations and imbalances.

These can happen when certain muscles or joints are overused or underused, leading to compensations in other areas of the body. For example, if you spend a lot of time sitting, your hip flexors may become tight and your glutes may become weak, leading to compensation in your lower back.

To avoid these imbalances and compensations, it's important to incorporate a variety of exercises that target all major muscle groups and movement patterns. This can include strength training exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, push-ups, and rows, as well as cardio exercises like running, cycling, or swimming.

It's also important to incorporate mobility and flexibility exercises, such as yoga or foam rolling, to help maintain proper joint range of motion and reduce stiffness.

In addition to exercise, proper nutrition and hydration are crucial for optimal performance and recovery. It's important to fuel your body with nutrient-dense foods and stay hydrated throughout the day to support your workouts and help your muscles recover.

Benefits of Corrective Exercise

There are also other benefits, such as

• building and keeping up muscle strength and endurance
• restoring and increasing joint range of motion
• improving coordination
• educating clients

Corrective exercise uses the kinds of exercises that personal trainers, massage therapists, and chiropractors usually do.

Some examples are

• joint mobilization
• soft tissue release
• trigger point release
• myofascial stretching
• muscle re-education
• modalities
• integrative exercise
• stretching exercises
• specialized strengthening of weak muscles

These methods not only work with your massage therapy, but they also help balance your muscles and correct your posture by getting your less-used muscles to work.

Here are some examples of exercises that can help balance your muscles and correct your posture by getting your less-used muscles to work:

Single-leg exercises: Single-leg exercises, such as lunges or step-ups, can help improve balance and coordination while targeting individual leg muscles. These exercises also help correct muscle imbalances by requiring each leg to work independently.

Rows and pull-downs: Exercises that focus on pulling movements, such as rows and pull-downs, can help strengthen the upper back muscles that are often underused in individuals who spend a lot of time sitting. These exercises can help improve posture and reduce the risk of shoulder and neck pain.

Glute bridges: Glute bridges or hip thrusts can help activate and strengthen the glutes, which are often underused in individuals who spend a lot of time sitting. Weak glutes can contribute to lower back pain and poor posture.

Shoulder external rotation exercises: Shoulder external rotation exercises, such as band pull-aparts or face pulls, can help strengthen the rotator cuff muscles that stabilize the shoulder joint. These exercises can help improve posture and reduce the risk of shoulder injuries.

Core stabilization exercises: Core stabilization exercises, such as planks or bird dogs, can help strengthen the deep abdominal muscles that support the spine. These exercises can help improve posture and reduce the risk of lower back pain.

Regular massages may help in many ways, but the goal of corrective exercises is to retrain the body to move in a better way. This is why pairing up massage therapy and corrective exercise is thought to be a better solution in the long run.

This is the same way I work with my clients. I make a plan of the BEST steps you can take to reach your fitness goals.

Want to know how this method can help YOU fix your posture and get rid of those tight muscles? Contact me to set up a free fitness test for your whole body.

Are you looking for a community of like-minded women who are passionate about fitness and wellness? Join our Women's Fitness Support Facebook group and let's conquer our health goals together!