THE COUNTER MOVEMENTS

For counter movements we can use the example made under point 1. Stress on the knee joint can be reduced by increasing the strength of the opposing muscle to the quadricept, which is the hamstring. By doing hamstring curls we can reduce hyperextension of the knee and avoid injury to the joint.

The knee is a simple joint with back and forth as the main movements, issues arise when a joint has multiple muscles acting on it in various directions, such as the shoulder or spinal joints. This is where controlled symmetrical compound movements come into play. If there are many muscles acting on one or more joints the likelihood of indirect compensation, as described in point 3, is high. We, therefore, use all muscles and joints on both sides in a movement range that will include the affected joint.
For an example of how to fix the issue described in point 3, the use of a deadlift type movement would be incorporated. The normal deadlift movement involves picking a weight up off of the floor while maintaining a neutral spine throughout the range of the movement. If the Transverse abdominis has reduced function it would still be possible to complete the movement, however, it will require momentum and speed to offload the majority of the force of the lift to other muscles and joints as shown in the study by Cochrane & Barnes 2015).
This is why it is important to do the movement in a slow and steady pace, both as the weight is raised and as it is lowered. The control is the most important aspect of this symmetrical movement, as it spans multiple joints (the meaning of compound movement). In order to ensure no compensations are being created during the exercise, it is important to make sure that symmetry is maintained at each joint throughout the entire repetition, this can be done by having a friend look at the exercise and check both sides of your body move equally or recording the exercise to view yourself. It is important that if an imbalance spans multiple joints that the countermovement also spans multiple joints (a compound movement) , as trying to correct for the imbalance by focusing on a single muscle or joint will inevitably create further issues.

AN IMPORTANT POINT TO NOTE IS THAT MINOR COMPENSATION AND IMBALANCE IS NORMAL, HOWEVER, IT SHOULD BE TRANSIENT AS ADAPTABILITY IS ONE OF THE KEY FEATURES OF A HEALTHY BODY.