In body work the plumb line (or
straight line) is a handy tool for assessing posture.
A good posture in relation to the
plumb line is where the line goes straight down through the center of the body
(the body's center of gravity), splitting it into two symmetrical halves. From a side view the line should go from the
crown of the head to the center of the ankle joint.
With a good posture, the head is
in a neutral position, the shoulders, hips and knees are level and there is a normal curvature of the
cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (upper back) and lumbar spine (lower
back). The pelvis is neutral so not
tilted forward or back and the knees are neither flexed nor hyper extended.
Why is good posture important?
A good posture puts the body in
its most optimum position for our overall health and well being. Correct
alignment allows the stresses placed on the body through the pull of gravity to
be evenly distributed, thus preventing any one structure from becoming overly
stressed and at risk of pain and/or injury.
The best analogy I have heard when
describing the importance of good posture is to compare the body to a car. When a car's alignment is off or the tires
are not balanced properly, ride quality is diminished, there is an uneven tread
wear on the tires, tire life is shortened and the performance of bearings and
shock absorbers suffer. In the same way when our posture (alignment) is off,
the body starts to experience a range of problems such as restricted range of
movement, pain, injury and organ dysfunction to name just a few.
The body, like the tires on a car
has an ideal position and must be balanced in order to run smoothly and last a
long time. The purpose of a postural analysis is to look at the body and assess
whether it is properly balanced and in correct alignment.
The benefits of good posture
- Correct alignment of our joints, muscles and ligaments puts the body in its most optimal position and decreases the risk of pain and/or injury during every day activities and exercise.
- Correct distribution of weight means one part of the body doesn't have to work harder than another.
- Muscles become balanced so that there not overworking (tight) or underworking (stretched) thus preventing aches, pains and injury.
- The body doesn't have to work so hard to keep us in a bad posture so we suffer less from fatigue.
- The wear and tear of joints is minimized and there is less chance of developing degenerative arthritis in later years.
- The correct space is created within the body for optimal functioning of internal organs.
- Breathing becomes easier and more natural.
- Circulation and digestion is improved.
- The spine is kept healthy.
- Emotional and mental health is improved.
- We Portray a more confident self.
- We look taller and thinner!
Of course we're all different and we're
not all going to look like an anatomical drawing from an A+P text book. There are many factors that affect our
posture some that can be easily addressed and others where nothing can be done.
Factors affecting posture
- Structural/anatomical i.e scoliosis (curvature of the spine), discrepancy in leg length, variations in soft tissues, bones and vertebrae that are angled at different degrees.
- Age the posture of a child, teenager, adult and an elderly person are often very different!
- Physiology when we're in pain we hold ourselves in a certain way to minimize discomfort, pregnancy obviously brings about changes to the body and whether we're feeling alert or tired affects how we hold ourselves.
- Think about the posture of women who wears high heels or carries a heavy bag on her shoulder. Our height as well, think of a very tall person who has to stoop whilst washing up every day and how that affects their posture over a life time.
- Pathology Again pain can lead to altered posture which becomes more permanent the longer we hold the position. Illness and disease especially when bones and joints are involved, medical conditions that affect the tone of the muscles, fractures and breaks that were never healed properly.
- Occupation the work we do everyday effects our posture for example someone sat at a computer 9-5 is going to have a different posture to someone who is doing a more active job.
- Recreation In the same way our hobbies also determine how we use our bodies for example the posture of someone who sits watching T.V for hours is going to be different to someone who enjoys playing golf.
- Emotions Often the posture we adopt subconsciously mirrors the way we feel inside whether this is temporary or a more permanent state of being, for example the way we hold ourselves when we're feeling nervous or depressed is different to when we're feeling excited or happy.
- Culture In countries such as India, people grow up sitting cross legged on the floor and so develop different postures to westerners used to sitting on big comfy sofas and arm chairs.
- Fashion Think high heels, winkle pickers, corsets, low waisted hip hop trousers!
- Environment When we're cold we're going to adopt a different posture to when we're feeling hot, when we're feeling threatened or scared our posture is going to be different to when we're feeling relaxed.
Common postural deviations
Here are four of the most common
postural deviations that become apparent using a plumb line on the side of the
body.
Sway back (common in teenage boys
who like to swagger!) the head and upper back are leaning back away from the
center line, the pelvis is also tilted backwards creating strain on the lower
back. The knees are flexed placing
stress on the joints and flexor muscles at the front of the body are having to
work harder to keep the body in an upright position.
Lumbar lordosis (common in
gymnasts who do a lot of back bends) the curvature of the lumbar spine is
exaggerated inwards placing strain and creating tightness in the lower back
which has to compensate; the pelvis is tilted forward of the center line and
the abdominal muscles are overly stretched and weak.
Thoracic kyphosis is perhaps the
most common postural deviation because of the amount of time we spend sat
hunched over a computer. In this
position the body is put into a concave shape whereby the upper back muscles become
overly stretched and weak and the chest muscles become shortened and
tight. Breathing is shallow because the
chest is compressed and the person may feel tired and low in mood. Digestive organs are effectively squashed
which affects digestion. Aches and pains are commonly felt in the neck which is
often forward of the center line in this position.
Forward head position is again
another postural deviation that is becoming more and more common as we spend
more time looking down at our phones. In
a seated position this obviously places a lot of strain on our neck especially
when you think how heavy our head is!
When standing, a forward head position often makes our whole body lean
slightly forward of our center thus over working the extensor muscles in our
back in an attempt to bring the body back to its center.
Helping you to achieve your best plumb line
For the reasons already discussed having a
good posture (or plumb line(!)) is important for feeling good in our bodies for
as long as possible. Despite us all
coming in different shapes and sizes a postural analysis is a great way to
bring some awareness to the body and highlight any imbalances or misalignment's
that you were unaware of and what you need to do to correct them.
As a massage therapist, treating
holistically, including a postural assessment as apart of your treatment allows
me to look at your whole body as opposed to just your bad knee, stiff shoulder,
tight lower back so I may have a better idea of how to treat you and offer a
more complete service.
I look forward to seeing your
plumb line soon!
Beth x
