Supertraining

I've tried to hold off posting here, but I just can't anymore.

Posture and function are not related. Posture and strength are not 
related. Posture and pain are not related.

There is no "ideal" posture that everyone should adhere to. The only 
spinal posture that could be considered ideal is that which allows 
for the most uniform force distribution. So extremes of posture are 
out, but the range of "normal" or "ideal" is HUGE, and very 
individual.

Biomechanics people (whether Pettibon in the chiropractic world or 
anyone else) have been chasing this illusion for years, and the many 
studies repeatedly show:
- poor reliability in detecting positional or postural "faults" in 
the spine
- findings of improper alignment or mobility are common in 
asymptomatic subjects
- anatomical variations prevent reliable assessment in many cases
- large scale spinal curves or small scale mobility of the spine are 
not appreciably changed with manipulative or exercise therapy

Correcting someone's exercise form to maintain appropriate lumbar 
lordosis during certain heavy lifting exercises or preventing 
excessive forward head and shoulder slumping during an overhead 
press makes sense. That's exercise form. But trying to correct 
standing or exercising "posture" in general just flies in the face 
of the established research.

Remember the mandibular "repositioning" craze way back? (70s I 
think?)
This is no different.

The body is just made for a certain amount of individuality, 
asymmetry, and lateralization. That's a neurologic fact. Most of the 
performance variables people who want to correct this posture to 
achieve are neurologic and neuromuscular, not structural, in nature.

We all need to direct our attention to those things - like 
SuperTRAINING not SuperPOSTURE.

Jason Silvernail DPT,OCS,CSCS
Heidelberg, Germany