Homo Erectus
It has only been a scant few thousand years since humanity assumed its upright stance, finally conquering the forces of gravity, to stand upright on hind quarters (my uncle Ernie, and certain rugby players I know, still haven’t got the hang of it!). Ethically, I reckon, this elevation hasn’t been all that successful, if one considers the history of man’s treatment of his fellows, other species, and the environment. Equally, on the physical level, this evolutionary achievement has had its complications. We know that at least 80% of the population will suffer from lower back pain at some time or another. So, Homo Sapiens has proved to be not only a pain in the butt, when it fails to maintain levels of human decency, but it also suffers generally from a pain in the back.
Poor posture is probably our most common first-world dis-ease. It arises from the fact that we tend early to stop exercising our spine and utilising its varied range of movements. Like so much of our learning, bad spinal habits are developed during adolescence when the accelerated growing body slumps for hours in badly designed school seats and the bones and muscles get used to carrying and distributing the weight unevenly.
Everything in the human skeleton relies on the spine. We even use that stack of vertebrae in our metaphors to describe as spineless those lacking backbone, that courage we applaud when effort is exerted to strive to take control of our destinies. The spine covers the spinal column and provides attachment for hundreds of muscles, tendons and ligaments. We are unlike the majority of those living in the more physically challenging third world, where back pain is relatively unknown, and where people are necessarily more active and utilise a far wider range of bodily movements in their daily struggles for survival.
Instead, the comparative affluence of western life styles has made us more sedentary. We use the body less in our work, and a pathetically few of us exercise. Many sit hunched over computer keyboards for hours, bodies out of alignment, undue pressures placed on discs, hips and necks. Hours of sitting shorten the hamstrings and hip flexors, while lengthening the hip and back extensors and abdominal muscles. This combination develops instability in the lower back and pelvic girdle, causing vertebral displacements and lower back pain.
The two most common problems associated with poor spinal posture are known as exaggerated kyphosis (rounded, slouched shoulders) and exaggerated lordosis (hollow lower back, with protruding abdomen). Prone to the first condition may be women with large breasts or adolescents embarrassed by the growing bust line, tall people who regularly slouch to accommodate we Lilliputians, shy persons, and those whose occupations involve long periods of leaning forwards (dentists, beauticians, primary school teachers and students). Exaggerated kyphosis is accompanied by tight, weak pectorals, slack, weak abdominals, trapezius, rotator cuff, and rhomboids. These are the muscle groups that require most attention in an exercise routine.
Prone to the second condition are pregnant women, women who wear high heels, the overweight, especially the beer-boep bearers, models (encouraged to walk like the disabled), and hairdressers and others whose occupations require standing for long periods and working at waist level. Exaggerated lordosis is characterised by slack, weak abdominals and gluteals, short, tight hip flexors and hamstrings, and tight erector spinae. These areas need full attention in an exercise routine.
Of greatest importance for improved posture for all is the need to exercise all of the gluteal, abdominal and lower back muscles. These are the muscle groups playing the greatest role in keeping us erect and they need regular stimulation, a work load that contracts and develops muscle fibre, as well as stretching it, to improve flexibility and tone.
Good posture creates less muscle tension, will improve your breathing ability, draw you erect to make you look and feel taller and less paunchy, while relieving back pain and preventing many sports injuries associated with bad spinal alignment. Many are turning to techniques designed specifically to improve posture, such as the Alexander Technique, Pilates workouts and the Feldenkrais Method. As a more general guide, I offer a few tips on good exercise posture to enable you to practise correcting stances so that good posture finally becomes unconscious and natural.
One should stand tall, spine erect but never rigidly tense as in the military stance, where the lower back is over-arched and the shoulders exaggeratedly pulled back. By imagining a thread rising through the crown of the head (like a marionette suspended on a string) and running down through the middle of your body, you should keep your balance in relation to this midline.
Legs should be hip distance apart with the knees soft, relaxed, never locked (hyper extended) nor overly bent. One should not hyper-extend any joint, knees and elbows in particular, as this needlessly stresses ligaments in the joints, forces cartilage to grind on cartilage and interferes with the full effective lengthening and strengthening of muscles. Locking the knees throws the body out of alignment, creating an exaggerated arch in the lumbar spine, threatening damage to the discs that lie between the vertebrae. Tuck your butt under you, with a slight pelvic tilt upwards, so that your abdominal muscles are held in. The abs should never be permitted to slacken or sag, but be kept in a slight state of tension to assist in maintaining good upright posture. Your shoulders should fall downwards and into your back, without excessive military chest lifting. The back of your neck should be long (think swan, rather than duck), without the chin thrusting forward, but at right angles to the neck.
Standing or moving (dynamic posture) during a workout, maintain this natural posture, allowing your spine and attached muscles to carry the limbs and body weight with least effort. By strengthening your lower back erector and the abdominal muscles, the ribs, which should be pulled up high and away from the hips, won’t collapse towards the pelvis, creating that bulging boop and compacting the spinal discs. While you exercise, the quads and lower back muscles, with the assistance of the abdominals, should always be in support, offering a firm foundation on which the rest of the body can rely.
To protect your spine and prevent undesired backache, always soften your knees, keeping the spine erect, and use the powerful thigh muscles to assist in lifting any weight or object. While carrying, always keep the object close to the centre of the body. Never bend straight-kneed; always use the large leg muscles by bending the knees. Establish your natural centre of gravity by activating your abdominal muscles to lend support to an erect but not arched back, with head held high and chest lifted comfortably.
Remember, also, the importance of correct breathing. Inhale, always, in preparation for the exertion to follow, exhale when the effort is made. When at rest, in bed, make sure the mattress gives firm support, and don’t sleep on your back. Before rising and leaving your bed, sit tall on the edge, feet on the floor, raise one arm and place the other on the bed besides you. Bend the elbow and slowly lean to that side, with the other extended arm moving in the direction of the bend. Repeat, with the other arm, and you’ll relieve tension and prepare your irreplaceable spine for the day’s activities.
In summary, remember the six T’s of good posture- TUSH (or TOCHAS) TAUT, TUMMY TUCKED TIGHT, TOO– and you’ll be better equipped to fight back ache and use your body to its full potential.