The Good, Bad and…Sad
THE GOOD- The New York Times just published an article about posture, and talked about posture awareness and exercise.
THE BAD- The Times promoted the outmoded concept of “good posture” instead of the more bio-mechanically intelligent concept of “StrongPosture”.
THE SAD- So far they have not printed my letter to the editor…see DrW’s Letter to the NY Times Editors below
((personal socio-cultural side note- I find it ironic that the Times, an icon of cultural acceptance, writes about an absolutist “good posture” model instead of the”functionally strong” model. Have to hope that the Times editors do not believe that if a body is less than perfect, then that person’s posture can never be good.
If you agree that they should tell a more balanced story, email them a link to this blogpost)
DrW’s Letter to the NY Times Editors
RE: Sit Up Straight. Your Back Thanks You. NYT June 24, 2011
Dear Editor:
Your title states the contradiction at the root of the problem– when we sit, our body is bent, not straight.
Though well intentioned, the advice to “sit straight” fails because people cannot constantly use muscles to hold the spine erect. Sitting flexes the body, shortening deep pelvic muscles and exerting a constant pull on the lower spine. Workstation ergonomics are intelligent, but sitting for over half one’s waking hours trains a flexed posture, causing postural back pain and other issues.
Strengthening postural balance is best achieved by building self-awareness with annual posture pictures, focused exercise breaks (such as the StrongPostureTM exercise protocols) throughout the day targeting the areas of habitual muscle restriction and, if there has been a back problem, see a posture professional to unlock restricted joints (doctors of chiropractic) and muscles (massage therapists).