Author: Dr. Bryce Hendy, DC, DNCert
Have you ever heard the phrase muscle memory? Or that muscles have memory? Well it is true, but not in the sense that muscles actually have memory, but the nervous system pathways that control a specific muscle or group of muscles can have a more well defined pathway which leads to greater control over specific movements. Areas of the body that require more fine motor movements such as the hands, represent a larger space in the motor homunculus in the primary motor cortex. The homunculus is like a topographical map in the primary motor cortex (the area of the brain responsible for movement of body parts), the representation of body parts on this map is not related to the size of the body part, but to the required movements and coordination of those body parts. Areas with more complex fine motor skills and movements have a larger representation in this region of the brain.
Over time if you perform a movement, let’s say tying your shoes, this movement becomes a pattern in the nervous system. Our nervous system has good plasticity, meaning it learns the more it is used. When a common movement is repeated frequently the nervous system starts to pattern this movement in the way that it needs to control the muscles to perform that specific movement. In some cases when a movement pattern becomes so engrained in the nervous system, it can become a movement we perform without having to really think about. Some examples are walking, eating, brushing your teeth to name a few.
When our bodies are injured and we are not able to move a certain region or body part for an extended period of time, like having a cast on your hand, the muscles will start to atrophy. Along with the muscle atrophy, the nervous system pathways to the hand and fingers that control those learned movement patterns will also atrophy. This is why when you get a cast off, the hand looks smaller and the fine motor skills you have always had and rely on, are not as controlled or precise as they were before. The motor pathways to muscles need to be exercised and used to maintain the ability to fire these pathways without much thought. If the pathways are not regularly used, they lose the ability to fire more readily and with better control.
It is important when recovering from injuries or rehabbing an injury that we take the time to learn and re-establish these pathways to help make a full recovery. Within that recovery it is also important we are giving the brain good nutrients to help along with this process. B-vitamins are important for nerve function and energy production; omega-3 fatty acids are essential for brain development and function; and choline, which is important for brain health and function, and our bodies turn it into a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine which is essential for memory and learning.
Brain health is key to our bodies every day function and can often be overlooked during the healing or rehab process. Muscle memory is an important function of our nervous system and having the ability to not only learn new movements, but have movements that are so well engrained, that we don’t need to think about which muscles to activate while performing the movement.
