Physical Therapy and Posture

I thought I had a bad shoulder. Well, actually, I do, but not because of the bones or anything like that (thank God!, I don't want any more surgeries). It's because my posture is bad. All those years being hunched over, working on beading, at a typewriter, writing, working on crafts, driving, etc., etc., etc., and not straightening my torso to stand erect -- and walla, Pain, aches, and limited mobility. Now, I can't have that. Remember, I am getting my body ready to go to China.

I started physical therapy last week for both my knee (from when I fell at Christmas) and the ongoing shoulder pain. Come to find out, I have/had a bruise on the soft tissue in my knee. So, that is why it still hurts at times. But, with one week of therapy and an exercise program plus ice (not heat), it feels 90% better. I can do the rest of this by myself and a little help from my friends, and they can focus on my shoulder.

I am so glad my shoulder's ligaments, tendons, etc. are not torn and the shoulder joints are okay. Now, I really need to strengthen those muscles so there will be no further damage down the road. Along with the bones in that arm being broken three (that's right 3) times, arthritis because of the breaks, my posture is to blame for the pain in that area. She looked at my back, and she saw a marked difference in the two sides. Ice, ibuprofen, and exercise to strengthen -- that is my schedule now.

But, why posture? I am no different from anyone else driving, typing, cooking, crafting, writing, etc., etc., etc. Come to find out, many people -- shoot, most people, suffer from poor posture. And the PT aide commented this will be a huge concern in the future (and she is already hearing about this complaint) because of everyone hunched over texting, glued to their smart phone and sending instagrams and tweets for all to see. So, today, I want to share three exercises I do now, and these three have been shown to me before by other PTs for my posture, so I imagine they are fairly universal. I have done the first two on a semi-continual basis for probably the past 20 years.

This is an easy one. stand close to the wall with your feet squarely in front of you. If you feel more comfortable for balance, go ahead and put one foot back a bit so you have leverage. Keep your head straight and even.

If you have a towel, great, use it by putting both of your hands on it. (If you don't have a towel handy, just use the wall.)

Put both hands on the wall and slide the hands up as far as you can reach. Repeat -- to begin 10 times -- using gentle motions going up and then down. Do not jerk or let the arm down with a sudden movement.

(I have also been taught to use this method, but instead of sliding the arm up and down, I have used my fingers to crawl up the wall and then slide the arm down.)






The second one that I have been doing for years is using the wall again. This time you are going to be back away from the wall because you are going to push away from it. It is very important with this exercise to have one foot in back and one foot in front for balance. Keep your head straight and even (do not look up or down.)


Your hands are going to be on the wall with your fingers pointed up (although I have also been taught to have my hands pointed together with the fingers in).

Simply push towards the wall (when you do this you should feel the pull in the back shoulder blades) and then away from the wall to relax. Repeat -- to begin 10 times -- using gentle motions going in and out.

The third one is new, but I believe is an innate one. When your back hurts, what do you do? You throw your shoulders back and squeeze the shoulder blades together to throw your chest out in front of you. That is what this exercise is all about.

What I have learned with this exercise is to use the wall again. Actually, the corner of the wall.

Simply, stand at the corner of any wall and squeeze the shoulders back toward the two sides of the wall. Of course, you are going to be standing straight with your head looking evenly ahead and straight. Again, repeat -- to begin 10 times -- with gentle motion and feel the pull of the shoulder blades.





I do have many, many more exercises than these, but I believe these are so universal, and everyone should be aware of them if not already. What's great is that you can do them anywhere. When I am starting to get a muscle spasm in my back, I go to the wall and start pushing. Plus, I drink a ton of water. Usually, I can catch it before it brings me to my knees. But it took me years to learn what worked for me.

One thing I am more aware of since I started with the PTs is when I walk (and I do every day) I am standing straighter, and I feel taller. Shoot, maybe I will even grow an inch or two!

With the new schedule, I will be back on Wednesday, and once again, if you want my take on the idioms and cliches of the world, you can read about them at miswordsdotcom.wordpress.com. My blog is titled Miswords.

Until then...have a great day...