Posture is a go too topic for almost every practitioner in the country. Our nation is full of rounded backs and forward heads, good posture has become more irregular than regular. It is a well known fact that poor posture can lead to several different conditions which can be harmful to the body's connective tissue and musculature. Here at NRG we believe there are many different exercises to improve posture and make our body shape as natural as possible.
You often hear people say "keep your back straight", well technically this is wrong. The spine is a designed to be a slight curve, with each part of the spine having a different function. The lower back is curved in towards the body, this is so the region can deal with the heavy loads e.g. lifting and squatting. The middle of your spine, in line with your rib cage, is curved away from the body, this allows for more movement which makes moving your arms much easier.
In this blog we will cover two exercises that help correct excessive curvature at both the middle and the lower back.
Exercise 1: Scapula Retraction - With so many people sat on computers and desks, we have found our selves rounding the upper body forward. It is almost as if getting as close to the screen as possible is better. This has caused the shoulder blades aka the scapula, to move around the ribs and forward, this puts the muscles in the back in a stretched position which is not a very strong position. In this exercise we are going to target bringing the shoulder blades back towards the spine by contracting the muscles in the back.
Start by sitting down at your desk at the edge of your seat, sit up as "straight" as you can with head in a neutral position - not forward. With your arms straight by your side, you are going to squeeze your shoulder blades back, hold for 3 seconds and relax for a second. Repeat this 10 times before having a 90 second break and repeating for 3 sets. If this is too easy, you can progress the movement with your arms out in front of you and keeping them straight, bring the shoulders back together.
Warning - Do not squeeze too hard with the shoulders as this can cause cramping, or if your posture is particularly poor, pain travelling up the neck. If this is the case, please do not squeeze too hard for each repetition.
Exercise 2: Hip Bridges - This is mainly for our lower back pain sufferers, aka LBP. In this exercise, all you need to do is lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. If you can, keep your knees and feet in line with your hips. So rather than your usual hip bridge where you just repetitively drive your bum off the floor, this one is slightly more controlled and much slower.
So on your back in starting position, what you will do is gently squeeze the abdomen (stomach muscles), you should feel that the curve in your lower back is flattened. Unless your spine is particularly curved, you should be flat on the ground. So whilst holding the abs, keeping the spine in this shape, you will now drive through your heels and bridge up. With this movement you will not acheive as much height as a "normal" hip bridge, however it is much more beneficial for your spine! Just like our last exercise I would prescribe 3 sets of 10 repetitions with a small hold with each bridge. If you need to stop at any stage to regain good spinal shape, that is fine.
And that concludes our article on Bringing The Spine In Line! We hope it answered all the questions you may have or opened your eyes to how good posture can help you! If you have any questions then please leave them in the comment section below. If receiving sports therapy is something you are interested in, then please let us know! At NRG we also offer personal training (including a complimentary free session), sports massage, injury assessment with a free phone consultation, all within this sports injury clinic!
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