Un-do from your day
There’s a law proposed by a guru in Physical Therapy, Shirley Sahrmann that explains how low force over a long time creates strain. Think about a “half full glass example” though not your standard one. All of you can hold a half full glass with an outstretched arm in front of us for a moment, a minute perhaps, right? But if we had to hold it all day? That’s a different story!!
So consider this scenario: we can all tolerate putting our heads forward to, say, look at the fine print on our computer or phone screen BUT if we end up in this position all day, every day due to poor posture then that’s a different case entirely. That means anytime of day, all of the day, there is strain on those poor neck muscles and joints! No wonder so many people complain of tension in the traps (the muscles between the neck and the shoulder)!
So, the low force in above equation is the weight of our heads and sitting with our head forward will create considerable strain on the muscles around our necks. The strain leads to one, or both, of two things: one, the muscle becomes shortened in that position of dysfunction, or two, the muscle creates abnormal restrictions within it, or tautness/thickness, within the muscles. The abnormal shortness and/or restriction within the muscles eventually leads to injury and pain.
Think about a typical desk job. We sit at the desk, arms out in front of us on a keyboard for hours at a time, except for at our lunch hour when we move for a few minutes before we sit down again. When we get home, many of us choose to sit and watch TV, play on our phones, read or study. We are depriving our bodies of the much needed movement needed to keep our tissues healthy throughout the day, then deprive it for more time with what we do when we get home!
What we ALL need to do is UN-DO from whatever postures, positions and repetitive movements that we spend the day doing. So, to un-do from a desk job, it may be that you take a walk on your lunch hour for 15 minutes, and when you get home for another 15mins. Then, lay on your back over a big sized 55 or 65 cm therapy ball with your arms outstretched above your head to reverse the forward reaching of most activities that we do during our day. Try it! It feels delicious!!
If you don’t have a therapy ball, you can at least stretch out the fronts of your shoulders, and get your arms back behind you, if you lie on your back with your head in the corner of your bed (works better with Queens or Kings) with outstretched arms overhead or, out to the sides, or, better yet, both! Along with the position of un-doing, add some deep breaths and you may find yourself in a little bit of Heaven!
For those who are up moving around while at work, un-do by lying down when you get home with your legs bent or place them on the couch, or, over a bolster/roll/ball under knees and do some deep diaphragmatic breathing (if you are unclear on how to do this see my previous newsletter). This is especially helpful for relieving low back pain! Your disks (the spongy stuff in between your vertebrae) can rehydrate in about 15 to 20 minutes according to a study I read years ago.
Plus, you experience the added bonus of this position creating very gentle decompression of the spinal segments of your low back!
