Defying the Pains of Gravity: Using Proper Posture Technique by Jeff LaBianco

Author:Jeff LaBianco [LaBianco, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781475957143
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2012-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Goal #1: Heel contact with the ground

Goal #2: Forefoot contact with the ground

You may not realize it, but a lot goes on in your feet during a simple step. In order to properly contact the ground while absorbing forces and propelling you forward, your foot must change back and forth from a rigid lever into a mobile shock absorber. When your heel first strikes the ground, your foot is stable and rigid. Once the midfoot begins to make contact with the ground, your foot conforms to the ground surface and absorbs your body weight. Once all of your weight is accepted and absorbed, your foot changes back into a rigid lever propelling your body forward once the opposite heel makes contact with the ground. This rigidness allows the foot to push off the ground and propel your body forward without structural compromise or overstretching of your foot’s tissue structures. Now let’s take a look at what’s happening to the rest of your body as you walk.

How Our Bodies Absorb Shock during Ambulation

As you walk, a large amount of force is placed on the muscles, from the foot, which first contacts the ground, all the way up to the upper cervical spine. The foot does its job by absorbing the force as it pronates and becomes a mobile adapter. But where does all this force go? As the foot absorbs the ground forces, these forces must be dissipated somewhere. If the force were to stop at the foot alone, there would be massive breakdown in that area.

A tour of the human body will help to make clear how force is distributed. As your heel strikes the ground and rolls forward, weight is accepted throughout your step at 120 percent of your body weight. This means that if a two-hundred-pound man is walking, every step he takes will put 240 pounds of pressure on his foot. This force is absorbed up the lower extremity. The majority of the force is transferred up the shin bone (tibia) and muscles to the knee, leaving about 15 percent of the force to be absorbed by the bone and muscles of the fibula, the bone located on the outside of the shin. From the knee, force is transferred up through the hip bone and muscles to the lower spine. Once the force has reached the lower spine, the thoracic spine, leading up to the cervical spine, accepts the rest of the force.

The amount of force that actually reaches all the way up to the neck depends on how good a job the muscles and tissues absorb the ground force. That’s why it is important to have strong and well-positioned muscle length throughout the body.

If muscles are not strong enough to absorb the force, the bones and joints will have to. This will add unnecessary stress to the joints and in time may cause arthritis and joint pain.

Common Problem Areas

I have seen many patients with weakness in the external rotator of the hip. These rotators are deep

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