When a muscle is too weak for its task, it struggles during the contraction/pulling phase.

This can lead to other issues. The body uses different muscles to assist in a process known as compensation.

However, postures and movements that rely on compensation are less effective. They can use extra energy resulting in a general feeling of fatigue. They can also lead to unnecessary wear and strain within the body.

When postural muscles, in particular, are affected by weakness, joints become unstable. This can cause a cascade effect with wear in the joint leading to inflammation and potentially opening the door to problems such as osteoarthritis.

Muscles that cannot fluently release the 'pull' often stay tight, with the problems accumulating and getting worse over time.

This is a very common cause of stiffness and pain and can become severely debilitating.

Common causes of tension are habits, arising from a variety of causes including instinctive reflex movements, and injury resulting in the body 'bracing' to protect a vulnerable area.

With the muscle failing to work properly, the body may use other muscles instead. This is another instance of compensation.

As much as 80% of posture and movement is the result of habit.

Habits are ingrained. They activate spontaneously and are very difficult to change. Poor habits result in poor quality movement that causes unnecessary wear and strain within the body.

These poor habits could have arisen from:

• repetition of lazy movement

• compensations that began with weakness, injury, fatigue

• repetition of instinctive reflex movements.

Problems with control of muscles can also be due to poor proprioceptive awareness. There is poor communication from the muscles and joints back to the brain. So the brain is unable to form clear details of the current position and state of the body.