Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Postural alignment to balance your body
When assessing posture, whether in sitting, standing or even laying down, I look at how your body is positioned. In standing, I observe how the feet are in touch with the Earth. I look at the relationship of the feet, the knees, the hips and so on all the way up to the head. I look at the body from all angles. I observe you get up from a chair, how you navigate the space you are in, and how freely you move your limbs in relation to your trunk. If you are able to walk, I observe that, too.
Observation of people has always been something I have enjoyed. When my husband and I were getting to know each other, we would sit on our college campus, talk and watch people as they walked by going to and from class, the library, or the dining hall. When I go to any sporting event, I rarely see the event because I am so busy looking in the stands and watching people! When I was accepted as a student in PT school, I added my knowledge of functional anatomy, gross anatomy, and neuroanatomy to the lens of my people-watching habit. I think it has served me well and here are some key things I’ve noticed when areas of the body might not be symmetrical from one area or side to the other.
*if the feet pronate(roll inward) excessively, the knees and hips usually follow
*if one side of the pelvis sits higher than the other, the head tries to “right” itself to keep the eyes as close to being horizontal as possible, there will be compensation somewhere else in the body (usually in the thoracic spine or in the cervical spine)
*whichever hand is dominant, that shoulder blade typically sits slightly lower on the ribcage than the non-dominant side
*if there is tightness in the pelvic floor, the diaphragm can’t fully descend to allow for a deep breath
*if the diaphragm can’t fully descend, then we overuse the neck muscles to help us breathe
*if the head is out in front of the shoulders, the abdominal muscles are not able to contract effectively, and your belly will typically “pooch” out
*if an area of the spine is shifted to one side, your body is typically trying to alleviate some type of pressure on a spinal disc or nerve (and I am not referring to scoliosis, which is a spinal curvature)
*with a squat, the knees can end up on front of the toes and that’s okay
*the knees can drift inward, especially during single leg activity, and that can indicate either hip weakness or foot/ankle weakness
*if your hip juts out to the side and the pelvis does not stay level when you are standing on one leg, more than likely, you have weak hip abductors on the outer side of the hip
*when one leg is longer than the other, the body will compensate in order to keep the head/eyes level with the horizon by bending a knee, turning one leg outward or inward, or by pronating or supinating a foot, or by creating a curve through the spine
These are just a few of the adaptations I have observed in an effort by our bodies to create balance. Our bodies try to create homeostasis, or stability across systems, to preserve balance and efficiency. It’s nice when we have symmetry with movement and positioning, but we humans tend to be pretty resilient and adaptable, so when there is asymmetry, it may or may not always need to be “fixed.” But, I do think it’s worth observing and working on exercises and movements to rebalance your body where there may be areas of tightness or weakness.