Slouchy KDA at a park in Wichita, KS in 2012
vs "Stand Tall" KDA in the UK & at the YMCA in 2022
One of the benefits of going to the gym is that I get to “talk shop” with other members and with the instructors. We can share stories of our various triumphs and challenges.
For the last seven years, I am most often talking about issues with my right shoulder and my right arm.
I thought that I had injured myself by lifting too many weights. After talking with some of my instructors who are physical therapists and after visiting an orthopedic surgeon who referred me to a physical therapist, I discovered the foundation of my shoulder / arm problems.
Poor posture.
This revelation caused me to remember a physical therapist’s comment to me about a decade ago (2013). I showed this PT a photograph of my centenarian friend, Gladys Bever, who was 103 at the time: “Look at her posture,” he admonished me. “That correlates with longevity.”
That was the first time I started to pay attention to the importance of posture beyond an aspect of aesthetics and a vehicle for conveying confidence. Each passing year, I grow more and more dedicated to spending time, effort, and a bit of money (on physical therapy co-pays and deductibles) to work on the root of my posture problems.
Because this topic includes a lot of areas, I’m going to start a series.
Here are the topics I am anticipating covering. I will return to add links and revise the topics as necessary.- AC Joint Impingement aka Weightlifter's Shoulder
- Proper Positioning of the Shoulder Blades
- Sticking my Neck Out Causes Shoulder Problems
- Shoulder? Elbow? Fingers? It's a Pinched Ulna
- Tech Neck from Cell Phone, Desktop, and (low tech) Books
- Classes that Address Posture: Core, Ballet, Yoga, and Tai Chi
- Posture Mantra: Tall, Proud, Ballerina, Turtle, Book
Related:
Centenarians on the Rise (featuring Gladys Bever)
Shoulder Pain and Ageism
Grateful for Aging
Gym Rat at Sixty
