You’ll be surprised just how much your lats are a part of the equation once you focus on strengthening them.Īn easy way to tell whether you need to increase your patient’s or perhaps even your own lat strength is to assess form. Whatever was fatiguing you before won’t fatigue as fast, because you’re bringing more muscles to the party. Translation: You won’t tire out so fast and you’ll be able to walk/jog/run for longer time frames. Plus, strong lats help ensure the rest of your muscles don’t have to work in overdrive. The stronger your lats, the easier this twisting motion becomes and the more efficiently you nail your stride. To understand how your lats affect your walking performance, think about your gait or your movement pattern while you walk: “As your left leg steps forward, your right arm swings forward, thus you’re creating a rotational force, the abdominals and lats help with this rotational movement. Dysfunction in this system puts the brakes on power, strength, speed and performance. The posterior oblique sling is a cross-body pattern composed of the gluteus maximus, thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) and contralateral latissimus dorsi muscle, which connects the shoulder with the opposite hip to facilitate locomotion. The lat muscle is a key driver in the Posterior Oblique Sling System, which helps explain the relationship between the arms and legs during the gait “walking” cycle. ![]() The latissimus dorsi is the functional link between the upper and lower extremity, particularly through its connections with the thoracolumbar fascia (5,6). ![]() It is generally quiet electrophysiologically (EMG) during pre-gait activities (1,2) but as speed increases, the muscle becomes more engaged and active (2-4). It is one of the quintessential and often overlooked muscles in gait. Affording itself a large attachment centrally from the T7 to L5 spinouses, laterally to the iliac crest and thoracolumbar fascia, to the lower three or four ribs and inferior angle of the scapula, to travel superiorly and laterally to attach to the medial lip of the intertubercular sulcus, it is perfectly situated to effect both the upper and lower extremities in a large variety of movements. We’re talking about your “lats” (or latissimus dorsi), the biggest muscle of your upper body. But there’s one muscle you probably never even think about when it comes to your stride. You might also recognize the crucial role your abs play in keeping you upright and lightening the load on your lower half. You need powerful glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves to propel you forward. ![]() It’s no news flash that walking requires quite a bit of lower-body strength.
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