About….. Posture
Isaac Newton discovered that for every action there is a reaction, the body is no different, and this is often to the detriment of our physical health! The body comprises a series of segments: the head, torso, arms and legs, the orientation of these in relation to one another represents our posture.
In the event of injury, muscle tightness, illness, poor training methods, sitting at a desk all day, bad eyesight and a numerous other causative factors, good posture can be lost due to segments being disturbed and displaced from their natural position.
For example, tight hip flexor (upper thigh) muscles cause the pelvis to be pulled forwards, the lower spine arches excessively causing changes in weight distribution through the vertebral discs, the belly protrudes and the buttocks are pushed outwards, appearing deceptively large. Other than the obvious aesthetic drawbacks, this is an unhealthy posture to have adopted. Changes in spinal segmental alignment result in disproportionate weight bearing on the spinal segments which can spell disaster when it comes to the assessment of risk in relation to spinal injuries.
Considering muscle groups work as pairs, it is fair to say that any imbalance between pairs can pull segments into un-natural positions. The gym is packed with poorly trained physiques exhibiting ape-like rounded shoulders caused by too much chest training relative to the opposing muscle group. It is a cruel reality that those most devoted to physical training but lacking the knowledge to practice safely are those who will exacerbate the damaging effects of intensive, but imbalanced training in the weights room.
More worrying however is the fact that these changes in posture occur at such a gradual pace that most individuals do not even notice that their body has become drastically misshapen because of years hunched over an office desk or numerous sets of leg extensions causing the anterior thigh muscles to exhibit the flexibility of a steel girder, whilst the hamstrings scream and stretch like an elastic band to compensate!
The range of everyday aches and pains caused by simple postural misalignments and compensations is endless, so consider what mothers all over the world are constantly nagging their teenage sons and daughters to do “stand up straight” it isn’t so far from the truth after all!