Every day we spend time in our physical therapy clinic talking about posture. It does not matter the age, as the more posture is poor, the better chance that the person will have some sprain or strain problem down the road.
Posture and postural awareness is even more important for student athletes. We all know the image of that blow-up Tube Guy that blows in the wind as we drive by. They catch our attention as their colorful balloon body’s flop around all over the place. That is like adolescents with their posture. We use this analogy in the clinic all the time when we have student athletes who are generally very weak through their core regions. It shows up as forward heads, rounded shoulders, straight knees, and even increased arches through the lower back. They laugh when we talk about it, but then the parent usually goes, “oh, yeah, I have seen that from my kid….”
Most student athletes tend to be weak in the core regions which can lead to over use in the arms or legs. They are all over the place and may lack core strength, all of which can then lead to injuries. There is a huge benefit to strengthening postural and core muscles to help avoid overuse injuries.
Here are a few tips for your Tube Guy:
1) Posture. Having them do some light postural retraining is the right place to start. First, ask then to tighten their stomach. Almost like trying to pull in your belly button towards your spine. Hold for 5 seconds then release. Next have them stand and pull their shoulders back. Not shrugging their shoulders, but shoulders back behind them. Again, hold for 5 seconds then release. If they did each 20 times each day, they are off to some better posturing!
2) Planks. A modified plank is a great place to start engaging the core (see picture). Pressure points are on the knees and elbows while she tries to hold her core in tight. Hold 20 seconds. Ask them to do 10 on the floor in front of the TV during their favorite TV program.
3) Breathe. With all this posture work, there sometimes in the tendency to hold your breathe. Never hold your breathe. Quietly counting out loud to yourself is an easy way to prevent you from holding your breathe.
Your child’s Physical Therapist can help them begin strength training in a safe and effective way to improve this bad posture and promote good alignment and movement. They can also perform an evaluation to determine any deficits in strength or flexibility that may predispose them to certain injuries, and then prescribe exercises and stretches to target these deficits. Don’t let your kid be the Tube Guy! See your physical therapist today!