Most of you likely do not know that May is POSTURE MONTH. Who would think that posture could hold your attention for a full month! Well being that posture has an effect on how we move, (or maybe don't move) breath and function there is a lot to know. Please read on for the first of this months four postings on posture.
Standing Postural Assessment
Standing posture is often assessed from the side of one's body with the use of a plumb line. The plumb line is used as a visual reference to look for muscular and skeletal balance in the body. If you have "good posture" the line should pass through your ear lobe, the center of your shoulder, your center of gravity located at the base of your spine, the center of your hip joint, the front portion of your knee joint, and just in front of your outer ankle bone. This alignment maximizes the efficiency of our systems by minimizing the work required by our muscles and decreases stress on the joints.
You can take a look in a full length mirror and get general sense of how "aligned" you are.
- If your head falls forward of your shoulders you will likely have or develop neck and upper back pain.
- If your shoulders are forward or your mid back is very rounded you may develop shoulder pain and tendinitis.
- If your back is excessively arched you will likely increase wear on the small joints of your lumbar vertebrae. That will lead to central back pain.
What to do if you notice any of these problems when you look in the mirror:
There are basic stretching and strengthening exercises that can help correct these issues.
Give us a call and we will send you a FREE stretching and strengthening program to help you address the tight and/or weak muscles.
For more information you can check out this web site.
https://www.posturereview.com/myPosture/myAssessment/mySideAssess.html
As always we hope the information is helpful in your daily pursuit of good health and improvements in mobility.
