If I told you there was something you could do for one hour that would help your back pain, your shoulder pain, hip pain and leg pain and all you have to do is lie on the floor, would you do it? Well there is such a position – it’s called Supine Groin Progressive. It’s sort of an exercise, but not really because you don’t do anything except lower your leg down through different levels every few minutes while lying there relaxing. The benefits are amazing…let me explain.
This is the tower. If you’ve been to Pain Free Performance, you’ve probably seen one. If not, it looks a little weird, but it’s an amazing postural tool. You see in the photo that one foot is in the upper level of the tower, the other is over a block. What do you do? You just lie there for 5 minutes each level and then do the same thing to the other leg.
What is it doing?
Several things are happening in several different muscles. Because the floor acts as a template, this puts your head, shoulders, back, hips, legs and feet on an even plane. For most of us, this is not the norm when we are standing. When you first lie down, you most likely will notice that there is space between your low back and the floor. Your body will eventually conform and sink into the floor.
Specifically, the ilio-psoas muscle at the base of the spine will relax and let your low back and pelvis settle back to the floor. The ilio-psoas starts at the low spine, crosses over the pelvis and attaches to the inside of the upper thigh. Because a lot of us sit so much, this muscle gets tight and since it is right in the middle of the body, it affects the whole body…especially the mid back and hips.
How does it work?
The body remembers this release of muscle tightness and the misalignment that comes with it. Doing this Egoscue exercise has a cumulative effect on the body and is a great antidote for all those hours of sitting. Over time, this muscle memory becomes the norm for your body’s posture when standing, running, sitting, or playing!
If you have questions, call us at Pain Free Performance and schedule a posture evaluation. The tower is just one exercise that would be a part of a postural exercise prescription. Each person is given an individualized program based on their postural issues. We can show you how improving your posture gives you pain relief, restores function and makes a world of difference in how your body feels and how you feel about almost everything. This is why we do what we do!!!
