The ankle will become hyper flexible when the thoracic spine has become compromised or compressed. The body works as a system and will create counterbalances to achieve movement, if it's healthy or not, that’s more dependent on us. Unfortunately, pain and sprains are indicators of unhealthy movement and need to be addressed by improving the thoracic spine and preventing the ankle from compensating with excessive supination to correct the lack of lateral stability it’s being forced to address.

Pain is a defense mechanism; it tells us something isn’t quite right, but we shouldn’t be living with it. Unfortunately, our society has normalized pain and the result is an extremely uncomfortable pregnancy that doesn’t have to be. When your hips are providing a noxious stimulus, this means the alignment of your pelvis and thoracic spine aren’t correct which creates impingement of the surrounding soft tissue. This will lead to inflammation in these joints creating compensation patterns as the body does try to avoid pain. If these alignment issues are not corrected, it’s going to make labor much more challenging as the pubic symphysis requires the pliability of the hips and ribcage to allow for opening so the baby can exit the womb.

As a society, we don’t do a great job giving back to our bodies and it’s mostly because there is so much information out there. Instead of sitting with that information and assessing what feels right, we make decisions based on what we think is right. The body requires balance with strength and mobility, when we increase the frequency of our workouts but don’t replenish the body’s mobility, or joint pliability, that creates a recipe for disaster. With the loss of movement, the body will gravitate towards compensation. The main source of compensation are the quads, calves, and low back muscles. This indicates the thoracic spine and hip mobility has become compromised, not allowing the glutes and abdominals the opportunity to keep your torso stable leading to compression, and then pain.

OCD is a mechanism to regain control in our lives. As a child, if we grew up in a chaotic household and felt at a complete loss, we will transition into adulthood by finding ways to control our environment. Once we start bringing awareness to these wounds, and heal them from within, the need for control on the outside lessens allowing you to place your energy on activities that benefit you, not confine you.