| I am a child of the 50's. I finished my secondary | | | | dynamic movement and support. Muscles on the |
| school education in the late 60's, my university | | | | inside of the curve shorten and become tenacious |
| studies in the early 70's. My career in education | | | | and rigid. Outside muscles become stretched and |
| spanned 30 years and ended in 2005. You can do the | | | | weak. Keeping the curve in healthy shape will maintain |
| math and estimate that I am in my late 50's, and you | | | | its length and your height. |
| would be right. | | | | - Restore the Core: The core has been compared to |
| Throughout my life, funerals of family members and | | | | a soup can. The top is the diaphragm, the bottom is |
| long time friends have been concentrated collection | | | | the pelvic floor. The sides are represented by the |
| points from my past relationships. At this stage, it is | | | | abdominals in front and the lower spine behind. A |
| common to encounter people whom I haven't seen | | | | strong core requires muscle balance on all sides and is |
| for 20 or 30 years. The same goes for high school | | | | the anchor for good posture. It also restricts the |
| reunions. The game of recognize and recall can be | | | | lateral spread. |
| kind of fun. There are other emotions that fit here | | | | Imagine carrying a heavy weight on your head, like |
| as well; surprise, shock, pleasure, sadness, joy, | | | | they have done for millenia in many parts of the |
| pleasure, etc. | | | | world. Perfect posture is the protection against |
| I have noticed a common reaction to such | | | | serious spinal injury. Are they bracing to carry the |
| encounters at several recent gatherings. After name | | | | load or do they lift it with their spine? It may surprise |
| and information retrieval the response is, "I can still | | | | you to discover how much force you can generate |
| recognize you. You're looking well." and then the | | | | using only your spine. How do they do that? Those |
| question I really like: "Are you getting taller?". | | | | spinal muscles tighten to provide the lift. That is |
| The reality is that my height hasn't changed much. If | | | | exercise and it increases spinal health and strength. |
| anything, I am a little taller. When I am around my | | | | Dr. Makofky, Professor of Physical Therapy and |
| contemporaries who are shrinking as they age, I look | | | | textbook author, called this mechanism the Spinal |
| taller. When we haven't seen each other for 10 years | | | | Corkscrew Principle. Depressing your shoulders |
| or more, the difference is striking. | | | | provides a lifting action on the spine. It is extended |
| I can thank my attention to posture for that. This | | | | and stabilized by recruiting the neglected muscles that |
| has been a four year journey, but the results are | | | | need conditioning. It activates the core muscles |
| paying off. I learned to embed good posture as | | | | around your spine so they get stronger. Prolonging |
| normal in my brain. It is my "go to" position. It has | | | | this activity, like carrying a load on your head, or |
| helped me maintain my height and freedom from | | | | doing it frequently embeds this action in your habits. |
| back and neck pain through some demanding | | | | It is called kinaesthetic awareness. |
| situations. | | | | Perhaps the greatest tool for exercise is the mirror. |
| We lose our height for 3 main reasons: | | | | They line the walls of workout studios and gyms. |
| | | | Visible changes that develop from your hard work |
| 1. Compression of the discs or padding between | | | | are very motivating. It is proof that it is paying off! |
| joints reduces the separation between bones; | | | | But there are the virtual mirrors as well. Friends, |
| especially the vertebrae. | | | | acquaintances say things like; "Are you getting taller?" |
| 2. Excessive curvature spine; neck, shoulders and | | | | or "You're looking really good! Have you lost weight?" |
| lower back. | | | | They also reflect back to you, letting you know that |
| 3. Our vertical alignment has changed. This is most | | | | you have made a change, and it is good. |
| noticed in the awkward angle of the neck, associated | | | | There are a great many reasons for good posture, |
| with forward head posture, but it also occurs in the | | | | apart from impressing your old friends and |
| hips and legs. It moves our center of gravity | | | | acquaintances at funerals and school reunions. Dire |
| forward, the axis that should be centered around our | | | | warnings about the dangers of poor diet are just as |
| spine. | | | | applicable to poor posture. We are surrounded by |
| At 59, weighing 40 more pounds than in my 20's, I've | | | | evidence for both. Many defy the odds of poor body |
| learned that vertical shrink isn't inevitable; even if you | | | | mechanics but a great many others suffer disabilities |
| expand laterally. Attention to good mechanics as you | | | | and chronic pain, shortening their lives by not heeding |
| move, sit and stand can minimize the stress on joints | | | | the warnings. |
| so they are preserved. Keeping all parts mobile and | | | | Compressing anything in our bodies for extended |
| active maintains vitality and support to fight against | | | | periods is generally not a good thing. Blood flows |
| the sag. Here are some guidelines: | | | | more easily in vessels that are straight with no kinks. |
| - Align the spine. Nerves leave the spine, blood | | | | Digestion works better when space isn't cramped. |
| vessels enter. Too much or too little curvature | | | | Breathing is most efficient when the chest can fully |
| means uneven pressure on joints, collapsing discs and | | | | expand and the diaphragm isn't restricted. A host of |
| reducing space. This contributes to compression and | | | | medical conditions are affected by mechanical |
| spinal shortening. | | | | stressors, but that is a topic for another article. |
| - Preserve the Curve: The spine has a natural healthy | | | | So do yourself a favor. Give yourself a lift! The actual |
| curve for a reason. It acts like a shock absorber as | | | | and virtual mirrors in your life will pay you |
| you walk, run, carry a load, etc. Muscles around the | | | | compliments instead of sending you messages you |
| spine act as coil springs with enough give to create | | | | try avoid. |