When Does Position Matter in Movement?

Here is an issue from our bi weekly newsletter specifically for health and fitness professionals. Our owner, Jesse Lewis, shares his experience and ideas as well as stories to help the health and fitness community connect and learn from each other.

From the Mix of Gym and Clinic

Just had a great conversation with a coach after class about the differences in messaging around posture, position and form.

We talked about how they teach spinal neutral, hip hinge and scapular retraction during their movements.

He mentioned he overhead us talking to someone about how rounding their back was actually a good idea.

We then went into when and how we teach our patients about when to actually not stress about spinal neutral, scapular retraction, etc.

I think it helped us both realize that even though we had different messages for people, both messages were right, in the right context.

So, the question we as physical therapists always ask ourselves is, when does position and form matter? And, as much as I love black and white answers, the answer usually comes down to is "It depends"

What Does the Research Say (nerd alert)

I used to think that if someone sat with bad posture or had rounded shoulders during a lift or had a forward head they were setting themselves up for disaster.

As more and more research comes out, it looks like this isn't the case.

There's plenty of research now that tells us that rounded shoulders don't lead to more shoulder pain, a forward head doesn't lead to neck pain,

anterior pelvic tilt doesn't lead to back pain, rounded back during lifting doesn't lead to back pain, and on and on.

That was pretty tough for me to wrap my head around because it's all I taught my patients for years.

Does This Mean Posture and Position Doesn't Matter?

I don't think so. 

How I take the research is that I don't need to over correct someone on a perfect position if they don't already have pain.

And, if they do have pain, I don't want them thinking they have to totally change their position or posture to get out of pain.

It might temporarily help them to feel better if we change their positioning or posture, but I don't want them thinking they have to walk around the rest of their life like a robot with perfect movement.

What probably matters more is:

• How long are they in that posture for (the longer they're in a position the more likely it will be uncomfortable, no matter what the posture is)

• Have they trained for that position - if you never have a rounded back and lift a super heavy weight with a rounded back that could be a problem

• Are they able to get out of that position - if someone has a rounded shoulder position, do they still have full overhead mobility?

  
  

Bottom line for me:

You don't need perfect posture to live pain free. But, if you want to PR your deadlift, that's a different story.