Perfecting your posture

FITNESS | Egoscue method
Perfecting your posture
CYCLING CAN FORCE your body into a very unnatural position, which could leave you in considerable pain. Make
time for this sequence of positions, based on the Egoscue method, and you could save yourself future problems
O
UR feature earlier
this year on postural
alignment therapy
aroused plenty
of interest in the
exercises featured
from our readers.
Fitness guinea pig, CW’s
chief reporter Keith Bingham,
benefited from the assessment
and exercise programme set by
therapist Pamela Jones and saw
considerable improvements in the
back, hip and knee conditions he
had been suffering.
The detailed programme was,
however, specifically tailored to
the patient’s individual needs.
Jones has now designed a
generic set of 10 exercises based
on the Egoscue method that just
about anyone can do at home.
Self-assessment
Front view
Standing in front of a full-length mirror, your feet
should be hip width apart and pointing straight
ahead, and so should your knees. Your shoulders
and hips should be level (horizontal) with each other.
If they are not, you may have either a torso offset or
shoulder or hip elevation, or all of these things.
You should be able to draw a plumbline down
through the centre of your body — everything should
look symmetrical either side of the plumbline.
If you can see one shoulder or one hip coming
forward, this is an indication of a rotation in the body.
WRONG
RIGHT
In the side view (sagittal
plane), you should be able
to draw a plumbline up
from just in front of your
ankle bone up through the
centre of the knee, the hip,
the shoulder and then the
ear — get a willing helper
for this.
Another indication of
sagittal plane alignment
is to stand flat against
a wall — try to use one
without skirting boards
so that the heels are
flat against the surface.
Your heels, hips,
shoulders and head
should be able to sit
back against the wall.
Standing straight with your
feet hip-width apart and
pointing straight ahead,
close your eyes and focus
on the sole of your left
foot. Try to feel where
the weight distribution is,
and then do the same for
the right foot. Then focus
on both feet and feel for
unbalanced distribution.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 www.cyclingweekly.co.uk
This set of exercises must be done
in the order listed — they progress
through specific areas of the body
— and you should return to the
‘neutral’ position between every
exercise. The whole set should
take 30-40 minutes, so if you
are pressed for time, reduce the
repetitions, rather than missing
out exercises.
Side view
Weight distribution
38
The exercises
WRONG
RIGHT
FITNESS | Egoscue method
1
Neutral back
Lie on your back
with your legs
resting on a chair or
large cushion and
arms resting at 45 degrees to the
body, palms turned up. Try to relax
your upper back. Concentrate on
your lower back and feel whether
it is flat evenly from left to right.
3
2
Hooklying
pillow squeeze
Adopt the same
position as above,
but place a pillow
between your knees. Squeeze your
knees inward into the pillow and
release. Try not to contract your
stomach / abdominal muscles with
each contraction. Repeat 20 times.
Good for... working the muscles at
the front of the hip.
TIP: Alternate exercises two and
three, and repeat three times.
Lying flat on the floor, raise
your knees so that there is
a 90-degree angle between
thigh and calf. Lie with your
arms out at 45 degrees and
with your palms up. Begin squeezing and releasing
your buttock muscles without contracting your
stomach / abdominal muscles. Repeat 20 times.
Good for... working the muscles around the back of
the hip.
TIP: Place yours hands on your bum to get started if
your brain is struggling to isolate the muscles.
4
Reverse press
Assume the hooklying position
but with your arms lying level
with your shoulders and your
forearms facing up, fingers
lightly curled. Gently draw your shoulder
blades together and release. Repeat for
three sets of 15.
Good for... elevated shoulders.
TIP: Keep your forearm vertically aligned
above the elbow.
Illustrations: Jason Hardy
Hooklying position
www.cyclingweekly.co.uk SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 39
FITNESS | Egoscue method
5
Pull over
From the hooklying position, move your arms
into a ‘James Bond’ shooting position, with
your arms brushing the side of your face.
Bring your arms over your head and try to
touch the floor behind you. Repeat 30 times.
Good for... creating movement in the spine and shoulders
— the spine lifts slightly as the hands reach the floor.
TIP: The arms must stay straight.
7
Hip lift
In the hooklying position, raise your right thigh
at a right angle to the floor with your knee bent
at 90 degrees. Lift your left leg and cross your
ankle over your right knee. Now draw your
right leg towards you (using the gluteals) while counteracting
with your left ankle. Hold for 60 seconds, breathing into the
abdominals. Swap sides, coming back to the neutral position
in-between. Repeat fives times each side.
Good for... creating function in the hips.
TIP: Keep your knee vertical above your hips.
6
Abdominal contractions
From the hooklying position, place
your hands behind your head
with fingers interlocked. Contract
the abdominals by lifting your
shoulders and feet, then relax.
