Physical therapist Bob Wolford, D.C., P.T. met me at my gym yesterday. He walked in, head high above his shoulders, sporting that jock walk, where the built-up shoulders shift slightly from side to side. As we approached the machines, he said what he’s said a million times I’m sure and a few dozen times to me:
Posture muscles are small and have lots of endurance. They don’t get tired quickly, unlike the larger, dynamic muscles you use when you work out or do anything, including typing. Make sure you’re in the right position before you start anything and check yourself periodically to make sure you stay there.
You know the position, I’m sure: pretend a string is sprouting from the top of your head and that someone is gently pulling it up so that you’re standing or sitting as tall as you can. Drop your shoulders, tuck your chin a bit.
Bob commented on a man leaning against the handrails of a stair-stepper and said to me, “If you’re that tired, get off! These handrails are just like those on stairs–you don’t pull yourself up with them!” Then he showed me how to work my lower body without straining my head, neck and shoulders. He urged me to go for the burn working muscles produces and to exhaust my perfectly healthy leg muscles. Today, I’m a little sore, (OK, a lot sore, because I threw in a lap of the American crawl and one of frog kicking to celebrate getting my swim cap on without seizing up), so I head out the door on a sunny Colorado Saturday for a walk, head high, shoulders shifting a bit as I take each step. And as I type this, I check after each sentence that I’m sitting “tall as I can,” as Bob would say. I like the view from here.
Bob can be found at http://www.denverpainmanagement.com/DPM_Support_Team.html He’s amazing!
