We often see posts in which someone says "My (insert name in injured body part) hurts, what exercises can I do to strengthen it?"
From my experience in dealing with althletes and injuries, there are so many different reasons when it comes to the cause of pain. And when it comes to getting rid of the problem, strengthening the injured body part is the never the answer.
Let me give you an example. For member "ChickenSalad" recently e-mailed me pics of his posture. He has back pain and also slight knee pain. I'm sure if he asked any trainer or physical therapist in how to deal with his knee pain, they would give him a variety of leg exercises to strengthen his knee. His knee problem, however, is not a result of his knee being weak. His knee problem is a result of his body being offset to the right and he is supporting a majority of his body weight on his right leg. So in fact, his right knee is being overworked. So every second that he stands, walks, runs, jumps, etc... his right leg is being worked more than the left.
It is not coincidence that his back pain is on his left side and that pain is far worse than what is happening in his knee. So his body being offset to the right is a result of his body trying to alleviate the pressure on his left side to ease the discomfort of the low back pain.
So for someone like him, strengthening exercises for his right leg is not the avenue he should take. That leg is already being overworked. So the proper course of action is to get his body more bilateral with even weight distribution.
Yes, Kenny's back problem was a result of tight hip flexors from a lot of thai kicking. This begins a series of accomidations that eventually lead to a problem somewhere, typically in the lumbar spine which mobilizes to pick up the slack.
As in Bolo's example, Kenny doesnt need to do heavy squats as might be suggested to clear up his loose back, and weak glutes, because doing so would, in fact, exacerbate his problem further.
I'd be most interested in hearing what Bolo thinks ChickenSalad should do to even the weight distribution, and how he diagnosed the problem from looking at pictures (as i am just now wanting to learn how to do the same). What were the check points to look out for? Etc.
When analyzing someone's posture, I look at the position of all 8 load joints (both ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders). I also look at their spine, head, and feet. In person, I would also measure their pelvic angle, but I can't do that form a pic. Sometimes it is pretty obvious when someone's pelvic angle is way beyond the normal range in a pic. In person, I would also look to see if they had hyperflexion and hyperextension in their elbows, but I also can't tell that from a pic. I also look at mass distribution and try to determine whether they their center of gravity is high, low, or neutral. There's obviously more detail to all this, but that's the general idea.
As far as what to do, the exercise and positions have names that are specific to the MBF system, so you wouldn't recognize the things I would say. In addition, it is not just the choice of exercise that is important, but also the sequencing of the exercises. Those are the two "trade secrets" of postural alignment therapy. Without proper sequencing, you won't get the same effect. It's like building a house- you have to build certain parts in a certain order to have a house that is structurally sound.
Besides BJJ, I am also an MBF practitioner. Being in the martial arts community, I have dealt with a lot of martial artists and athletes when it comes to their chronic pain and acute injuries. Actually, first and foremost, I used MBF to fix all my chronic pain and injuries. I am a strong believer in the system because I tell people that I think I am the only BJJ black belt I know of who has no chronic pain.