Better Upright Posture w/ Relaxercise – Part 3
JACK’S STORY
Part 1 recap: A star football player in his youth, 64-year old Jack has become less active because of his knee discomfort. His doctor says it’s only a matter of time until both knees need replacement. Jack’s leg strength check-up showed he had real leg weakness contributing to his knee arthritis. He started this improvement in sitting – in a specific and unique way.
To see how, click here
Part 2 recap: Jack used his hands to get up/down from a chair, which showed his leg weakness. In addition, his way of doing it was less than ideal. This article reviews the steps to refine this daily movement habit to reverse further wear and tear and accelerate the leg strength needed to protect his knees.
To see how, click here
NEXT STEPS...
Jack had become more limited in walking distances because of his arthritic knees, so naturally we would look at how he walks. But first we had to take a look at how Jack stood. Did you ever consider that how we stand not only influences our walking, but can forecast walking limitations? HEALTHY STANDING POSTURE is dynamic – that means it’s not a ‘fixed’ position. Even subtle bending, reaching or stretching involves rib, chest and pelvis motion in connected relaxed ways.
In Jack’s case, when Jack stood, he held himself ‘strong’. His chest was lifted high, shoulders back. When he walked, there was a subtle stiffness to his torso and legs. When I observed Jack’s standing posture more closely, I drew an imaginary plumb line from head to toe. He stood with slight forward tilt; a common habit that is acquired over time, to some of us.
WHAT IS HEALTHY STANDING POSTURE?
Check yourself for these four important points:
1. Your body weight is automatically back toward your heels
Why?
This position allows the leg muscles to do their best job of supporting our body weight, and the balance muscles work optimally.
2. Your feet are 4 – 6 inches apart, wider if the knees are bowed, with weight evenly distributed 50/50
Why?
Body weight is placed more toward the center of weight bearing knees and hips. This position distributes our body weight more evenly, and minimizes any joint stress.
3. Your knees are straight, but not locked
Why?
The knee joints have some gliding movement when you shift weight and move in standing – if joints are locked, the joint can't move. This puts significant stress on the joints when you start to move.
4. Your upper torso is supple, agile – able to move easily
Why?
A relaxed upper torso contributes to a more relaxed lower spine and pelvis. This allows a person to be able to stand and walk longer distances more comfortably.
to do! What Jack didn’t know was that this forward posture had a negative impact of putting an abnormal mechanic stress on his knee joints. Studies show that people who have this forward tilt have a much higher risk for falls. I explained to Jack this standing habit had weakened both his leg and balance muscles.
The best solution would be to focus on getting his spine more supple, so that he could naturally stand more upright and not tilt forward. Imposing one’s own effort to “straighten up” was not going to work. The body won’t change permanently if you try to force it to.
Begin to notice for yourself: do you hold yourself tight when you stand or walk? Is your weight back toward your heels when you stand? For Jack, this was a critical step to get back to walking that golf course again.
He was anxious to get started.
STEP 3 – RELAXERCISE
For more supple & better standing posture
Preparation and Set-up:
For the prop, we rolled up one of Jack’s throw blankets so it was about 4 inches in circumference and 3 feet long.
In bed, lying on his side, he placed the roll long wise against his body, so that when he rolled onto his back; the blanket roll was positioned vertically in the middle running up/down his spine.
Jack's knees were bent, feet spread apart and flat on the bed. His arms lied straight alongside his body, palms up.
I placed a firm pillow to support his head to keep his head level with his body.
If you’re comfortable, practice the following steps with Jack:
STOP, if at any point there is any strain or discomfort.
1) SLOWLY, tilt R knee to the R, just what’s easy – relax, then SLOWLY back to start position. Repeat 5 – 7 times
2) Pay attention to your shoulders, chest and ribs. Reduce unnecessary tension there, as you allow your upper torso to move.
˃ Eventually you will feel some movement of the upper torso moving down along the R side of the roller as the R knee tilts to the R.
˃ If not, then allow the L knee to tilt to the R as well to allow the lower part of the body to help move the upper part a little.
3) If there is any strain, immediately slow down and do less. If it continues, then STOP.
4) Stretching is ok as long as it is mild and becomes less with repetition.
GOAL for RELAXERCISE - Effortless Strain-free Torso and Leg Motion
5) ALTERNATE and tilt the L knee to the L – just what’s easy.
6) REPEAT the same sequence. Repeat 5 – 7 times SLOWLY, doing what is easy and strain-free.
7) LAST, tilt the knees to the R, then to the L. Repeat 5 – 7 times, SLOWLY.
8) At this point you want to feel the upper torso and chest being moved slightly by the movement of the lower body parts, as your knees move your pelvis & hips R/L.
˃ You can place a hand on your chest and feel. If you don’t notice any motion, don’t worry.
˃ Moving your legs in this way and maintaining a relaxed state is still helpful for your spine’s posture.
RELAXERCISE TIPS
Move very slowly so you can pay attention to reducing effort in your shoulders, upper torso, even your legs. Do this when you tilt and when coming back to your starting point.
Start with smaller movements. Motion will naturally increase as you relax.
BETTER STANDING for BETTER WALKING
After the roller exercise, Jack stood up and felt more relaxed and upright. But what surprised him most was that his weight automatically went- back toward his heels!
Jack needed an additional practice session to learn a more effortless approach to this movement lesson. Initially, he practiced the exercise 1 – 2x a day while in bed, often before he got up in the morning or before going to sleep.
This proved to be a HIGH VALUE EXERCISE for Jack, because of the subtle but important long term changes it made to his body. The exercise made it easier for his spine to be straight and for him to maintain to form a new habit. His new standing habit also changed his walking. Jack immediately noticed his legs getting more of a work-out with walking and no knee stiffness – with his everyday walking. He realized this was a good sign after learning that his body weight was being carried differently; with his leg muscles supporting his weight more, minimizing stress on the joints.
Yes, improvements were coming along well.
It was recommended he continue with the roller exercise on a less frequent basis, as he felt he needed.
Jack still had a blind spot when it came to relaxing his upper torso. Although he no longer had any knee stiffness to shorter distances, Jack had more homework to regain those longer distances needed to walk the golf course.
BETTER WALKING reverses mechanical stressors on the back, hips & knees; this occurs with a relaxed and easy moving torso and pelvis. Jack would benefit from learning more about how to do that, before we tackle actual walking mechanics.
WHAT'S LEFT FOR JACK?
Jack knows first-hand the power of his pelvis for his longer golf swings. Next, he’ll learn the function of his pelvis, for relaxing and moving his spine more easily. Jack doesn’t understand, yet, the importance of this missing link.
We will take sitting – a movement habit the average person spends 80% of the day doing. Join Jack and me for better sitting; learning how to reduce effort (in Jack’s case) key to longer distance walking.
To see how, click here
Sharon Duffey PT, FCP, is a Physical Improvement & Pain Relief Expert, founder of SmartBody. [www.smartbody50.com]
© 2021 SMARTBODY, LLC All rights reserved.
Interest to repost, reprint or use of any portion of article content requires permission first; please contact info@smartbody50.com
コメント