Strength Training vs. Motor Control Exercises: Why Motor Control Comes First in Your Recovery
If you’re recovering from an injury or dealing with chronic pain, you might assume that the best way to get better is to “just get stronger.” Strength training is often the go-to solution for improving fitness and function. However, what many people don’t realize is that motor control exercises are a vital and often overlooked step in the rehabilitation process , especially before you jump back into a regular strength training routine.
In this post, we’ll break down the difference between strength training and motor control exercises, explain why motor control is crucial for safe and effective recovery, and discuss how addressing movement quality sets the foundation for long-term success.
What is Strength Training?
Strength training is focused on increasing the ability of muscles to generate force. It involves lifting weights, using resistance bands, or performing bodyweight exercises designed to build muscle size, endurance, and power. When you strength train, your primary goal is to overload the muscles to stimulate growth and improve your capacity to handle physical demands.
Strength training is essential for improving muscle mass, metabolic health, bone density, and overall function. It plays a major role in athletic performance and general fitness.
What is Motor Control?
Motor control refers to the nervous system’s ability to coordinate muscle activation, timing, and movement patterns to produce smooth, efficient, and purposeful motion. It’s about how you move, not just how strong your muscles are.
Motor control exercises focus on:
Activating specific muscles in the right sequence
Improving coordination between muscles and joints
Enhancing balance and postural control
Refining movement patterns to avoid compensation or injury
Examples include:
Controlled, low-load activation drills (like glute bridges or core bracing)
Balance and proprioception exercises
Slow, precise movement retraining
Neural re-education techniques
Why Motor Control Matters Before Strength Training
When you’re injured or have been sedentary, your motor control can become impaired. Pain, swelling, injury, or even habits formed over time can alter the way your brain recruits muscles and controls joints. This often results in poor movement patterns such as:
Muscle imbalances
Joint instability
Compensations where other muscles “take over”
Reduced coordination and timing
If you jump straight into heavy strength training without addressing these motor control issues first, you risk reinforcing faulty movement patterns, worsening compensations, and causing re-injury.
Motor control exercises help “reset” your nervous system and retrain your brain to activate muscles properly and move efficiently. This foundational step:
Improves joint stability
Enhances muscle coordination
Reduces abnormal stress on tissues
Prepares your body to safely handle the increased demands of strength training
The Relationship Between Motor Control and Strength
Think of motor control as the “software” that runs your body’s movement, while strength is the “hardware.” Even if you have strong muscles, if your nervous system doesn’t coordinate their activation well, your movement will be inefficient and injury-prone.
Research shows that after injury, motor control deficits often persist even when strength returns. This means someone might feel strong but still move in a way that puts excess stress on joints or tissues, increasing the risk of pain or new injuries.
Addressing motor control restores the quality of movement, while strength training improves the capacity of your muscles. Both are necessary, but motor control exercises should come first to ensure your strength gains are functional and safe.
How Motor Control Exercises Look in Rehab
Motor control exercises often start with:
Low-intensity, isolated muscle activation
Slow, deliberate movements
Emphasis on proper form and body awareness
Repetition and feedback to reinforce correct patterns
As your control improves, exercises progress to include:
Multi-joint movements with coordination
Dynamic balance and stability challenges
Integration of functional activities that mimic daily tasks or sports
Your physical therapist will guide this progression carefully, ensuring you don’t overload too soon and that your nervous system is adapting properly.
When to Transition to Strength Training
Once you demonstrate good motor control, including consistent muscle activation, proper joint alignment, and coordinated movement patterns, you’re ready to add more resistance and complexity with strength training.
This approach leads to better outcomes and prevents pain from coming back:
Reduced injury risk
Improved performance
More efficient movement
Longer-lasting rehabilitation results
Skipping motor control exercises can lead to frustration as pain may persist or return despite strength improvements.
Conclusion: Build a Strong Foundation First
Strength training is incredibly important, but it’s only part of the picture. Before rushing back into regular workouts or heavy lifting, it’s crucial to rebuild your body’s motor control. This neurological retraining ensures that your muscles fire in the right order, your joints move smoothly and stably, and your movement patterns are safe and efficient.
At Savvy Physical Therapy, we prioritize motor control exercises early in your rehab to create a solid foundation. Once your body moves well, we safely progress you into strength training and functional activities tailored to your goals.
Remember: building strength on a faulty movement foundation is like building a house on unstable ground. Start with motor control to move better, feel stronger, and reduce your risk of injury for the long haul.