This is not a sit-up: look straight
up and keep your eyes fixed on a
point. Repeat two sets of 10.
Good for... engaging the trunk
flexor muscles.
TIP: Do not just pull your head
forwards. This movement must
be done correctly to achieve the
desired effect.
CASE STUDY
I was in constant pain
Cycling Weekly reader Brian
Daley visited Pam Jones for
treatment of his persistent
back pain.
“I started postural therapy
because I had constant back
pain; something I have had
for many years, particularly
after sessions on the bike. I
was spending a lot of time and
money at the osteopath, physio
and chiropractor, as well as
trying sports massage. I read
the article about Pam in Cycling
Weekly and other articles about
core strength and I thought I
would give it a go.
40
“I’ve noticed a difference in
my core strength – it is definitely
improving and hill climbing is
getting better (it’s still not great!).
And my back doesn’t hurt when I
get to the top.
“I haven’t been back to the
osteopath since starting the
programme. The postural therapy
does need some effort, just like
any training. I find it takes about
30 minutes and I tend to do it
first thing in the morning, which
is always hectic, so I have just
been getting up a bit earlier. The
morning is always worst for my
back pain, and doing the exercises
really eases me into the day.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 www.cyclingweekly.co.uk
“The photos, feedback and
exercise programme really are
an eye opener on your posture,
and the exercises have worked.
In Cycling Weekly the experts talk
about cross training and other
activities, and that this could be
part of your routine, whether
you are a part-time cyclist
for fitness, like me; a slightly
overweight 40-something; or a
more serious performer.”
“Doing the exercises
in the morning really
eases me into the day”
FITNESS | Egoscue method
8
THERAPIST PROFILE
Heal with movement
Cats and dogs
Get down on your hands and
knees, keeping your elbows
straight. For ‘the cat’, pull your
hips under, pull your head under
and push your upper back to the
ceiling. Follow this with ‘the dog’
— roll your hips forward to put
the arch in your back, collapse
your shoulder blades together
and look up. Repeat 10 times.
Good for... flexing and extending
the spine.
TIP: Keep the arms vertical with
your hands directly beneath the
shoulder
9
Static extension
Start on your hands and knees. Place your elbows into the place where
your hands were. Make a light fist and pull your hands away from each
other, pivoting on your elbows. Drop your shoulder blades together, drop
your hips and lower your head. You should feel a stretch in the rhomboids
(between the shoulders). If not, adjust your arm’s position fore or aft. Hold
for 60 seconds.
Good for... post-ride stretching of the spine.
TIP: If you only manage one of the 10 exercises,
this one is the most beneficial for cyclists.
10
Pam Jones trained in postural alignment therapy
after her own experiences of persistent pain and
successful treatment using the Egoscue method.
“I have been cycling since 1989,” she said. “At
one time I was riding about 5,000 miles a year.
Then, throughout the course of 2004, my cycling
waned because I seemed to develop one problem
after another. I got ‘trigger thumbs’, which needed
surgery, then golfers elbow, then tendonitis in my
wrist — I had cortisone injections for both which
didn’t work. I had a lot of other things too, so at
48 years old I thought I was falling to pieces. I
couldn’t ride my bike, I was in so much pain.
“Then somebody told me about a book called
Pain free and the Egoscue method, and that’s how I
came to the therapy.”
Jones’s inquisitive disposition — fitness
training, weight training, yoga and karate all
feature in her CV — led her to train at the Egoscue
clinic in San Diego after achieving rapid results on
her own ailments with treatment from a therapist.
She now treats all sorts of athletes, assessing
their postures and setting individual exercise
programmes for musculoskeletal dysfunctions.
Cyclists can be curiously reluctant to spend
valuable riding time on non-cycling activities, but
Jones believes it is essential to include an exercise
programme such as hers in your regular routine.
“Most people tend to concentrate on one
activity,” she says, “and if it’s a demanding activity
they think it is enough for the body, but it never is.
Cycling, in particular, is a dreadful position for the
body, but an amazing workout for the heart and
the lungs. Things like tennis and golf, are really
detrimental to the body too, because normally
they will cause rotational problems.
“If you can heal your body in the most natural
way, by movement, why on earth would you want
to have your body forcefully manipulated, operated
on, or medicated? It doesn’t make sense does it?”
Wall sit
Stand against a wall with
your feet facing straight
ahead. Your hips, upper
back and head should be up against the
wall. Walk your feet away from the wall
approximately two to two-and-a-half feet.
Bend your knees and start sliding down
the wall. Hold this position and keep the
weight in your heels. Your lower back
should be flush up against the wall. Hold
for 60 seconds.
Good for... leaving the pelvis in a neutral
position.
TIP: Feet should be hip-width apart —
look down and you should see your toes.
With thanks to David Lloyd Leisure, Sidcup.
www.cyclingweekly.co.uk SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 41