POSTURAL RE-CONDITIONING
PURPOSE: Bring self-awareness to body positioning
PHASE 3 OF 5
THE ONLY BAD POSTURE IS THE ONE YOU’RE ALWAYS IN.
It really is that simple. What is bad about your posture is that you know nothing different. Which means the only bad part about posture is not the position you’re in, but the inability to get out of it. The body craves variation so the most important part of posture work is varying your movement. You literally help so much right now but shifting in your seat and putting different pressure in different areas. Keyword: different.
Posture gets a bad reputation because it’s easy to shame, it’s easy to stay thats bad, but the dark side of that education is it puts you in a box. A box that you “can” only “feel” good by staying in 1 position.
THIS IS WHY YOU BEGIN TO FEEL HOPELESS, OVERWHELMED, OR DISCOURAGED.
“If the position that I’m most comfortable in led to my rotator cuff tear or disc herniation, but I have trouble staying out of that position, what else can I even do? Do I need a posture brace?”Empowerment is giving you power to change, not telling you have to be a certain position in order to feel good. There is nothing wrong with your comfortable position, besides the fact that you’re only in that position all day.
This phase is all about teaching your body more effective (PT word: optimal) positions to be in based on your injury. We all it re-training your brain. It’s supplemented with exercises like yoga, stretching, or strengthening which in PT language is called neuromuscular activation: getting your muscles and nerves activated to engage different positions. This gives you the power to maintain new postures for more comfortable periods of time.