You gradually get used to holding yourself in certain postures over years of movement experiences. Your perception of where neutral is, or what good posture is may be skewed. Taking the time to have someone point out your imbalances is a necessary first step to changing things. Seeing them and feeling them are even more important. Posture and muscle imbalances can be changed, but it takes awareness and dedication. See the video for more detail.

Throughout your body there are deep localized muscles that help to provide structural stability to your spine and peripheral joints. There are also larger global muscle slings that provide stability and movement during higher demand tasks. These two systems ideally work together to provide a strong foundation of balance, stability and free movement.

Your “Deep Inner Unit” consists of four muscle groups: the pelvic floor, the transverse abdominus (TA), the multifidus and the diaphragm. These muscles should activate as stabilizers as soon as you start moving during day to day tasks. They provide a subconscious gentle compression to your pelvis and trunk so that your larger muscle groups can function from a stable base. These muscles can become dysfunctional as a result of injury or developed muscle imbalances due to repetitive postures or sports. It is possible to compensate for a poor Deep Inner Unit by developing a lot of strength through the larger global muscle slings, but this will limit strength potential and will leave a person vulnerable to injury under low demand tasks such as bending to tie up his/her shoes.

The first step to activating your core properly is ensure your pelvis is in a neutral position, which means your glutes are relaxed and there is a gentle curvature to your low back. The muscles you are going to contract are gentle isometric muscles, which means contracting them will not produce any movement (i.e. no pelvic tilt) and you should be able to breathe and talk freely with them engaged. See the above video for more detail.

Muscle balancing is the concept of relative tension in your body created by your muscles.  You have hundreds of muscular tug-of-wars constantly happening throughout your body to allow you to sit, stand, walk and move.  A basic understanding of how this system works is the key to improving your pain, posture and/or sport performance.  See the video for more detail.

This sounds like a weird question. Think about it. Do you pay attention to how you sit, stand or move? Do you think about the food and drink you put into it? Do you know how stress effects you physically? Did you use to do a specific sport when you were younger and that dictates how you move now? All good questions. Watch the video for more detail.

The knee is a big hinge joint that is built to flex and extend. It is held together by 4 major ligaments: your ACL, PCL, MCL & LCL. There are also two C-shaped cartilage cups in the center called your meniscus that act as shock absorbers and help add stability to the knee. The knee cap is encased in the tendons from your quadriceps and can be a common source of pain. See the video for more detail.

Your shoulder is a ball and socket joint capable of moving and twisting in all directions. The ball part is formed by the upper part of your arm called the humeral head. The socket part is formed by a golf-tee like dish on the side of your shoulder blade. The ball is dynamically head in the socket by four muscles working together called your rotator cuff. Your arm, shoulder blade and collar bone together form your shoulder girdle which is attached to your trunk where your collar bone meets the center of your chest. You also have a number of large muscles that attach from your shoulder to your neck, chest and back that have a strong influence on your posture. See the video for more detail.

Butt Grippers are people who subconsciously clench their butt most of the time while they are standing. It is more common than you may think and can have some significant consequences. People with an athletic history, new mothers and the elderly are quite prone to becoming butt grippers. Watch the video for more detail.

Your spine is supposed to have 3 natural curves to it: concave in your lower back, rounded in your trunk and concave in your neck. This natural S-curve is created by the base the spine sits on called your pelvis. Many muscles from your hips, back and trunk attach onto your pelvis and can alter its position. The body is built for structural stability with optimal mobility. Learning how load is distributed through your body can help you understand your pain and rehabilitation. See the video for more detail.

The hip is a large ball in socket joint capable of moving the leg forward, backward, side to side and twisting. Its mobility and control is crucial to the proper function of the knees, pelvis and back. People tend to lose awareness of how to use their hips properly and end up with pain and dysfunction as a result. Watch the video for more detail.