paulread posted on March 31, 2009 14:48
Good posture provides a solid base from which you can move and function effectively. Imagine yourself as an army commander for a second, you wouldn’t fire a cannon from a canoe would you as it is pretty certain you will find yourself grateful you took swimming lessons as a kid, however, fire a cannon from a solid concrete base and you can do some serious damage! Your body operates on the same principal.
Why does poor posture occur?
Poor posture can result from misuse such as faulty loading / lifting, poor technique, injury sustained or an inappropriate working environment which may involve excessive sitting or poor alignment at your work station.
To better understand this process I am going to get a bit technical for a second…only a second I promise! Some of the muscles in our body react to faulty loading and misuse by shortening and tightening and as a result become workaholics. These are called tonic muscles. Some of the other muscles in our body act differently to this as they become longer and weaker in non optimal environments and these are called phasic or movement muscles which can become lazy. This means that when both the muscle types mentioned above are exposed to some of the stressors such as faulty loading and a poorly designed work environment the tonic muscles will shorten and tighten while the phasic muscles in the same area as the stress will lengthen and could weaken. The end result chronic muscle and joint problems which over time can result in poor posture.
How can we improve our posture?
Now that we have defined good posture and its importance it would be helpful to know what you can do to improve and maintain it. I would recommend conducting a self analysis of your own posture by following these key questions while having a friend or family member observe:
- Does an imaginary straight line run up from just in front of your ankle, through your hip, shoulder and ear?
- Do you appear to have rounded shoulders and forward head posture?
- Do you have an increased arch or pain in your lower back?
To test this last point stand with your heels, bum, shoulders and head against a flat wall and slide your hand in the lower back (lumbar area). If your hand passes all the way through easily you may have too much lumbar curvature. If you can hardly fit your hand in at all you may have a reduced curve. If your hand fits in the gap snugly without passing straight through you are more than likely in the normal range (authors note: this is not always the case, however the complexity of this subject is beyond the scope of this article).
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes then you need to consult a well respected corrective exercise specialist as they will perform a full kinetic chain assessment and prescribe a highly specific corrective exercise programme (call 07739841917 or email paul@bodyinaction.co.uk for further details). It would also be advisable to have your workstation ergonomics assessed as the best exercise programme in the world will not fully correct these issues if you spend 8 hours a day sitting with poor posture.
Some free and simple things you can do for your self includes stretching your major muscle groups (quads, hamstrings, hips, chest and shoulders) with one rule in mind!!!! If it’s tight stretch it, if it’s not DON’T stretch it!! This is because stretching already long muscles will make them longer and weaker while making short muscles tighter, kind of like adjusting the strings on an out of tune guitar.
Top Tips for good posture
Finally I would like to end with some top tips for maintaining good posture and reducing pain.
1. Try not to keep your body in any one position for too long. Periodically adjust your body to prevent fatigue.
2. If your job involves long periods of sitting, don’t let your pelvis tilt; this flattens the lower back, which can cause pain, discomfort and dysfunction.
3. Buy a well-designed chair and office furniture from a company such as Posturite see www.posturite.co.uk for further details or contact chrishollely@posturite.co.uk. Sitting puts a greater load on the lower back than either standing or walking and excessive seating in a non optimal position can lead to a condition called pattern overload.
4. Book an appointment to see a well respected corrective exercise specialist for a full postural assessment and a highly individual exercise plan (contact paul@bodyinaction.co.uk for more details).
5. Purchase a Swiss Ball (one of the big inflatable balls found in the gym) and consult a trainer as to how to use them effectively for YOU!
6. Have a food allergy test as often allergies to things such as wheat and gluten can effect the functioning of the abdominal wall and cause pain, inhibition, faulty recruitment patterns and effect stability.
7. And lastly if you are doing hundred of sit ups a night trying to get that dream six pack – STOP! And if you want to know why you will have to read future articles that I write….well I can’t give you everything at once, where would the fun and learning opportunities be in that.
‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Step’. (Lao-Tzu)