Stand Up Straight
Remember when you were a kid and some elder told you to stand up straight? The idea being that a more upright, chest out and shoulders back position is a healthier and stronger position to be in. That position is not inherently optimal, but nor is it unhealthy. It is a shape that can be attained and ideally altered at will. That is where adaptability lives, in the ability to change as needed.
We have all seen the endless diagnoses associated with “poor” posture. Text neck, selfie elbow and iPosture amongst others come to mind. Although they are a bit tongue and cheek, the positions we have identified as pathological are simply patterns. The supposed proper Superman or military posture contains the same problems but has been deemed strong and healthy. Any position we sustain for long durations, without change, can lead to movement related issues. Sitting in a hunched position for extended periods most likely results in stiffness or pain, however standing with shoulders back suffers from issues as well if maintained for long durations.
The solution to the problems with quasi-static, prolonged positions is developing greater adaptability. This means training your body to be capable of assuming a position, maintaining it and then having the capacity to assume another while accomplishing the task at hand. An example might be sitting at your desk looking at your computer. If you’re capable of flexing your head and neck for a period to look at the screen and then reorienting those regions and relying on your upper back to accomplish the task that indicates effective redundancies in the system. Adaptability and capacity are at a high level; no one region bears the brunt of the load, it is shared. Another example could be running for miles. If, throughout the running period, your body is unable to share the load and one region like your knee takes more than its fair share an issue may arise. Whereas if you can maintain your foot’s ability to absorb forces, if the hips and pelvis can take on a portion as well as the spine, then one element of the system doesn’t get overloaded.
Pathologizing a particular posture or position misses a deeper point about movement. We have over three hundred joints in part because we were made to move. To share the load across segments and to limit localized force production. If we are unable to alter our shape and distribute forces more uniformly, then problems may arise.
Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist
