Overuse syndromes aren’t actually caused just by overuse. By the same token, muscles don’t tighten up due to overuse.
Overuse syndromes occur due to excessive use on top of faulty movement patterns. A properly centrated and stabilized joint can move all day long without developing symptoms of wear and tear. It’s only when a joint loses its proper stabilization that muscle balance around that joint becomes distorted and then exacerbated through overuse. A centrated joint is defined as a joint that has proper neuromuscular “tone” surrounding that joint throughout its entire range of motion. A properly centrated joint does not degenerate.
Movement screening is used to identify dysfunctional patterns causing joints to lose proper centration and thus develop muscle imbalances and, eventually, pain. Once these areas of dysfunction have been addressed the patient’s movement patterns clean up and the cause of their symptoms eventually disappear.