Let’s do the math: 10 x 175 (me) = 1750 (total pounds of force). That’s 1750 pounds each time my foot strikes during a jog or an aerobics class. If my head is pulled forward from a shortened rectus abdominus and my pectorals are tight from too many bench presses, the extensors of my spine will be long and loose. My cervical and thoracic spine is being jarred forward of where it’s supposed to be. If I haven’t been taught to use my multifidus, pelvic floor and transverse abdominal muscles in concert with each other and my hip flexors are tight from all the running I’ve been told is good for me, my low back is pulled into hyper-lordosis. Perhaps my hamstrings are taut because I don’t like to do the flexibility part of the wellness equation. My lumbar spine is also being flexed. Sometimes, one side of the lumbar spine is tilted anteriorly, while the other side is tilted posteriorly. Women usually have little or no glute development and often run with a side-to- side shift.
Is it any wonder orthopedic surgeons are seeing us in record numbers?
There is stress on the spine when walking, but not nearly as much. You can still incur chronic injuries from walking with a crooked spine, so beware. Going out and walking for ninety minutes when you haven’t done anything more than channel surf will put you right back on that couch.
As fitness professionals and trainers, it is our responsibility to do thorough postural and range of motion assessments. If we’re not qualified to do this, we owe it to our clients to refer them out. The gym then becomes as dangerous a place as being in a pharmacy and picking out a pill to take because it’s a pretty color. Another Paul Chek-ism is “If you’re not assessing, you’re only guessing.”
Give your body the material it needs from nutritionally dense food so it can replace the millions of cells that die every second. You truly are what you eat. Hydrate with pure clean water. When you’re eating correctly, your brain works better and you’ll be able to hear the wisdom there within the cells. Learn to walk before you run and your spine will take you effortlessly into your twilight years. I plan to walk my way to the grave, without a walker. How about you?
