I'll be Back, But I Can Only Take so Much.

Becoming more aware of your general posture while sitting, standing and even driving must occur first. Once you have developed an awareness you can then start the process of addressing poor posture. Bending is an every day occurrence however it is rarely done properly. To think you can hurt your back when simply bending over to pick up a piece of paper to most is not possible. Yet it's common to hear of this happening. The reason has nothing to do with weight but more to do with the spine having enough of the abuse you are handing out to it; unconsciously of course.

Changing the way you think about bending will go along way to helping you change the actual way you bend. In all the positions we put ourselves into, the spine should always stay neutral or in it's natural position. By rounding your back to get down and pick up a piece of paper is putting a lot of load on your spine. Due to the fact the spine is out of it's natural position which is it's strongest. If you think of your hip region as a hinge and not just a part of your body that differentiates upper from lower this will help.

Not Ideal, yet common practice

Ideal Hip Hinge / Neutral Spine

By maintaining neutral spine as highlighted above you save your spine from excessive loading which you may get away with for years. But as we get older and if we increase our body fat content and allow our muscle strength to decrease those supposed incidental activities such as picking up a weightless object from the floor exert huge loads on your spine. Keeping your spine in neutral alignment takes practice and effort but the effort invested now will save you a life marred by back pain and restriction later on in life. All of our programs ensure you are aware of the correct back positioning and assisted to correct deficiencies if desired.