Is your posture functional? These 4 easy tests will tell the truth about whether your body is working with you or against you.
There are several tests you can perform on yourself at home to determine if you’re body structure is operating functionally. Performing these tests can help you to get to know your body. You can do a before and after check on yourself at the beginning of the day and at night, or at a time when you do not feel pain and then again when you do. Performing these tests in the order described, has a therapeutic effect.
To start to explore your own body’s level of function. Stand in the center of a room and feel where your center of gravity falls. Get a feel for how your weight is distributed in your feet. Your weight should fall evenly left to right foot, and evenly front to back. If it doesn’t, that’s an indication that your center of gravity is unevenly distributed.
To start to explore your own body’s level of function. Stand in the center of a room and feel where your center of gravity falls. Get a feel for how your weight is distributed in your feet. Your weight should fall evenly left to right foot, and evenly front to back. If it doesn’t, that’s an indication that your center of gravity is unevenly distributed.
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The next test can be performed, by standing with your back against a wall. You should be able to feel 11 points of contact touching the wall naturally. Both of your heels should touch the wall, your calves, buttocks, shoulder blades and the back of your shoulders, and your head all without having to force any of those parts back against the wall. If any of these points are not touching the wall or feel like they are pressing against the wall unevenly from left to right, this indicates imbalance.
Another simple self-test is to sit up on your sit bones in a hard chair. Try to feel if there is a difference in your sit bones. Is one sit bone further forward than the other? Next, rock you’re your pelvis forward and back. Feel how your pelvis affects your entire spine? So if your pelvis isn’t even then your spine is not going to be functioning evenly either. A similar test is performed laying face up with your knees bent, and your feet flat on the floor. With your eyes closed try to feel if there is a difference between your right and left low back or pelvis. You can even use your hands to reach under your low back to feel if one side is higher off the ground than the other. Functionally, there should be enough of an arch in your low back that you should be able to slip your fingers under your back evenly on both sides. |
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From this position on the floor, put your right ankle on your left knee, just above your left kneecap. Without using your hands or arms, using your lower body only, gently press your left knee away from you until you feel a stretch. Make a mental note of where you feel this stretch. Repeat this stretch on the opposite side. Compare your range of motion and where you feel the stretch. Any difference would start to tell a trained postural therapist where the imbalance lies in your body’s foundation and how to address it.
The last test is in a position called, “static back.” This exercise should not be performed by anyone in there second or third trimester of pregnancy. This test should be done for a full five minutes with a self assessment at the beginning and end of the 5 minute period. To perform this exercise, lie on your back, legs up on a couch or chair. Your knees and hips should be bent to 90 degrees and your legs relaxed. Also relax your arms out to the sides. Breathe with your stomach. Are you able to lie your head down on the ground or do you feel like you need a pillow under your head? Are both of your shoulders on the ground evenly? With your arms out at 45 degrees, do your palms rest face up? Or do they have a tendency to roll palms down? Is your low back arched, flat, or uneven left to right? Do your buttocks feel even on the floor? Does it feel like your upper buttock is even left to right? Now check your lower buttocks. Is it even left to right? Now check your legs. Are your knees pointing straight up, or are they angled out? And, are they even left to right? If you have someone else in the room, you can ask them to tell you if your feet are angled out or in, and are they even left to right? A fully functional person should, in a relaxed position and without effort, be able to rest their head on the floor without using a pillow. Your nose should point straight towards the ceiling. Both shoulders should rest on the floor evenly. Hands should fall palms up evenly. The low back should not have an arch on either side. The buttocks should feel even with the weight at about an inch above the tailbone. Knees and feet should angle out at about 10 degrees. Make sure you check all of these at the beginning and the end of the 5 minutes.
If you showed any imbalance with these tests, a general exercise sequence may be enough to get you out of pain. Of course, every body is different, and certain accidents, surgeries and traumas may require a sequence specific to overcoming your body’s imbalances. You can get an individualized exercise sequence online for 1/2 the price of seeing a therapist in person.
The last test is in a position called, “static back.” This exercise should not be performed by anyone in there second or third trimester of pregnancy. This test should be done for a full five minutes with a self assessment at the beginning and end of the 5 minute period. To perform this exercise, lie on your back, legs up on a couch or chair. Your knees and hips should be bent to 90 degrees and your legs relaxed. Also relax your arms out to the sides. Breathe with your stomach. Are you able to lie your head down on the ground or do you feel like you need a pillow under your head? Are both of your shoulders on the ground evenly? With your arms out at 45 degrees, do your palms rest face up? Or do they have a tendency to roll palms down? Is your low back arched, flat, or uneven left to right? Do your buttocks feel even on the floor? Does it feel like your upper buttock is even left to right? Now check your lower buttocks. Is it even left to right? Now check your legs. Are your knees pointing straight up, or are they angled out? And, are they even left to right? If you have someone else in the room, you can ask them to tell you if your feet are angled out or in, and are they even left to right? A fully functional person should, in a relaxed position and without effort, be able to rest their head on the floor without using a pillow. Your nose should point straight towards the ceiling. Both shoulders should rest on the floor evenly. Hands should fall palms up evenly. The low back should not have an arch on either side. The buttocks should feel even with the weight at about an inch above the tailbone. Knees and feet should angle out at about 10 degrees. Make sure you check all of these at the beginning and the end of the 5 minutes.
If you showed any imbalance with these tests, a general exercise sequence may be enough to get you out of pain. Of course, every body is different, and certain accidents, surgeries and traumas may require a sequence specific to overcoming your body’s imbalances. You can get an individualized exercise sequence online for 1/2 the price of seeing a therapist in person.
