The Problem:

The effects of collapsed posture are just now starting to be understood. You may have heard we are growing tails and horns because of bad posture. There is some truth to that, but the impacts are real and can be debilitating. Our musculoskeletal system is designed to function from upright posture. Our joints work best from an optimal alignment and only from that alignment can they transfer loads the way they are designed. As a result, we are breaking down our joints prematurely. The problem is multilayered.

1.    Technology has us spending too much time in collapsed posture. Fitness from collapsed posture only reinforces the faulty loading patterns that cause the joint misalignments that cause pain.

2.    The healthcare system is designed to manage musculoskeletal pain symptoms until they warrant surgery.

3.    Most fitness products allow you to strength on top of collapsed posture.

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Let’s Break it Down Joint by Joint:

Neck:

•         Collapsed Upper Back Posture (Kyphosis) displaces the skull in front of the rib cage.

•         Forward Head Posture transfers all the load of the skull to two vertebrae in the neck (C1 and C5). Instead of 7 vertebrae being involved in load transfer and motion, you now have only 2. It also displaces the head in front of the rib cage which is analogues to holding a bowling ball in front of you with your elbows locked versus holding it against your chest.  Eventually head tilt posture progresses into head tilt posture.

•         Head Tilt Posture results in misalignment in the cervical spine. This is when the dam breaks. Instead of two vertebrae doing all the work, you now have one of the facet joints at C5/C6 doing a majority of the support load of the neck and skull.  The skull will often rotate in the opposite direction to counteract this asymmetry which leads you prone to headaches, brain fog and muscle pain.  This is when the dam breaks in the neck.

Shoulders:

•         Head tilt posture results displaces the shoulder blade off its neutral positioning on the rib cage, we refer to this as a Winged Scapulae. This causes misalignment of the humerus in the shoulder socket leading you susceptible to shoulder impingement and rotator cuff injuries. It also causes muscular pain symptoms in the back of the shoulder.

Low Back:

•         Collapsed upper back posture causes Collapsed Pelvis Posture when you stand up. It’s a matter of physics. If your upper back is collapsed and your shoulder and head are sitting in front of your low back, your low back must extend so that you do not fall forward.

•         Collapsed pelvis posture can progresses into Rotated Pelvic Posture as we develop biases in standing and sitting to one side. Most of us are right lumbar loaders, we like to sit shifted to the left and stand with our right knee bent. This is when the dam breaks in the low back.

Hips:

•         A rotated pelvis causes misalignment of the femur in the hip joint leading you susceptible to hip impingement and tendonitis.

Knees:

•         The hip misalignments associated with a rotated pelvis posture can result is a lateral loading pattern through the leg that can overload the knee.

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The Solution:

If the foundation of the problem is collapsed posture, you must condition yourself to perform work and home tasks from upright posture. It takes 4 to 6 weeks to reach this level of conditioning. You then must learn how to perform your fitness, sport and recreational activities without faulty loading patterns.

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We developed the Healthy Posture System to provide you with all the video resources to safely restore your ability to function from neutral spine alignment. There are many strategies and props to help you keep you upper back stacked throughout the day you will learn completing the program. At level 3 of the program, you will be asked to add online coaching to your subscription to ensure you learn the more difficult exercises without faulty loading. Join our newsletter to learn more about how to age healthy physically with neutral spine based functional fitness.