What is Postural training

What is Postural training?

The postural training is simply based on improving your posture with exercises. Having a good, relaxed posture, the pressure is distributed through the body in an optimal way. When the pressure is distributed in a optimal way, we usually do not have pain.

The postural muscles protects the joints from pressure and is therefore strategically placed as part of our innermost musculature. The postural musculature is also usually referred to as the postural chain as it is facially connected so it can work together from head to toe. This chain counteracts gravity from above and protects our joints from overload. They work statically and most of the time we do not notice them except when they no longer work. If problems occur with the postural muscles, the superfical muscles usually do the extra work and muscular imbalances are created. This is not to be confused with postural muscles in fysiotherapy. It is not the same and not the same way of thinking how the body interacts.

When we have a lot of muscular imbalances, the body must make a greater effort in movement and simply standing up, so we do not collapse under the pressure of gravity. We can then become tense, stiff and experience that it is difficult to relax. This can in time result pain or injuries. Among the most common problems today are back pain, which is often due to muscular imbalances.

Postural training history

Originally, postural therapy came from the United States and was created by Pete Egoscue, now known for The Egoscue Method. Pete was shot in the war in the rear and got chronic pain. When he could not find any help for his problem, he began to experiment himself and found that the solution was in the posture and balance. This is how Postural Therapy was born.

Markus Greus began his training as a Postural Therapist according to The Egoscue Method, in San Diego in 2001. He is from the beginning a Swedish physiotherapist who did not find the solution to his problems in physiotherapy. He then took postural therapy to Sweden where he further developed the techniques and eventually created the Optimum method. The Optimum method also includes various manual treatment techniques as well as a holistic view of human well-being. In 2017, he started an education in the Optimum method.

Now the therapy has spread more and more in Sweden. Some who have made a major contribution to the development of postural therapy are also Rasmus Svärd and Mattias Hallström. They introduced more neuromuscular theory models and manual muscle testing and also created a program for therapists with postural exercises. Physioscale.

We are not just built of muscles and bones. We are more complicated than that. Your posture is a reflection of how you are feeling right now in combination with your history. Posture changes all the time with our feelings, thoughts, what we eat, how we breathe, what we drink, how we sleep, our teeth health, whether we hurt ourselves, whether we move or not move and how we move .

It changes according to internal and external factors. When we treat the body badly for a long time, we lose our posture, our ability to move decreases and we can get pain. What we do not use simply disappears. Below is a more detailed explanation of what can affect your posture divided into structural, biochemical, emotional and mental influences.

Structural

We are constantly exposed to pressure from gravity and the body must parry this so that we do not collapse. When the pressure is not distributed through the body properly, certain areas can become overloaded. Those areas compensate for less functional areas.

For example, an injured foot on the right side can eventually create pain in the hip on the left side. This due to change in weight of the body to the left side to not overload the injured foot on the right side.

The reason why we compensate can be due to many things such as previous old injuries movement, no movement, overload at work or training.

Biochemical

Our cells need water, oxygen and nutrients to survive. The lymph and blood are needed, among other things, to transport the waste away from the cells. Otherwise, there will be an unpleasant environment in our tissue. The body may feel sore and bloated. The work of cleansing and rebuilding the body takes place as efficiently as we sleep and move.

When we take care of our basic needs with sleep, food, water, heat and oxygenation, we often have a good immune system. However, if this does not work, it can worsen our health. This has a direct effect on our posture as, among other things, the muscles, fascia and nervous system become stressed.

When the body becomes stressed, there is often poorer communication in the body, the signals through the nervous system and the fascia that tells the muscles to work are not as clear, which can lead to compensation.

To be mentioned, many people today have stomach problems and with that biochemical imbalanses that should be adressed to optmize both posture and health.

Emotional

När vi stressar så kan det kännas som tryck över bröstet. Tryck är energi. Energin överproduceras för att vi ska kunna rädda oss från en farlig situation och bör släppas för att vi ska kunna slappna av.

När vi inte släpper på stress vilket oftast har ett emotionellt ursprung så kan det ligga kvar och påverka oss långt efter det som stressade oss har hänt. Oupplösta trauman kan fortfarande påverka vårt beteende och vår fysiska kropp. När djur blir stressade så skakar de ofta efteråt och släpper på trycket. Det gör inte vi människor.

Mentaly

Negativa tankar påverkar oss fysiskt. Uttrycket att vi ser ”hängiga” ut kommer inte från ingenstans. Negativa tankemönster kan få en bestående effekt på vår hållning om de upprepas tillräckligt ofta.

Vi har vetat om hur tankar och känslor påverkat vår hållning länge även fast vi kanske inte reflekterat över det. I böcker när vi beskriver karaktärer så beskriver vi ofta kroppsspråket. Som "han gick med slokande axlar". Det är underförstått att han inte har så positiva tankar eller känslor och det reflekteras i dennes hållning.

Genom att jobba med medveten observation så kan vi hjälpa vår inre utveckling. Vi kan skapa ett lugn inom oss själva och lättare hantera livets motgångar. Genom att observera vår inre och yttre omgivning så kan vi bli medveten om hur och varför vi reagerar på olika sätt i olika situationer. Vi kan även minska den emotionella reaktionen som ofta följer med minnen och tankar. När vår emotionella reaktion inte är lika stark är det lättare att hantera situationer och minska vår inre stress.