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Likhith Bomma

Physical Inequality: The Effects of Muscle Imbalances

Research Question:

How do lower body muscle imbalances negatively affect the spine and upper body for human

males?

Hypothesis:

Lower body muscle imbalances have a negative effect on the upper body and the spine and can

lead to upper body injuries for human males.

Background/History of the Issue:

On a cellular level, human muscles are made of thousands of muscle spindles that give the

muscle cell the ability to stretch and contract by sliding past each other in a coordinated fashion

(Cimons). There are different ways to perceive muscle imbalances as well. One type of muscle

imbalance is local to specific joints. When muscles one side of a joint become to tight from

overuse, the muscles on the other side of the joint become too weak from the lack of use

(McCall). There is also a muscle imbalance when looking at the symmetry of the body and when

a muscle on one side of the body is significantly stronger/weaker than the corresponding muscle

on the other side of the body (e.g. when one arm is stronger than the other). However, there has

been a recent study in which the researchers found that exercising one arm/wrist gives the same

benefits to the other arm (Reynolds), highlighting that there is a little bit of controversy on the

topic of muscle imbalances.

Rationale:
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The problem of muscle imbalance is very important because many athletes have certain muscles

that are much more developed than others which could cause injuries. The issue does not only

pertain to athletes but to people with regular lives such as computer engineers, car mechanics,

teachers, and etc. Bad posture and any specific repetitive motion with a certain muscle can cause

injury, so many people are affected by muscle imbalances. The issue with muscle imbalance has

a bigger impact than just affecting athletes, but anyone can be affected and are at risk of injury

due to muscle imbalances.

Basis of Hypothesis:

I decided to focus my hypothesis on how muscle imbalances in different parts of the body affect

completely other body parts that normally people think have no correlation with each other.

There has been evidence that muscle imbalances can lead to negative effects for other muscles,

such as bad positioning and tightening of the hip flexors (which are by the hip) can affect one’s

glutes (located in the lower back near the bottom). Due to the fact that an imbalance of

development of different muscles (such as having stronger hip flexors causing the glutes to be

weaker), I felt that imbalances in the lower body may affect different muscles in the upper body.

Operational Definitions:

Negative effect- An effect that causes muscles to be significantly weaker or less developed, or an

effect that can potentially or already lead to injury.

Muscle Imbalance- A difference in strength of the same muscles that are on the other side of the

body (right arm, left arm or right leg, left leg), or the difference in tightness of certain muscles

that cause other muscles to be less developed and weaker.

Lower Body- The part of the body from the hips down to the toes
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Upper Body- The part of the body above the waist

Descriptors Used for Literature Search:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle Syndromes

Causes of muscle injuries

Muscle anatomy