Habits - good or bad, postural or preventative - train the body to balance differently. Then injury trains the body to move in ways that avoid pain. So over time, the body adapts to these new postural balance positions, and even if you change habits or the pain goes away, the unbalanced patterns of motion persist.
We often believe we’re standing straight and upright because our brain is being told by our senses that we are balanced, even though actually, we’re not.
The truth of how we stand is visible in a posture picture, or a mirror.
How balanced is your posture?
Stand in front of a mirror and close your eyes
Now stand up straight with your best posture
Don’t move, but open your eyes.
What do you see?
Is your head level or cocked slightly to one side?
Are your shoulders level or do you detect one is actually higher than the other?
What about your hips? Is your belt line perfectly level?
Is your nose inline with your belly button, and centred above your feet?
There is no such thing as perfect posture, but there are certainly stronger and weaker postures. Any asymmetry is a sign that there’s room to improve, and might be related to recurring back or neck pain. A severely crooked posture can indicate scoliosis or longstanding spinal distortion.
If you notice your posture isn’t balanced, it is a good idea to come in to get a posture check.
