Repost and update from April 17, 2019: 4 Surprising Ways Posture Affects Health
Are you feeling injured or know of someone who is?
As you all know these past months have been nothing but fun times for most, obviously kidding….
The one thing we have seen the most is neck pain with associated “mousing” arm. This is where you might have been getting lazy in your non-ergo desk setup, which can put undue stress into the neck, shoulder and mid back region. Over time, your tissue will change to help support the needs of you becoming a desk ninja.
With so many people working from home, one of the biggest challenges we see are that people do not know what to do to help alleviate symptoms.
MOVE!!!! Easy yet hard to implement. What exercises are the best? MOVEMENT!!!
Even if you do not have equipment to use, you can get your body to move more often, which will give you better posture and help alleviate those nagging aches and pains.
Motivation should be a daily behavior.
How do we create better posture?
Postural cues will do nothing if there is a muscle imbalance or insufficient flexibility. So, as a prerequisite for the “neural drive,” you must make it EFFORTLESS for the body to assume and maintain a certain position. This is achieved by the control of muscles and the movability of fascia.
This is evidenced by the postural changes brought about by yoga training. Yogis do not become straight and tall because of some constant obsession with posture, it just happens automatically when the obstructions and “brakes” are removed. Same is true for correcting pelvic tilt etc. Bones act, muscles react. Cueing well is very important, but retracting the scapulae and encouraging anterior tilt at the pelvis is not optimal cueing and will not permit good function of the Diaphragm and stimulate the Deep Stabilizing System.
The afferent information which comes from the head position, hand position and foot position/loading will all affect the position of the Central Tendon of the Diaphragm and therefore the way the fibers of the diaphragm act.
To stimulate good stabilization requires space at the key joints – through synergistic activity of the internal and external rotators. This stimulation comes from appropriate loading at hands (when quadruped) and at the feet. As well as the position of the coccyx and occiput.
This activity will allow the nervous system to know that support is required and will provide it, ahead of moving. Good movement is not possible without good support. It is good support that we need to find when we are re-educating the nervous system. This comes from checking key developmental patterns – and allowing the system to find these, get to know these and to benefit from the stimulation that these provide. It comes from using variety and complexity. A collapsed system will not simply ‘uncollapse’ from simple cueing – it needs a veritable feast of stimulation along with renewed understanding.
Posture is not just about whether the form is “good or bad”, but also about whether the person simply keeps moving or not.
👍Good Posture + Movement = 😁 This is your best chance at enduring an 8-14 hour shift.
👍Good Posture + Static = 😐 OK, but it is very hard to stay there – look around when people are in line – they fidget because their bodies want to move.
👎Bad Posture + Movement = 😐 OK. The movement is really what saves your body.
👎Bad Posture + Static = ☹️ This is about 100% of my patients who work in an office setting.
My patients are empowered by the fact that it’s OK not to be in perfect posture all the time, just so long as they keep moving.
Neck, T-Spine, and Scapular CARs and 25 jumping jacks every hour is a simple go-to for many.
Send this to someone with “bad” posture!
Remember that we are here for you. Our business cannot grow without the support of our amazing community. We want to be able to offer you the highest quality care possible and this can come in the form of personal recommendations from you…
If you know of someone that might benefit from what we have to offer, PLEASE forward this email to them. We would love to introduce ourselves and discuss how we can help them meet their needs.
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