It Starts With Posture

Here is a vivid example of curved posture and straight posture from a book entitled 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back by Esther Gokhale.  The man in the photo is the author’s husband in his 20s, and then again in his 40s:

As you can see, making changes to your posture can result in profound changes in your appearance.  The younger man in this photo looks like an old, hunched over man.  The middle-aged man looks healthy.

About ten years ago (when my boys were 7 and 9) I was walking in downtown Walnut Creek and I stepped off a curb wrong.  I had a sudden shooting pain in my mid back.  It wasn’t debilitating, but it was bad enough to prompt me to go to a physical therapist to assess what was wrong.  

Gloria, my physical therapist, assessed my posture before doing anything else.  She instantly showed me that I had Caregiver Mommy Rounded Shoulders Syndrome with an added dose of Neck Jutting Out Disorder thrown in.  My posture was horrible, and I didn’t even realize it!  In addition, my shoulders were tight and my clavicle area tense and much too pronounced.  Years of hunching over my children (and taking care of everyone besides myself) led me to that point in life, 10 years ago, when I found myself having unnecessary back pain at the young age of 37.

Gloria Reyes, who owns and operates Action in Motion, Pilates and Physical Therapy at 822 Hartz Way in Danville, started me on a Pilates regime to fix my poor posture.  I took her Pilates classes and eventually bought a Reformer of my own to help correct my neck that craned out and to help straighten my rounded shoulders.  In addition to doing the Pilates exercises I became aware of my posture throughout my day.  I paid attention to my posture while sitting in the car, while typing at a desk, while eating at the kitchen table, while preparing dinner, while talking to friends, while lying in bed, while watching TV, while gardening, while working out, while volunteering, while doing laundry, while making art, etc.  I suddenly noticed other people’s posture, and, much to their annoyance, I commented on their posture.  I felt like I had seen the light and wanted to share this new knowledge with everyone.  It really bugged a lot of my friends and family.  I’m sure I went over the top, but it was such a miraculous change for me, I thought everyone would be willing to embrace this idea of examining his or her own posture.

When I teach a kid’s or teen’s yoga class I show a simple exercise to help my students feel straight posture.  Try this: 

Stand against a corner of a wall, or if you have someone hold a yardstick along your spine, you should feel three points of contact.  One point is against the back of your head (without jutting your chin out), one is in between your shoulder blades and one is at the top of your tailbone (your sacrum).  Now step away from the corner of the wall and see if you can maintain that straight posture.

We have many factors going against us everyday in our battle to maintain a straight, healthy posture – texting, heavy backpacks, too much computer time, hunching over children or the elderly, heavy lifting, poorly designed head rests in autos, occupational hazards, stress – any of these factors can create rounded shoulders, back pain, or curved necks.

I’m not a poster child for perfectly straight posture, but I am aware of it, and my posture is much better than it was ten years ago due to daily awareness, Pilates and yoga.  

Here I am in 1999 with two of my brothers.  Notice how I’m hunching over and look at my craned neck:

And, here I am 10 years later, in 2009.  Notice the difference in my neck after many years of posture work and awareness:

My neck is still not perfect, but it IS better. And, nine days out of ten I wake up pain-free, thanks to changes that began with posture awareness.  I also try to take my neck out of certain yoga poses and encourage my students to do the same.  Over craning the neck can lead to shoulder pain.

Chances are if you have back, neck or shoulder pain, it may be related to your posture.  Make sure your doctor or physical therapist helps you assess your posture in your road to recovery.