Can you remember back to when you first started riding a bike? Or when you first learned to throw a ball? Better yet, maybe you have tried taking up a new sport recently?
Learning something new can be a fun and exciting time. It can also be a frustrating time . The desire to be good is usually meet with the reality that practice makes perfect.
The initial stages of playing a new sport is usually never a pretty sight and often requires a lot of concentration.
As a parent of young children I’m able to witness this first hand. Watching my son learn to throw a ball or ride his bike has given me the opportunity to see the progression of motor learning and neuroplasticity again first hand.
Playing “catch” with my son early in his throwing career was really more an act of chasing the ball all over the yard rather than catching. But with time he has been getting more and more accurate and his form is starting to resemble something fairly textbook.
His improved accuracy and efficiency is a direct result of motor learning and neuroplasticity.
We all know practice makes perfect, but what are the actual mechanisms of practice that make us better?
Motor Learning & Neuroplasticity
Motor learning and neuroplasticity are what’s going on behind the scenes when we practice. When we practice a new or old skill we strengthen the synaptic connections within the nervous system.
With time and practice something as complex and difficult as throwing a ball can become automatic. Some people can even get so good at it that they can throw 100mph and be accurate within an inch of where they are aiming. These strong synaptic connections are what we talk about as having a good “mind-muscle connection.”
Particular synaptic connections are always fairly task specific however. This means that depending on our history and what activities we have been exposed to, it may be easier or harder to perform a different or new task.
For example, someone who is a professional baseball player will probably be pretty good at throwing a football too. Not as good as a professional quarterback, but certainly better than a cornhole player. That’s because the overhand motion of throwing a football and baseball are more similar than the under hand motion of throwing a cornhole bag.
This works the same with any activity we do. If an activity is similar we can pull from our motor memory and we will be more likely to succeed. If it’s something completely different we will likely be challenged. Along with the initial challenge, it will also take a lot longer to get proficient at this new activity.
The Mind-Muscle Connection Works Both Ways
The strengthening of synaptic connections are mostly indiscriminate. We will strengthen the connections that we consciously or subconsciously reinforce.
We will strengthen synaptic connections that we tell our brains based on the choices we make, the habits we have, or the routine patterns that our bodies move in.
Not all strong synaptic connections are good for us though. Do you have a bad habit that you just can’t break? Well it’s hard to break because those synaptic connections associated with the bad habit have been reinforced for so long.
Having trouble eating healthier? Your fighting against long standing synaptic connections.
Having pain? We all cultivate default movement patterns in our bodies. Pain that starts to appear without any apparent cause or reason can usually be associated with suboptimal movement patterns. Often getting out of pain means strengthening a new mind-muscle connection so that you can move more optimally and efficiently.
But just like learning a new activity it may take time to change your old movement patterns.
The message here is that it takes conscious effort to cultivate and strengthen new synaptic connections. With routine effort it takes an average of 4-6 weeks. Depending on how long standing the old pattern is however, it could take upwards of 10 months.
Regardless of age or ability everyone can make new connections though. There are studies that even show neuroplasticity in people with dementia and those who have suffered a severe stroke.
No matter how long it takes to form a new habit or movement pattern, once that becomes the dominant synaptic connection it will stay that way for as long as you reinforce it.
So be consistent with your effort and look towards the future with the work you’re doing in the present.
Neuroplasticity & Pain
Learning occurs at every level. Pain is no exception. Through neuroplasticity we can learn to be in pain, but we can also unlearn pain. That’s a whole other topic though and one you can read more about here
Have any questions about this blog post or looking to start building some new synaptic connections of your own? Contact us, we are glad to help!
References:
Chang Y. Reorganization and plastic changes of the human brain associated with skill learning and expertise. Front Hum Neurosci. 2014 Feb 4;8:35. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00035. PMID: 24550812; PMCID: PMC3912552.
Dayan E, Cohen LG. Neuroplasticity subserving motor skill learning. Neuron. 2011 Nov 3;72(3):443-54. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.10.008. PMID: 22078504; PMCID: PMC3217208.
Shaffer J. Neuroplasticity and Clinical Practice: Building Brain Power for Health. Front Psychol. 2016 Jul 26;7:1118. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01118. PMID: 27507957; PMCID: PMC4960264.