Corrective and Conditioning Exercises

Corrective and conditioning exercises accomplish two entirely different purposes, yet they are frequently confused. Corrective exercises are given solely for the purpose of eradicating a postural defect and thereby increasing efficiency, while conditioning exercises aim at the increase of strength and endurance. No correction is necessarily accomplished but any defects present may be either improved, or made worse, or they may remain the same. Corrective exercises, on the other hand, do not increase strength or endurance. The increase in efficiency is on a purely mechanical basis. Judged entirely from such a standpoint postural defects decrease efficiency and, conversely, the efficiency of the body and of its various parts is a measure of posture. Efficiency is determined by the mechanical advantage with which a muscle works. To attain the greatest effectiveness, the work necessary to move the load must be made as small as possible and the relationship of the parts must be such that a muscle can accomplish this work with the least expenditure of energy. This adjustment of the relationship of the muscle and the moving part is accomplished by corrective measures. Strength and endurance are characteristics of the muscles themselves and are measured irrespective of the efficiency of the action produced. A study of the effects of the repeated use of muscles in order to increase their strength under stress, shows a gross change in the general appearance of the muscle. The muscle becomes thicker in diameter and shorter. While the question of the change in muscle tone is a highly debatable one, there is an increase in the resistance of the muscle to palpation. This may or may not be due to an increase in tone. It may be due to the overdevelopment of the muscular fasciculi and to their shortening, resulting in more tension on the muscle from the origin to the insertion. Whatever the cause, the result is a tendency away from full extension of the joint and a contraction through a smaller arc. This condition is often termed "musde bound" and is seen where a definite motion is repeated a