Aging is inevitable, but who says you have to age badly? Fascial specialist, Melissa Putt, says this information will almost guarantee you a walker-free future.
Today walking to the bank, I saw 14 elderly people propped up with wheeled walkers moving both east and west. Both the ladies and gentlemen were cautious as the snow was turning to slush, hiding very slippery patches of sidewalk. People are living longer now than they did in the centuries before us. However, are people living active, able, agile lives?
The Boomers are taking the slow train to senior-hood and they are trying like hell to find the first available U-turn. The majority of us avoid picturing ourselves propped up on aluminum walkers taking an entire morning to do one errand. After all, the Boomers have taken care of themselves more so than any preceding generation ever did. They launched the era of fitness – they practically invented the word. They followed the teachings of the gurus of the time, Jim Fixx, Jane Fonda and strong men Bill Perl and Vic Tanny. Boomers have run more miles, competed in more marathons, skied more black diamonds, cycled more, hiked more, and conquered more ‘never been done before’ physical obstacles than any generation before them. Physical inability will surely pass right by this lot, right?
Not so fast.
Aches, pains, and previous injuries have all accumulated decades of strain into the body. It is these strain patterns that will start appearing as pain, and lead to lack of agility and physical ability. It will become more and more difficult for the Boomers to stay fit and injury free with their current fitness regimes sans proper body awareness. In fact, the Boomers growing up in the 1960’s never bought into the first code of physical well-being that their parents were raised on: posture. So they might very likely be shopping for walkers sooner than their parents ever did or will.
Why? Because posture, is the root of permanent physical ability.
Correct posture keeps organs aligned on the inside, and muscle and bones in proper position with the least strain on the outside. Organs kept in their rightful place function optimally; and because organs attach to the spine through an intricate netting system, it allows maximum space between vertebrae to allow for shock absorption and impact distribution. Correct posture allows the body to maintain space in joints, bursas and between muscles and bones. The space and glide of the bodily systems allows for all impact to be distributed through movement.
Posture begets physical fitness ability – not the other way around.
The fitness model of the last four decades does not promote proper posture on a daily basis and thus exacerbates strain and leads to limited range of motion. Mileage on the treadmill, weightlifting, spinning, and time spent sitting, staring at the computer, all of which are favorite past-times of The Boomer generation, counter act the tension and compression distribution of proper alignment. So get working on your posture, or your walker may need to be pre-ordered.
Optimum posture is when the head is positioned directly over the shoulder, and the shoulder should be horizontal to the floor. For every one inch the head is forward of the shoulder, the back carries 12 pounds of strain. It is like carrying a weight on the end of a long pole, the strain at the furthest end is more than the object itself. Not only is there strain going down the back, the forward head creates compression of vertebrae joints pulling the vertebrae closer together and making it compacted. Hips should be level and not carry the (overly-common) excess arch in the low back. All of these strain patterns eventually lead to pain and decreased agility, so Boomers start opting out of squash tournaments and Mt. Kilimanjaro hikes and instead find themselves playing poker at a senior center or watching old movies. If you have any variations of these misaligned and painful posture patterns, then weight lifting, impact sports, treadmills, and fitness classes are the last thing you should be turning to try to repair your health.
So what holds the body together, whether it is supporting good alignment or poor alignment?
Fascia. Fascia is a system of tubes filled with water that wraps around bone, muscle, muscle fibers, organs, nerves and arteries. Tendons and ligaments are just layers and layers of fascia all blending together into a thickened fascial tissue. The fascia is a tension and compression system. When you jump, the fascia should oscillate around the systems and distribute the impact. However, if your body is out of correct alignment, you develop strain, which is tightness held in the fascia. This strain has a low response to impact and it cannot distribute force. Impact movements such as running get absorbed by the joints, tendons, and ligaments.
Fascia has been mapped. Anatomists have dissected cadavers revealing the pattern of fascial netting throughout the body. It is so crucial to our everyday health yet is so overlooked by the majority of doctors and health practitioners. Fascia is ubiquitous, and is what connects the body, brow to toe. The fascia wrapped around the toes weaves its way up the back, around the head and attaches at the eye brow. So a back strain can elicit pain in the hip, shoulders or head. And a headache can be caused by strain in fascia at the low back. Fascial Fitness is fitness programing that is intent on maintaining and improving agility and overall health. It will identify the grossest strain patterns and create exercise routines that alleviate such tension. Little by little, the release of fascial tightness will allow the proper posture to realign so that impact continues to be absorbed into the fascial system and not by the joint lines themselves.
Fascial Fitness is the frontier of wellness. It will help us restore proper posture and alignment and if started right away, will open joint lines so hips glide freely, heads turn easily, ankles articulate fully, and no one has to shop for an aluminum walker to get to the bank.
Pictured: The Superficial Back Line: The fascia of the back line shows the plantar foot connecting in one sling up to the brow. All movement at any place along the fascial line will affect the entire fascial route.
About the author:
Melissa Putt is the owner of Healthy Habits Nutrition and Fitness Consulting inc. in Toronto at Yonge and St. Clair Ave. She is a myofascial trainer and therapist and a lipid-nutritionist. All programming in her clinic is focused on improving posture as the root of permanent physical ability.
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Photo credit: Flickr/ThomasHawk
Thanks for the article Melissa. You are correct that just being active and working out does not equal good postural alignment or postural strength. If we moved like a 5 year old, yes then we’d just about guarantee good postural alignment and functional strength, but we don’t. We sit for most of the day, then go to the gym and sit on a bike, sit to lift weights, or do the elliptical for 30 minutes. Not really giving our body all the motion and range of motion it needs to maintain postural alignment and function. While I agree fascia is… Read more »
Traditional or overall strength training both compress
Joint lines and tighten ligaments to help
Manage the bulk. Strength train without hypertrophy
With a focus to stabilize the joints and maintain
Maximum Space of all joint lines and
Internal fascial links. So all ‘balanced’ strength
Training optimizes with resistance fascial stretching
And stabilization.
I think the author conflates traditional body building (for aesthetics) that boomers have done, with overall strength training. When you don’t train the posterior chain, then of course you’re going to hunch over. All those pretty mirror-muscles tighten you up & cave you in to the front (chest, delts, abs, bi/tris). Train the posterior chain to counteract that, and any other posture problems. That’s the secret to longevity, and they are largest and strongest muscles in our bodies, anyway. Put them to good use for good mobility. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posterior_chain The way to train the biggest muscle group in your body is… Read more »