Patterns Determine Outcomes Movement patterns are the templates your nervous system uses for daily activities. Poor patterns create inefficiency, accelerate wear, and increase injury risk. Identifying faulty patterns is the first step to correcting them. These ten signs indicate poor movement patterns. The 10 Signs 1. Knees That Collapse Inward Knee valgus during squatting, landing, or stairs indicates hip and ankle dysfunction creating compensatory knee movement. 2. Lower Back That Rounds During Bending Flexion should come from hips with spine neutral. Rounding the lower back indicates a faulty hinge pattern that stresses the spine. 3. Shoulders That Elevate During Arm Movement Shrugging during reaching or lifting indicates poor scapular control and compensatory upper trap activation. 4. Excessive Forward Lean During Squatting Some forward lean is normal; excessive lean indicates ankle or hip restriction forcing torso compensation. 5. Weight Shift to One Side Favoring one leg during bilateral movements indicates asymmetry in strength, mobility, or motor control. 6. Breath Holding During Exertion Breath should continue during movement. Holding breath indicates poor core control requiring bracing compensation. 7. Movement That Looks Effortful Efficient movement appears smooth and easy. Movement that looks difficult likely is difficult due to pattern dysfunction. 8. Inability to Isolate Movements Moving one joint should not require movement of others. If you cannot isolate, global compensation patterns have developed. 9. Timing That Seems Off Movement should sequence properly. Poor timing, where parts activate too early or late, indicates motor control issues. 10. Movements That Create Pain Consistently Specific movements that always hurt indicate patterns that stress structures inappropriately. Start your 14-day free trial for movement pattern programs. Pattern Correction Exercises Hip CARs JME 145 Standing, with your knee bent at 90 degrees, lift your leg up to find your end range of motion. Each rep, try to find more space to move your leg higher - but don't force anything. Listen to your body and find what works for you. Spine Mobilization JME 170 Find stability by holding onto the back of your chair or desk. Bend at your knee to raise your leg backward - as high as your are able to - and return to the floor. Shoulder Mobility JME 186 Sitting in your chair, extend one leg forward. Then, extend your upper body over that leg and hold for a stretch. Ankle Mobility JME 104 Sitting in your chair, rotate your upper body to one side and extend one arm back. Correcting Poor Patterns Pattern correction requires first addressing mobility restrictions, then retraining motor control. The nervous system needs both the physical capability and the neural programming to move correctly. Start your 14-day free trial and fix movement patterns with simplmobility.