Spiral Motion & Metabolic Health

We have long known that physical activity plays a crucial role in maintaining metabolic health. 

But is there a particular kind of pro-metabolic activity that movement educators need to know more about? I'm here to highlight the science behind how low-friction movement patterns can optimize our body's energy systems with minimal tax on the joints.

It's time to talk about nurturing our metabolic health through spiral motion.

What is metabolic health?

'Metabolism' derives from the Greek word for 'change' and comprises the sum of all life-sustaining chemical reactions within cells. The metabolic system is the great accountant of your energetic balance sheet, keeping track of income and expenditure.

Think of your car ⛽️ fuel warning light - are you the person who drives around stubbornly with that light on? Your metabolism, like your car's warning lights, may be providing signals that you have become all too good at ignoring.

Metabolic function encompasses a complex network of biochemical processes that keeps your energetic car on the road.

Your body maintains homeostasis through catabolism (the metabolic process of breaking down complex molecules into simpler ones, releasing energy for cellular processes) and anabolism (where simple substances are converted into complex compounds, essential for growth and development in living organisms). This metabolism is maintained largely through the mitochondria, organelles that live to support multicellular life.

Mitochondrial health is an important mediator of metabolism across a range of tissues, and these organelles orchestrate whole-body vitality in health and disease. Skeletal muscle is a hotbed of mitochondrial adaptations because of its mass and large concentration of mitochondria, adaptability, and contribution to whole body metabolism... but the cells of all tissues have mitochondria, and we'll get to the importance of their dynamics in joint health later in this series.

The suite of biological processes involved in metabolism requires energy and is fundamental to life itself, allowing organisms to build proteins from amino acids, construct complex carbohydrates, and synthesize fats for energy storage. As we'll see, mitochondria regulate a host of cellular processes beyond metabolic adaptation, such as calcium homeostasis as well as cell proliferation and death.

The endocrine system, particularly the thyroid and pancreas, regulates these processes through hormonal signaling and feedback. The ebb and flow of cata/anabolism during menopause is the topic of another post... for now, head over to the next post in this series (live on Nov 25th) for more on the physiology to set us up for integrating the concepts of spiral motion and metabolic health.

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