USIndoor's Official Magazine is a quarterly publication, dedicated to owners, managers, program administrators and other professionals, startups and providers involved with indoor recreational sports facilities.
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Posture Perfect by Sylvie Green ince 9:00 AM you have sat at your results in a desk, crossing and uncrossing your s e c o n d legs, right over left, then left over right. p o s t u r a l As your abdominal muscles weaken from d e v i a t i o n , holding you up for several hours, your spine forward head. flexes back, your shoulders roll forward, and These two your chin juts out until your nose almost deviations are touches the computer screen. As 5:00 PM t o g e t h e r nears, you look forward to indoor soccer referred to as upper cross syndrome. Once practice even though your neck aches and the abdominals give, the spine flexes back you feel a pain in your lower back. and the shoulders round forward and A sedentary work environment is one of down, or protract. A protracted shoulder the reasons a person may experience girdle is a result of the latissimus dorsi (large, postural deviations, which are imbalances in fan-shaped muscles on each side of your opposing muscle groups such as the chest spine) lengthening as the muscles in the and upper back, or abdominals and lower chest (pectoralis major and minor) become back. The four main postural deviations are short. Rounded shoulders move the head forward head, protracted shoulder girdle, forward and, as the chin juts out toward the anterior pelvic tilt and posterior pelvic tilt. computer screen, the upper trapezius (the Proper posture begins with a strong muscles above your shoulder blades) abdominal core to support the rest of your tighten as the cervical flexors (the muscles body. Many muscles comprise the abdom- down each side of the front of your neck) inal core, including the muscles around your lengthen. Protracted shoulder girdle and spine and your shoulder blades. Your forward head are referred to as upper anterior (front) abdominal cross syndrome because core includes not only the drawing an "X" on the profile rectus abdominis (your soof the upper body connects called "six pack"), but the short, tight muscles (the transverse abdominis, which upper trapezius to the chest) runs horizontally just beneath and long, weak muscles your bellybutton. Your poste(the cervical flexors to the rior (rear) abdominal core latissimus dorsi). includes all of the muscles in Forward head places a lot your back as well as your of pressure on the neck and glutes (gluteus medius, shoulders. For every inch maximus, and minimus). the head moves forward Sitting for a long period of from proper posture, the time may lead to postural pressure on the upper deviations. Just as repetitive trapezius increases by the movement can cause injuries, Upper cross syndrome entire weight of the head. If a repetitious lack of your head weighs 10 movement can cause muscle imbalance. pounds and moves forward three inches Repetitive movement places demand on from a neutral spine position, the neck one group of muscles over another, such as and shoulders support 30 pounds. The the chest and shoulders of a swimmer or trapezius tighten in order to support that the dominant forearm of a tennis player. If extra weight, resulting in muscle imbala muscle group is tight, like the hamstrings ance. on a runner, the opposing muscle group (in The lower body may also experience this case the quadriceps) lengthens and postural deviations as a result of becomes weak in comparison. The repeti- prolonged sitting. Imagine your pelvis as tious lack of movement involved with sitting a bucket of water. If, while standing, you for a long time may result in a tight lower tilt your pelvis forward (anterior), the water back and weak abdominals, if you are not spills out, just as it would if you were to tilt aware of your posture. it back (posterior). To stand in neutral The first postural deviation associated position you would split the difference with prolonged sitting in your office is between an anterior and a posterior pelvic protracted shoulder girdle. If the muscles in tilt. the upper back (trapezius, latissimus dorsi) A posterior pelvic tilt is not as common aren't strong enough to retract the shoulder in the United States as it is in countries blades and open up the chest, the shoul- where people customarily sit cross-legged ders round forward and down as the chest on the floor. (Think Martin Short as Ed caves in. Protracted shoulder girdle usually Grimley with his pants hiked up above his S waist.) Sitting in your office chair from nine to five, however, may cause an anterior pelvic tilt. Sitting flexes the hips and tightens the iliopsoas (hip flexor) while lengthening the opposing gluteal muscles. In order to sit in an office chair with proper posture, your abdominal muscles must be strong enough to hold your body upright. Even a strong abdominal core, however, cannot withstand the demand placed on it by many hours of sitting. As the abdominals weaken, the lower back muscles tighten. The anterior pelvic tilt is also called lower cross syndrome because if you were to draw an "X" on the profile of the lower body, you would connect short tight muscles (the lower back to the hip flexors) and long weak muscles (the abdominals to the glutes). If you are aware of postural deviations, you can adjust your body as they occur. For example, sitting with both feet flat on the floor rather than crossing one leg over the other distributes the weight evenly on both sides of your body. As you feel your shoulders round down, open up your chest and retract the shoulder blades. Tuck in your chin and reach the crown of your head up to the ceiling to prevent forward head. Activate the abdominal core by pulling your belly button back toward your spine, which will lengthen the muscles in the lower back. Taking breaks by getting up and walking around every so often will also activate weak muscles and lengthen tight ones. Muscle imbalance from postural deviations not only results in pain and discomfort but in impeded performance on the soccer field. The body cannot move efficiently when certain muscle groups must compensate for others. Tight hip flexors may not allow a player to pass the ball smoothly. Forward head may be responsible for an extra 20 pounds of pressure on the upper back muscles, making it difficult for a goalkeeper to relax her shoulders and maintain an open stance. Proper posture allows you to run faster, kick further, and play better. Sylvie Green is an aerobics instructor and personal trainer. She is certified through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) and Apex Fitness Group. SUBSCRIBE TO GOAL Receive A One-Year Subscription to USIndoor's Official Magazine, the only national publication dedicated to indoor soccer Just $15 for one year – Six issues delivered to your home. INDOOR First Name _________________________ _____________________________ M/F_______ Age _______ Last Name E-Mail Address _____________________ Street Address ____________________________________ Telephone ____ City __________________________ State _______ Code __________-____ Zip/Postal Pleaseselectthe option that best characterizesyourself: I am a: Player J Parent J Fan J Referee J Sponsor J Administrator J O ccupation and School /BusinessN ame : _________________________, _____________________ N ame of I ndoor FacilityiesA ttended : / GOAL Indoor • Aug.-Sept. 2002• 27