A lot of wives telling tales out there so it’s time call out some porkies!
1- Double jointed
There is no such think as double jointed……….nope, noooo such thing. These people purely have increased elastin in their ligaments and joints and therefore have hypermobility.
2- Cracking joints causes arthritis
No, no, no, no, no! I’m sure this one stems along the lines from mothers protecting their kids like the saying “don’t sit so close to the T.V your eyes will go square” (so I hope mums don’t hunt me down for this one). It’s just a gas bubble that pops in your joint which has no long term affects for any degenerative change. This gas bubble forms again approximately 20 minutes after popping, which is why you can’t “crack” your finger again straight away.
3- You have sciatica
Well you most likely don’t! in order to have “sciatica” you nearly always need neurological signs of pins and needles, numbness, burning or significant weakness in the posterior chain of your buttock or leg to be clinically confident. If it’s just pain….then it isn’t necessarily sciatica. Somatic referred pain (the back itself referring pain cause it is highly innervated) is very common into the buttock area, not only that but your gluteus muscles are one of the main support structures for your back and can cause pain themselves from overload.
4- Orthotics for pronating feet
If your feet roll in or pronate you NEED orthotics….. WRONG! you may require orthotics to temporarily support your foot but only in specific or rare circumstances should you stay with orthotics, it is very achievable to build arch strength/ calf strength etc to not need orthotics at all.
5- Vibrating plates
Those vibrating plates and gadgets you see on T.V, you know the ones that strengthen your legs and core in a matter of weeks….. WRONG! they do F#*k all bar make your bits wobble, so please save your money.
6- Chiropractors putting joints back into place
My chiropractor/ Osteopath puts my back or joint into place every month or so when it “goes out”…..
Without a doubt the biggest piss in the pocket of all.
WRONG!…. and one of the hardest to explain to patients why. They definitely do not. Your joints can’t move out of place except in specific circumstances where you are most likely hospitalised….. these are called dislocations. If your joint looks out of alignment (which everyone has variations anyways so doesn’t have to be an issue or source of pain) and it looks straighter afterwards or feel better this is purely due to several other affects that have been studied like neurophysiological changes and is only a TEMPORARY affect. This has nothing to do with your joint alignment. If you scanned your joint straight after a chiro treatment it would look exactly the same!! If you are getting this treatment I beg you to save your money, speak to a good, chiro/osteo/physio and do some strength to make a PERMANANT change so you don’t need constant “maintenance” like my 99 Subaru forester does, you are not a car.
7- High pain thresholds
Not saying it’s not a thing, However i have a lot of clients who state they have a high pain threshold….. do you though…. 99% of my patients seem to have this which makes me very lucky or really just a random thing to say which everyone seems to think they have. I tend to find those who do have a high pain threshold don’t ever mention that they do or will really down play their pain.
8- Synthetic chemist knee braces add support for your knee
Sorry they don’t, they do not have the structural stability to physically support your knee. If it makes you feel better or more supported this is placebo and is completely fine by all means but don’t think it’s going to significantly help with any injury or injury prevention.
9- Iceing decreases inflammation
Only recently proven wrong but non the less, its wrong. Icing doesn’t decrease inflammation at all, in fact it’s main affects are purely to desensitize the nerves which then decreases pain.
10- Muscle memory
Nope…
your muscles don’t remember anything, they are muscles not brains. They purely adapt to any situation that is consistently or frequently placed upon them.
There you go 10 common myths busted!!
I hope you have learnt something. As Hamish and Andy have said recently you can now be that “in fact” bloke at a party that disproves someone’s boast about their double joints or new vibrating plate that will have them shredding cheese of their abs.
Until next time,
Keep moving.
Dale Hardes
