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Exercises for Posture
Good posture makes you look
younger, takes years off your appearance,
and evokes an image of confidence and health. By using the
exercise ball for exercises for posture, you strengthen the muscles
that support good posture. As they strengthen, sitting or standing up
straight will feel like less of an effort.
Over
time
poor posture will cause
- back pain
- spinal dysfunction
- joint and disc degeneration
- rounded shoulders and resulting shoulder pain
- protruding abdomen
- muscular imbalances
- nerve compression
- forward positioning of the head
I find when I discuss posture
with patients that some of them get
defensive. It takes them back to a time when their parents scolded
them: "sit up straight". But, after I explain to them why it is so
important, they quickly understand that it is often simply their
posture that may be the source of their pain. Exercises for posture can
help.
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Different
Muscle Fibre Types have Different Roles
The deep postural
muscles contain a
large proportion of slow twitch muscle fibres. These fibres are capable
of contracting for long periods without tiring. Poor posture demands
the support of the fast twitch muscle fibres which tire quickly
creating muscle fatigue and pain. Over time, excessive use of the fast
twitch fibres leads to wasting of the slow twitch fibres causing a
reduction in joint stability and poor mechanics.
When standing up
straight, ligaments are not under tension, fast twitch muscle fibres do
not work excessively to hold you up and joints are in a relaxed
position. On the contrary if your center of gravity is forward or back
of where it should be, muscles need to work excessively to prevent you
from falling over. This leads to muscle fatigue and pain. If ligaments
are kept in a stretched position for prolonged periods, they will
lengthen, causing pain and joint instability over the long term.
From a side
view, good posture is seen as the head balanced over the
shoulders as though an imaginary line runs from the ear through the
shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle. From the front, shoulders and hips
should be level, head straight, knees face straight ahead and ankles
are straight.
The best way to
determine if you
have good posture is to have a
postural evaluation from a physical therapist. They will identify
muscular imbalances that could lead to poor posture. Physical
therapists have special skills to evaluate and treat postural problems.
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Check your posture.
Tips for maintaining good posture.
Exercises for Posture
Common
Posture Types
I Swayback Deformity
With this deformity the hips are forward and to maintain balance the
thoracic spine rounds. The person with this posture may also have tight
hip extensors and rotators and tight hamstrings. This person may have
weak hip flexors, weak lower abdominal muscles, and weak scapular
stabilizers. Athletes with this posture lack power and the ability to
make explosive movements.
II Hyperlordotic Posture
Someone with this posture has excessive stress on their lower back due
to increased curvature in the lower back and anterior tilt to the
pelvis. This can be caused by weak lower abdominal musculature.
Shoulders typically sag forward,, thighs will rotate inward, and the
head will protrude forward to maintain balance. Someone with this type
of posture will typically have weak lower abdominals and tight hip
flexors. Shortened hip flexors will result in shortened stride in a
runner and therefore cause you to run slower.
III Flattened Back Posture
This posture is characterized by a decrease in the lumbar lordosis.
Someone with this posture usually has tight hip muscles and weak lower
back and hip flexors. These altered postures can result in poor
movement patterns leading to pain and injury.
Posture and
the athlete
Posture by definition is the position of your body assumed for a
specific purpose. If you have bad posture you will not be as effective
as an athlete. You need to get in and out of certain positions in your
sport, and you will need effective posture for jumping, sprinting,
cutting, etc. Without the use of efficient postures you may be
increasing your chances of injury.
The type of posture you have will determine which muscles are weak and
which are tight. Optimal postural alignment helps provide good shock
absorption and assists in energy transfer during movement.
The foundation of any defensive movement is the athletic or
position specific stance. If this stance is poorly constructed any
subsequent movement will be slower. Any
sport that requires a defensive stance must allow for the best possible
movement speed out of the stance in any direction. If this stance is
faulty it will cause you to lose lateral quickness because you cannot
engage your hip muscles effectively. This puts more strain on the knees.
From the Side
The
spine should be straight and the hips bent in a "hip-hinged"
position. One method to assess if you have proper defensive position is
to take a stick (hockey stick, golf club, dowel, etc) and place it on
the players back. Position it so that it touches the buttocks and the
back of the head. As the player assumes the defensive position and
hinges at the hips, the stick should stay on the player's back. If the
athlete
bends at the waist, the stick will move off of the lower back. This
indicates poor posture when assuming the defensive position.
From the Front
To
assess the correct position of the knees you need to observe the
athlete from the front as he squats. The knees should remain centered
over the second toes. If the knees drift inward, the likely cause is
unawareness of correct technique or weakness in the hips. This faulty
movement can cause poor tracking of the knee caps resulting in reduced
jumping power and patellofemoral injuries.
Faulty postures as discussed above are important to the athlete because:
- These faulty postures may cause muscular imbalances in the
athlete affecting athletic performance
- These postures may make it difficult for the athlete to
assume the defensive position effectively
- If the hips are not in the ideal position, the muscles are
not at their ideal length to contract and therefore functionally
weaker, putting more stress on the knees.
As an athlete you must always be aware of your posture. This knowledge,
combined with knowing how to achieve a good defensive position will
instantaneously make you move better.
For Example:
Baseball
Stance
The stance of an
infielder during a pitch must allow for a
quick linear, lateral, and angular movement in any direction. This
could be to catch a grounder, or line drive, or make a quick throw to
base. Here are some key points that must occur during the infielder
stance:
- The feet must be slightly wider than shoulder width.
This is due to the angle of force application. If the feet are too
narrow the infielder will not have as powerful of a lateral
push due to the initiating angle.
- The glove hand will be down preparing for a grounder.
The
player can make a good play on a hard hit ball, but this posture will
also preload the hamstrings and glutes to accelerate forward as quickly
as possible. This forward positioning also keeps the
infielders
weight on the balls of the feet and not sitting back on the heels. If
the player is sitting high with the shoulder back the weight gets
shifted to the heels and it is therefore difficult to accelerate
quickly.
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