Why is one side of the body stronger than the other? – GOOD SHAPE

Take a pair of identical dumbbells and do the test: see how many times you can lift the object with one arm, then the other. The chances of the numbers not being equal are huge, you know?

“It is true that our body is not symmetrical, in fact, asymmetry is beautiful. If we were to make an exact copy of our right side and replicate it to the left side, we would be completely symmetrical, but the appearance would not be so good”, explains orthopedic doctor David Gusmão, a hip specialist.

And this comes from an early age: it starts in the mother’s womb. During the final half of pregnancy, the baby is positioning itself and “choosing sides” — one of them is towards the mother’s lumbar spine, while the other is directed towards the side of the belly. “In fact, many childhood problems can occur more frequently on the left side, which is the side that faces the mother’s lumbar spine”, adds the specialist.

And training is not the only factor contributing to this imbalance. In everyday life, we end up using one side of the body more than the other because of a characteristic of the brain. “Our brain commands the posterior lower limbs and upper lower limbs in a crossed way. And that makes us have differences in ability, balance, strength, mobility and, many times, even range of motion between the sides”, says David Gusmão.

Examples in the world of sports abound: tennis players choose one hand to hold the racket, soccer players usually kick with just one leg… And so on.

THIS IS NORMAL?

Completely normal and hardly causes damage, according to the orthopedist. If you are bothered by the issue, you can improve it by training the side you consider weaker, for example. But be aware: this imbalance will always exist, to a greater or lesser extent.

That’s because the differences can also be biological. “Sometimes, a muscle can have more innervations than its opposite. This then changes their ability to activate.”

To work on the issue, the professional suggests activities that develop motor skills, neuronal activation, muscle contraction and proprioception — which is the characteristic of knowing where the body is without looking at it. “It has a lot of benefits cognitively and in relation to our finer skills.”