East Bay Alternative Medicine -

In honor of Correct Posture month, I decided to move this over from my personal blog. This post was actually the inspiration for starting this blog because it brings many hits to my personal site, mostly through image searches, but there isn’t much in the way of solution on my personal blog. I have slightly revised it and added a second section that is more solution oriented since it has been several years since it was first written.

I took a class on postural analysis yesterday.  I have done some of this work throughout my massage studies, but this was 6 hours devoted to it, which combined is more than I have had before.  In practice, I do incorporate a visual assessment into my work, but the practice of actual hands on assessment and charting it will make a huge impact on my work.  Probably the best part of the class is having my own posture analyzed, since I have never really had that done.

I have often wondered whether one of my legs is longer than the other. A few years ago, I had an x-ray done and one side of my pelvis was substantially higher than the other.  Certainly musculature can cause this to happen, but it left me wondering nonetheless. I heard at some point that 10% of people do have structural differences in their leg lengths.  Apparently, a study done more recently by St. John Neuromuscular Therapy is revealing that the figure is more like 30-40%.

When I am hiking and really concentrating on body awareness and being balanced, I can feel how my gait is off, and how I actually can’t make my legs match.  I’ve also been noticing (and when I had sciatica this was super-pronounced) that my right leg is much more active than my left. To exaggerate, it is as if my right is doing all the work and my left is practically a crutch that keeps my right leg going.  I can’t really verbalize how I have felt more than that.

So,  luckily, I got to the be the demo person in this class. My postural challenges are certainly not extraordinary, but nonetheless, I felt quite validated in having my physical issues clearly defined and laid out.  I was really happy to see that I can actually FEEL a lot of the issues that have been identified AND my postural issues have actually improved in the last 5 years (thanks to bodywork and Pilates!)

The assessment DID include a likely difference in leg lengths, my left femur may be slightly shorter than my right, some rotational scoliosis and a unilaterally tilted pelvis.  A picture is worth a lot of words, so here it is:  The  diagonal lines represent a tilt towards one side or another, the horizontal arrows demonstrate my anterior/posterior swaying from the ideal gravitational plane, curved arrows represent a  rotation or inversion.  The red and green represent the applications to the assessment.

Soft tissue work, such as deep tissue massage, trigger point and myofascial release can all be used to open the areas that “need lengthening.”   Although they may be tight and strained, the green areas are actually too long and need to be strengthened so that they are shorter and offer more support. They are typically antagonists for the areas that are red. For every muscle that is short and tight, there is usually an antagonist that is long and tight. These complementary processes will facilitate the postural change necessary to relieve pain and prevent re-injuries.

What is Correct Posture?

Throughout the process of dealing with my own rotoscoliosis, I have had to ask myself this question over and over and have sought answers within many different modalities.  Some modalities measure the cuves of the spine and try to change the spine to an ideal. Neuromuscular Therapy charts bony landmarks throughout the body and uses soft tissue work to get them as square as possible. Some account for ethnic differences in body types and others don’t.  One answer is clear.  Many people have structural limitations, such as leg length discrepancy or scoliosis that may vary their definition or impact their ability to achieve correct posture.

The idea of correct posture that I have most appreciated is one that I got from Feldenkrais work. It is whatever postures use the body most efficiently and painlessly as the body is performing a specific task, whether it be standing or moving.  While, this definition is my favorite and honors different bod structures, my experience is that this sounds easier than it is.  Correct posture, is ultimately a feeling that is body wide and requires practice and maintenance. Deepening my awareness has been a key, but also opening areas that are chronically short has been essential for making correct posture take less effort.

I have found that addressing rotoscoliosis from a few angles has helped me.  Exercise for strengthening, stretching and body work for lengthening,  and doing to address my own awareness and habit have all been pivotal.