Many of you played last week’s game, and it’s time to announce a winner and analyze what’s wrong with Zeena’s body. Actually, I should be more specific. Today we’re only going to discuss what’s wrong with Zeena’s posture. All the other issues we will leave for my overpaid therapist.
Many of you guessed that I had lower back pain from an anterior pelvis tilt and under engaged core. If you look closely I do have a SLIGHT tilt in the pelvis, but it’s not drastic enough to cause me undue pain. To those who guessed this… GOOD GUESS!
The real issue in the pictures of me are told in the front facing shot. If you notice, my left hand rests much further forward (on my thigh) than my right hand. Now, at first glance, you would think that it’s because my left shoulder caves inward. However, it’s actually due to a rotation that is prevalent in my torso which makes the arm lilt forward while the torso rotates back
Take a closer look at my left rib cage. Do you see how it’s rotated slightly to my left? In fact, my left bottom rib pokes out far more than my right since the rib cage is rotated to the left. Sometimes in xrays, my belly bMany of you guessed that I had lower back pain from an anterior pelvis tilt and under engaged core. If you look closely I do have a SLIGHT tilt in the pelvis, but it’s not dr
astic enough to cause me undue pain. To those who guessed this… GOOD GUESS!
Take a closer look at my left rib cage. Do you see how it’s rotated slightly to my left? In fact, my left bottom rib pokes out far more than my right since the rib cage is rotated to the left. Sometimes in xrays, my belly button ring actually shows up to the left of my spinal cord!
As a result, the pain is in my right shoulder/neck region. The pulling of the rib cage to the left causes my right shoulder pain and discomfort. At times when I feel this, I know it’s time to get back to my rotation exercises and get my rib cage back into position. It takes constant work and diligence.
So maybe it wasn’t as “obvious” as you thought. No crazy hunchback or flat back syndrome. But yet “rotation” is still a posture and alignment issue that needs to be addressed for long term pain reduction.
There was no one who guessed the problem exactly, but one reader did get VERY close. This reader noticed the lateral shifts in my pelvis and shoulders and even noticed a fallen arch on my left foot. The winner of this week’s game comes to us all the way from BOTSWANA! I just love how the internet brings us together from across the globe. Congrats to Ratsela Mooketsi! Thank you for playing and I’ll get my book Sculpt and Shape: The Pilates Way over to you.
Now I’m off to figure out how to ship to Botswana…
From Zeena’s rotated body (and maybe… mind!)
