Contra Lateral Effect
Take a look at the deer to the left. Notice his left antler is different from the right. Besides the reason that this deer is no longer with us, he suffered an injury. In most cases, when a deer has a misshapen antler, it has suffered an injury on the opposite side, in the back or front leg… which was the case for this guy as well. This is what they call the “contra lateral effect.” An amazing part about this phenomenon is that the energy typically spent growing the rack is re-directed to the site of the injury in order to speed up the healing process. This results in the incomplete look. How cool!
Another fascinating aspect to this process is that the deer will shed his antlers and most likely grow completely normal antlers the following year even though the permanent damage of the leg is still present. Click here to read more about how Daniel Schmidt at Whitetail Wisdom explains this and also view some awesome videos that prove the concept!
So how does this apply to the human body? Well, we do the SAME thing… almost. If someone hurts their right ankle, does not something on the left usually end up hurting at some point? Perhaps the knee? Then maybe the right shoulder starts to elevate as weight shifts with each step to avoid pain. This is totally natural! Our bodies want to help us out but at some point we have to break free of these compensation patterns and “grow our new antlers.” Yes, permanent damage can remain after injury but we can help return it to as-normal-as-possible, regain function, and minimize pain.
Recovery is KEY! After suffering an injury, 1. it is important to let the body heal. It is designed to heal in the most efficient and effective ways possible. Just let it be… (After the doctor’s visit if necessary.) 2. We then need to figure out how to return to normal day-to-day activity with the least amount of compensation. What I mean by this is to straighten FIRST. Alignment exercises like those from PTX Therapy are a great example of how to even-out imbalances. Did I mention this can also speed up recovery? True alignment allows for proper healing. 3.
When one feels stable and balanced, that’s the go-ahead to strengthen and get back to normal function without strengthening the “wrong” patterns.
These are simple concepts that we see in nature every day. For those of us with laborious jobs and tough workout schedules, proper recovery can be challenging, but we are capable. The more we understand about why our bodies do what they do, the better we can manage them. Keep it simple and keep moving. Happy healing!