Sarahbeth Cook
May 12, 2011
Anatomy I
Professor Kriota Willberg

It is rare to find someone with a complete and perfect symmetrical body. Every human being has his or her own skeletal structure and no one is alike. If you are one of those few people lucky enough to have “perfect symmetry and balance,” you might end up finding a flaw elsewhere, or so I’d like to think.
For myself, being as active of a dancer that I am, I already put a tremendous amount of wear and tare on my body, especially since I’ve been studying for eighteen years. The chances of me being perfectly in balance are slim to none. No matter how much physical therapy I do on my body, if I continue to dance with extreme physical motion I will always have something that is not in place. After doing these assessments I discovered a few things I didn’t realize about my body, but after analyzing them I see how they possibly may trigger some of my areas of discomfort. These imbalances affect my everyday activities, physical comfort, range of motion, and general sense of well-being.
I have the privilege of having a physical trainer to assist me at work before every performance. She’s there to make sure my imbalances are cared for and I’ve been given exercises to strengthen my weak areas. The main areas I’ve decided that need major work consist on my shoulders, spine, core, and ankle/foot. I’ve selected a series of exercises that I believe will help improve my weaknesses.
My overall posture is very good and that helps my head alignment as my chin is in place, balanced directly above my shoulders. Moving towards my shoulders it’s not completely obvious, but my right shoulder is slightly higher than my left. Resulting to my arm alignment, the left is longer than the right. Because my right shoulder is higher than my left, that affects the length of the arms. These imbalances could possibly be from constantly carrying heavy bags on my right shoulder, which I do often since, that is my dominant side. I tend to always have a strain in my right side, which is constant discomfort. After discussing with my personal trainer we discovered that my left side is weaker than my right. I have a series of exercises to strengthen my shoulder that works while retracting the scapular muscle. I also have wall push ups to strengthen the shoulder and a lat pull down exercise that will strengthen not only my shoulder, but my upper back as well.
Starting with my arms specifically my triceps, this exercise consits of dips from a bench. Making sure that my body is low almost to the floor, the elbows are close to my sides, pressing upward until my arms are straight. Do 3 sets and complete 15 repetitions. An upper extremity exercises include the push-up plus:on toes. The starting position for this exercise is by having my hands placed on the floor and balancing on my toes. I then perform a push-up and give an extra push at the end to being shoulder blades forward on rib cage and hollow out my chest. This exerices is to be done 10 times per set while resting 15 seconds after each set; a total of 3 sets per session. Another upper extremity exercise is the wall shoulder press-out as I mentioned earlier. With palms flat on the wall, shoulder-width apart, and elbows straight, with shoulders pressing back and then returning. This exercise is to be done 25 times with 2 sessions per day.
Once I have strenthened my arm and upper extremity it is now important for me to strengthen my scapula, which will lastly help reslove my shoulder imbalance and weakness. My work out will start with progressive-resisted abduction while standing. I will hold 5-pound weights in each hand and raise my arms out from the sides. This exercies is to be done 10 times per set, 3 sets per session, and one session per day. I will then move to scapular flexion, which also includes holding 5-pound weights. Raising both arms forward while keeping my elbows straight. This exercise calls to be repeated 10 times per set, 3 sets per session, and one session per day. My last exercise of this series is the scapular stabilization, which is while holding 5-pound weights; I will raise both arms out from my sides with my elbows straight. It is to be completed 10 times per set, 3 sets per sessionand one session per day.
Lowering down to my spine, I’ve become aware that my spine is slightly curved laterally and caused from a car accident. Ever since the accident about eight months ago, I’ve had some alignment problems with my thoracic vertebrae. This has affected me during mostly all my everyday activities. I have extreme discomfort while sleeping, sitting in a chair, standing or even walking. Moving towards my hips I’ve come to know that my hips generally are constantly not in proper alignment. One side always seems to be shifted to be higher than the other leaving my hips not level horizontally. This usually occurs during my dancing because of the extreme motion I perform with my back/spine. In order to get my hips back in alignment my trainer has me grab her neck while she pulls away lifting my upper body while my hips stay stationary on the table creating oposition. I am then using my own muscles around my pelvis to pull back allowing myself to even the disalignment.
Some core stability exercises are another way to improve strength for my spine. The first exercise is a stabilization routine. In order to do this exercise I will need a full roller. While lying on the roller I will need to keep my trunk still. I then must lift opposite or both arms with the left leg. I will hold each position for 15 seconds and then switch legs. Repeating each side 2 times per session will result in improvement. Another exercise is the stabilization isometric roller with resistance. While lying on my back I will grasp the roller with my hands and legs. Against resistance, I will pull, push, and twist right with my arms and legs, contracting my trunk muscles to prevent any body motion. This exercise should be done resisting for 10 seconds and repeat 5 times. Lastly, a bridging with leg raises exercise. In bridging position with a ball under my shoulders, I will raise one bent knee maintaing balance and then repeat with the other leg. This exercise is to be done 10 times per set, 3 sets per session and 1 session per day in order to see improvement.
As we’ve reached to the bottom where my ankles/feet Id like to strengthen my ankle instability. My arch is higher on my right foot, which enables me to have a stronger point and releve whereas my left is slightly closer to the ground. An exercise to strengthen my ankle stability as a whole is the dorsiflexion resistance. To do this exercise I will need a thera band tied to an anchor. Facing the anchor, the theraband will go around the right foot pulling towards my face and repeat with the other foot. This exercise needs to be repeated 15 times per set, 2 sets per session, and 1 session per day. Next I will do a plantar flexion resistance exercise. The anchor is now behind with the theraband around the right foot, pressing down and repeated on the other foot. This is to be repeated 10 times per set, 3 sets per session and 1 session per day. Another exercise option is eversion resistance. With my right foot in the theraband loop, I will hold the theraband around my other foot to resist and turn my foot out and to be repeated on the other foot. Next I will do this exercise in the inversion resistance form. Crossing my legs with the right leg underneath with both feet in the loop of the theraband. While holding the theraband around the other foot to resist and turn my foot in and repeat on the other foot. Both of these exercises are to be done 15 times per set, 2 sets per session and 1 session per day. With these few exercises and continuous use with a theraband my ankles will show huge improvement in stability.