What is structural reconditioning?

Simply put, itʼs stretching shortened hypertonic muscles and strengthening their agonistic counterpart in full range of motion - a range of motion in which they may never be active in normal positioning while under the effects of gravity. The result of stretching these shortened postural muscles and strengthening the weakened phasic muscles in a range of motion in which, due to gravity, they are never activated can be a complete reversal of anatomical and load bearing deviations brought on by injury, atrophy, repetitious motions, and even aging.

The key is in deactivating the shortened postural muscles that would typically prevent their agonistic muscle groups from engaging in their full anatomical range of motion for the duration of the exercise. This is achieved through body positioning.

Many people (especially those in pain) can not perform a simple activity such as raising their arms above their head while maintaining neutral spine and head positioning. Itʼs a simple enough movement but until we attempt it using a fixed guide such as a wall to measure ourselves against, we donʼt realize just how limited our functional range of motion really is. If someone has suffered an injury or engaged in a lopsided conditioning program, the odds of achieving anywhere near full range of motion becomes so low, that it’s almost guaranteed that they will be unable to move with full functionality. In my line of work, I am constantly evaluating athletes whose anterior muscles are so powerful and over-conditioned when compared to their posterior counterparts that they canʼt maintain neutral alignment even through average range of motion.

So, how do we re-train our bodies back to neutral, which will contribute to the elimination of additional load-bearing forces on the discs of the low back, neck, and joints throughout the body?

Whether we are athletes or homemakers who are loading our lumbar discs with hundreds of pounds of extra force throughout the day, there is a quick and simple way to eliminate much of these extra loads.

If weʼre constantly dealing with neck pain from forcing muscles to support the extra weight of our heads being several inches forward from our center of gravity, or our arms and shoulders being rolled to the front placing our hands over one-half foot forward from our center of gravity, this can be fixed.

If youʼve been walking around with your body so far out of neutral alignment that it feels like youʼve had a bowling ball strapped to your chin for years and your low back, neck, or knees have had enough, stop living in discomfort and let’s fix it.

Hereʼs how itʼs done

Lets go back to our average person with typical anterior deviations preventing them from raising their hands over their head while maintaining neutral posture. Itʼs not that getting into this position is of some great importance, rather, itʼs the severe muscle imbalances that this inability demonstrates that is of concern. To fix this, we need to strengthen the muscles involved in holding our head, shoulders, and arms back in a range of motion that our bodies at this point canʼt achieve while standing, sitting, or in any position where our anterior postural muscles are engaged due to gravity. Therefore, we do our exercises in a position where our postural muscles are less active, such as lying supported on the ground or on a table. When you experiment with your range of motion on the ground versus against a wall, youʼll find you have dramatically greater range of motion on the ground. What is the variable? On the ground your postural muscles are less active, now allowing you to work and strengthen their agonistic muscle groups in a range of motion they may not have engaged in years, possibly decades.

This is an example of just one exercise I have my clients perform to immediately strengthen the muscles responsible for pulling their alignment back to neutral. After 8-10 of these exercises are performed, which are specifically chosen based on individual evaluation of where your muscular imbalances lie, most people achieve a near complete restoration of their alignment back to where it was when they were very young. At this point, any further exercise has the added benefit of reinforcing an ideal alignment instead of cementing a deviated one like many people in the gym do. The results are seen immediately and are palpable after just one session. These initial results are further advanced by a brief daily stretch and strengthening routine designed to promote the client’s individual postural needs.

Once a person has been restored to neutral alignment, they can further reinforce these positive results with an intelligent resistance training program targeted at improving their weaknesses before further developing their strengths.