Posture, Stability and Breath.

Your posture affects how you breathe. Your breathing affects your stability. Your stability affects your posture. They're not separate problems existing in a vacuum, please recognize this is one intricate biological system.

In 2008, Spence demonstrated that training people to breathe properly with their diaphragm improves their posture and reduces pain, (Spence, 2008). Teaching athletes to stabilize their core through proper breathing reduces shoulder pain and improves performance (Waldron et al., 2017). The key is retraining your system. Your body learned these cortical patterns over years.

We need to teach your nervous system a different way. Emphasizing your ribcage. Co-ordinating your diaphragm, pelvic floor, and deep abs to control pressure that supports your spine.Not forcing yourself into some rigid idea of "good posture" but finding alignment that lets you breathe well and move freely.

Conventional thinking is back pain gets treated with back exercises. Breathing problems get treated with breathing exercises. Shoulder pain gets treated with shoulder exercises. Sometimes it works. Often it doesn't. The research is clear. People with chronic pain often have abnormal diaphragm function (Kolar et al., 2012). Athletes with overuse injuries frequently show breathing and stability problems (Waldron et al., 2017). Addressing the whole system gets better results than treating isolated symptoms (Spence, 2008). Stop thinking about these as separate issues. Your body doesn't work that way. Everything influences everything else. An assessment can show you where your system breaks down.

Kolar et al. (2012)  study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. It examined diaphragm function during postural activities in 18 patients with chronic low back pain versus 29 healthy controls and found that patients with chronic low back pain had abnormal diaphragm position and reduced excursion during postural tasks. PubMed

Lin et al. (2006) This study in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation examined 70 volunteers and found that slumped posture significantly reduced lung capacity and expiratory flow compared to normal sitting and standing postures. ScienceDirect

Wilkes et al. (2017) This study recruited 61 community participants with mild to moderate depression and found that adopting an upright posture increased positive affect, reduced fatigue, and decreased self-focus compared to usual posture. PubMed

Spence (2008) This is a single case study of one 40-year-old woman treated at the Postural Restoration Institute. It reports that her multiple pain issues resolved with Postural Restoration treatment. ScienceDirect

Waldron et al. (2017) The study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. It's a case report of a single 22-year-old volleyball player with rotator cuff tendinopathy. PubMed Central

Chart of typical posture presentations

Gestalt Movement & Myotherapy can provide tailored solutions to improve your posture and alleviate pain. You can transform your posture and enjoy a healthier life.