Ooo! Oooo! I get it! I get it!

I'll calm down now, but this is tres' cool....

So it turns out that muscles can be weak if:

a) They are stretched out (because they are not in a position to overlap, so the muscle fibers can't get any leverage to grab each other).

b) they are tightened and shortened (in this case, they are strong in the shortened position, but weak when you stretch them even a tiny bit).

Okay, so that means that inflexible muscles can be weak. Weak muscles can cause trouble. Right?

So in my case (chronic pelvic instability), I need to stretch the muscles that attach to the pelvis, so they can do their job (contracting to stabilize it). That would be non-obvious ones like the adductors, abductors, obliques, tensor fascia lata, and quadriceps. And, when I treat someone, I need to check that muscles that should be supporting or cushioning the injured bodypart are not tight and therefore weak.

I feel like I'm in a MasterCard commercial:

Notebooks and paper $32.14
Books $327.51
Tuition $21,817

Knowing what the %%$#$#^! is wrong with me and how to fix it:
PRICELESS.

Gait. Gait. Gait. Damn it, Gait.

"These eight events divide the gait cycle into seven periods...terminal stance begins when the heel rises and ends when the contralateral lower extremity touches the ground, from 30 to 50% of gait cycle. Pre swing takes place from foot contact of the contralateral limb to toe off on the ipsilateral foot, which is the time corresponding to the seconds double-limb support period of the gait cycle (50 to 60% of gait cycle). Initial swing is from toe off to feet adjacent, when the foot of the swing leg is next to the foot of the stance leg (60 to 73% of gait cycle)."

That noise is my head, slamming repeatedly on my desk, or slamming repeatedly into this idea, I'm not sure which. Smart I am not, and I am not smart, and today I can't find smart even if you give me a roll of quarters and a map.

Argh. Food now. Then back to the gait cycle. Ugggggggh. Okay it's official and I'm having one of those moments: Why did I EVER think this was a good idea?