Did you go out last weekend and find that you were the least co-ordinated person on the dance floor? Well, your fitness challenge for this weekend is to learn to dance. Not only is dance excellent for improving injury prevention it is also a great way to get your body in shape, and a wonderful way to exercise your mind!
How does my body move?
The rhythmic co-ordination of movement to music is controlled by your sensory receptors and your brain- not your limbs. Specific regions of the motor cortex in the brain control movements of various body parts.
Planned movements begin in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia. Signals are transmitted from the motor cortex to your head, knee or finger to produce a movement.
The fluidity of the movement comes from the sensory receptors in your limbs and a part of the brain known as the cerebellum. The sensory receptors in your joints pick up where your joint is in space (a sense known as proprioception) as well as how your joints move in space (kinaesthesia). These signals are fed back to the cerebellum which refines the signals at the motor cortex to produce a smooth movement; this ease of movement can help with injury prevention.
Sounds easy enough? Well you have to have decent awareness of your joints in space first- that’s where our exercise physiologists come in!
How can a physio help?
Physiotherapy can help fine tune your proprioception pre and post injury. If you are a performer, we can train you to ensure that you look good on stage as well as prevent injury (or re-injury in some cases ). Dance is now frequently used as an adjunct to neurological rehabilitation to improve memory, mood and concentration. So whether young or old, sick or in good health, we highly recommend the age old art of cutting a rug to help with everyday physiotherapy.
If you are after new dance moves or some tips on fine tuning your body to aid injury prevention, come see our friendly physiotherapist Brisbane team today. Book an appointment online or call us on 07 3352 5116.