Why “Stand up straight and pull those shoulders back”, wasn’t EXACTLY the best advice your mom gave you.
There are many times in life when we learn something in life only to reflect on the fact that our mom actually tried to teach it to us growing up. Posture can be one of those things. And your mom really did have good intentions.
I love the part about standing up straight…she has always known what all this science now a days is telling us, standing up straight really does make us healthier (and feel and look better). It is the, “pull your shoulders back” part that I want to shed some light on.
In our world today, yes, we spend much too much time with our shoulders forward and slumped, from eating breakfast to driving to work, to texting and sitting at a desk for hours. This creates significant musculoskeletal dysfunction as the pectoral muscles shorten, the head carriage is forward (making the actual head much heavier – think of a bowling ball; if you hold it close to your body it is not heavy but if you hold it with outstretched arms it gets heavy fast, the muscles holding it up get tired and sore), the mid back muscles weaken and shoulder girdle mechanics change. The result of all of this is a chronically tight upper back, very often associated with tension headaches and decreased shoulder ranges of motion.
So why not consciously pull your shoulders back?
In my experience when people use that as their postural cue they create a lot of stress in the area where so much discomfort already is and often, if not aware, the shoulders can be pulled back leaving the head forward, now creating even more leverage strain.
So what is the answer? A stronger core.
Try this….put you thumbs on the bottom ribs and your index fingers on the front pelvic bones directly below, now shorten that space so your body collapses….see how that rounds your back, slumps your shoulders and sends your head forward? Recipe for disaster!! Now try to make as much space between your thumb and index finger as possible. By using this visual you engage your core muscles and traction weight off of your low back but notice what happens up top….it is impossible to slouch AND your shoulder and neck muscles are just sitting on top of that wonderful, solid base all relaxed and calm : )
Of course to take it to the next level of posture endurance, more specific core and postural exercises can and should be done. But this is something that can be practised for all of your sitting and standing hours. Simple but powerful!
So mom almost knows best…..well Hannah and Ian’s mom does ; )
Warmly,
Dr. Angela Macdonald DC
aka “the Princess of Posture”