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Keep your spine in line

Keep your spine in line
Breuse Hickman - Florida Today

Yet another reason to tell the kids to straighten up. But sit up straight before you do.

May is Correct Posture Month, according to the American Chiropractic Association, which set aside an entire month to attract awareness to slouching habits.

Basically, the association wants Americans to visit a doctor -- such as a chiropractor -- who can tap in to spine problems that might be a result of poor posture.

As self-serving as such an event might imply, we can't argue that our tendency to utilize our office chair's reclining feature might be contributing to future back problems we really shouldn't take sitting down.

In fact, last year ACA President Donald Krippendorf said typing at a computer all day is equally stressful on wrists, shoulders, necks and spines as labor-intensive jobs.

Health and fitness professionals have a theory as to why we just don't think about what poor posture is doing to our bodies.
Many of us can't see into the future.

"By practicing good posture and exercises, you won't know what have saved yourself from years from now," said Rosanne Bessenaire, clinical coordinator of Rehab Services in Melbourne. "If you are sitting still most of the day, you should take time out and be active. You should never be spending hours at the keyboard. Sometimes it's just a matter of standing up and stretching."

It's simple enough, but Bessenaire said the roadblock to good postural health is that we can't seem to remember to think about our posture and practice correct positions.

Convincing folks to take a stand on posture is one of Melbourne-based physical therapist Anthony Else's biggest challenges. posture is one of Melbourne-based physical therapist Anthony Else's biggest challenges.

The owner of Overcomers Rehab and Physical Therapy Services often visits workplaces to conduct ergonomic seminars.
He'll make notes of the way people sit at their work stations, as well as the positioning of their computer keyboards and chair settings.
He'll then make recommendations to employers.

"You try to get them (employers) to see that it's actually economically feasible to make modifications sooner than later," Else said.
The best way folks can align their bodies correctly is through exercise, he said.

"It's not until the person takes on responsibility to eat right and exercise that they will begin to truly modify their day to day activities and better pay attention to their posture," he said.

Rather than focus on large muscle groups -- pectorals -- he encourages people to think small.

"The spine itself is controlled by a smaller group, which gives you static stability to maintain good posture."

The good news is, you don't need weights or even a well-equipped fitness center. Rotational exercises such as abdominal strengthening and pelvic and neck rotations can be done almost anywhere.

"Exercises that cause the body to rotate are best," he said.

Certified Kripalu yoga instructor Barbara O'Connor offers students a mental exercise to get them back into posture's good groove.
"Imagine a string attached to your sternum -- the heart center -- and that the string is hooked high at the sky," she said. "Imagine the string is lifting your sternum. Just by thinking on that concept you can get your body in alignment."

She encourages students to practice mental and physical exercises daily because that's the only way practicing good posture can become mechanical.

Whether you find yourself slumped while at your computer, driving or walking, "imagine that string pulling," she said.

O'Connor, like most fitness experts, blames gravity for our tendency to, well, sink down.

We can fight it, she said, by taking a stand.

"Our posture is a result of how we handle stress," she said. "As gravity pulls us down, we feel the weight of the world. We bring in less oxygen. We feel tired. And our body is less efficient."

Credit to: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/LIFE/605050314/1005