We all hear about having good posture. Many professionals claims being “posture” specialists, but fail to mention the most important thing- how to correct it.
Here’s the reality, the phylogeny of your spinal cord develops around 2 fundamental principles of survival: aligned eyes to gaze at the horizon, and aligned jaw so that you may eat and chew your food efficiently.
In order for the body to perform movement, the brain recruits information from exteroceptors, also refered to as “sensors.”
There are five of them:
All five of these sensors are constantly taking in information and providing information to the CNS, which summates and processes it. It is this very information that is at the source of one’s daily posture and movement and it cannot be controlled voluntarily.
The innate influence of those exteroceptors is far greater than your ability to think yourself into good posture. If one or more of your sensors is sending out faulty information, no matter what you do, it will not make a difference in correcting your posture beyond that temporary cognitive moment.
What is good posture?
So what is good posture? Is it to sit up or stand up straight? When we speak of good posture, we are referring to the position of your head in regards to you shoulders, hips and feet.
Did you know that 90% of the world’s population is posturally imbalanced and that the remaining 10% report never having any pain?
A study published in 2005 by Dr. Dominici, Dr. Chambon, Dr. Meunier-Guttin-Cluzel, Dr. Mouysset, and Dr.Bricot, shows that there is a direct correlation between pain and poor posture, and that the frequency of pain depends on how many “sensors” are faulty.
Posture has a profound impact on strength, the lower back, the lower limbs, every joint located between the skull and toes and also on energy levels and blood circulation.
Here are the facts: 72% of people have an anterior scapular plane, 23% have a neutral scapular plane and 5% have a posterior scapular plane.
84% of right-handed people tilt to the right and 72% of left handed people tilt to the left.
Depending on which one you fall under, through simple biomechanical calculation, it is possible to predict your areas of weakness and future injuries and work on increasing your strength efficiently.
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Training your muscles
Most commonly, the muscles are thought of primarily as our means of strength and locomotion. However, they participate very much in multiple functions, including the most important: homeostasis.
A homeostatic truism is where muscles function best in equilibrium when they exert bilateral symmetrical action involving the least individual effort while exerting optimal group effort along with relaxation for an optimal time period needed for energy regeneration.
Postural asymmetries are also known as “energy leaks:” both blood circulation and the cardiorespiratory system are compromised, as the individual is struggling to fight gravity on a daily basis.
Physical Conditioning
Physical conditioning can have one of two effects on your body:
It can improve it or it can injure it.
Do you think that a great trainer would improve your body and that a decent trainer will, at the very least, not injure it? Well, that’s not exactly the case. In actuality, the main reason why you may be or may not be improving with your fitness endeavours might have nothing to do with your trainer but with your sensors.
Posture is the resultant of two components: static (still) and dynamic (movement).
The body can only present two types of posture: good and distorted.
Our kinetic muscular system uses the postural system for movement. One is like a precursor to the other. If static posture presents distortions and tilts, it goes without saying that dynamic posture will enhance and exacerbate those faults in every day life. One must address posture before movement.
Picture this: you are a sports car and you are being driven by the best driver. The track is curvy and fast, but the wheels of the car are misaligned. Will this affect the driving of the driver? Will you be more at risk for an accident? The answer is yes. To address the cause, would you agree that you would need to correct the misalignment of the wheels?
The same goes for your body. You have to correct those innate postural faults by correcting the faulty sensors that affect your posture. The same rules apply in the weight room. It you are misaligned, the best trainer cannot deliver the best results.
What your trainer doesn’t know
Posture before movement.
Take the squat for example. Your trainer understands the mechanics of the exercise. He knows the correct knee position and that you should keep your chin up and keep the bar leveled across your back.
But how can your trainer adjust the exercise if before you get under the bar, your right shoulder tilts, your pelvis is rotated and one of your feet is flatter than the other? The best trainer simply cannot adapt the exercise enough to truly prevent an injury unless your posture is first addressed.
Method of Correction
How do the Postural Insoles work?
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Conclusion
In conclusion, if you have imbalances in your alignment before you perform any exercise, you CANNOT generate as much strength as you could, but most importantly you are at risk of an injury.
Even the best trainer cannot do much about that: unless he reprograms your posture or refers you to a Posturologist, giving you the edge you deserve for committing to a healthy lifestyle! Here is a list of our recommended trainers in Montreal that have gone through Posturepro’s certification Program and that understand that you have to address posture before starting a training program.
Please email us for locating a practitioner near you.
CANADA, Montreal
Francine Savard of Proactif Fitness
Adonna Greaves of Studio Adonnics
Simon Saint Jean and Simon Melançon from Centre d’entraînement Katalysis
Jean-Francois Thibault from Institut Axellite
Gary Jasmin from Prescriptive Fitness
Miles Krol from Milesfit
The Posturepro Team
Superior Performance
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