If you were present at our movement seminar at Core Fitness Obsession on Monday, thank you, first and foremost. Secondly, you were reminded of the significance of the latissimus (lats) muscle, and how to address mobility limitations associated with that muscle. Due to the limited time that was allotted for each discussed topic, the range of consequences associated with lats “tightness” may have been less transparent.
Due to the expansive anatomy of that muscle group, with attachments to the lower back, shoulder blade and near the shoulder joint, it may either facilitate or restrict a multitude of movements and fitness activities. Additionally, the compensatory strategies the body uses to accommodate for these restrictions may significantly limit an athlete’s durability.
Let’s use the overhead squat (OHS) as an example. Seminar participants may recall that the brief self-assessment to determine if lats mobility is limited was essentially a supine (lying on back) version of the OHS. If that task was difficult (the arms lifted from the floor when the knees were lifted towards the chest, or the lower spine rolled off of the floor as the legs were lifted), then a loaded OHS may be unnecessarily difficult for several reasons:
see the similarities
1. At the bottom of the motion (deep squat), maintaining a “packed” shoulder (proper posture/alignment) is difficult due to the tendency of the arms to be pulled forward by the lats arm attachment
2. If tension on the lower attachment near the low back is problematic, the pelvis will be tilted forward in this range, and the athlete will likely shift weight forward onto the balls of the feet. This often disengages the glutes, makes the squat quad-dominant and the knees collapse inward (increasing stress on the ACL and shear on the knee joint and menisci, not to mention reducing mechanical advantage and strength during the movement).
3. Lastly, the anterior tilt of the pelvis over time may increase hip flexor tightness, eventually limiting hip drive during other movements, such as the kettle bell swing and deadlift. It will also cause compensation during snatches and many redundant functional movements required of Crossfit and other forms of conditioning.
Blaming poor form with this movement and others on the lats is oversimplified, but it offers food for thought. In combination with the other components we discussed Monday, athletes may expect to at least clear up several sources of movement restrictions (and potential sources of overuse injury) a to aide in their performance goals.
We hope our seminars are helpful in helping athletes maintain or improve durability throughout their training. If pain is ever present, we look forward to helping people eliminate it through thorough customized evaluation and treatment of motion impairment. Thanks again to CoreFitness Obsession for the interest in and support of our services.
