Instep Dance Magazine Articles

Reprints of monthly column as first appearing in Instep Dance Magazine (no longer in print).

January 2002

Power Posture Exercises That Work!

By Rick Allen, DC

"Better health leads to better dancing."

Being that January is a time for setting goals for the New Year, how about setting a 3-month goal to improve your posture? In particular, let's improve the most common posture problem, Forward Head Posture (FHP). I bet over 90% of you have FHP to the extent that it effectively doubles or triples the stress on your upper back. I say this with confidence from over ten years in chiropractic practice and, more recently, from performing over 100 posture analyses this past year with the computerized BioPrint and Posture Pro systems. The problem is so common that people often ignore it. However, it is serious and can lead to headaches, backaches and spinal decay.

Would you like to eliminate the stress in your neck and upper back, reduce the likelihood of tension headaches and spinal decay, and stand tall with confidence? Let me introduce you to a set of simple, effective exercises to improve your posture developed by a biophysicist, Dr. John Christman.

The exercises focus on strengthening the core muscles of the pelvis, neck and back. They include common exercises such as stomach crunches, neck stretches, shoulder rolls and chin glides. However, they have been improved and put into a specific order to give optimum results. They reverse the tendency of forward head posture that most of us have developed from a lifetime of sitting, reading, driving, using computers, etc., etc.

Both Dr. Christman and I agree that you need to watch the video to master the exercises. If you live in the Portland, Oregon area, I suggest that you contact me for a copy of his video and personal instructions to make sure you do the exercises correctly and get the most benefit from your investment of time and energy. I have made a bulk purchase of the videos so that I could lower the price by 20% and help as many of my local patients as possible. I cannot mail copies of the video, so, if you are at a distance, contact Dr. Christman at www.powerposture.com or (901) 755-0840 for a copy of his video for complete instructions.

PS: I have the problem, too, but was unaware of how pronounced it was until I had my own posture analyzed [see attached photos]. So now, I am doing the Power Posture exercises! For those willing to take a challenge, have your posture analyzed, get the video, do the exercises, and re-analyze your posture in three months. Let's compare results!

Next article: Two of my dancing patients complained to me that their shoulders started hurting recently. Let's see what their common problem was and the best methods to correct it.

Dr. Rick Allen is a chiropractor, massage therapist and dance student in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Rick welcomes your questions and suggestions for future articles. However, he cannot make specific diagnoses or treatment recommendations unless you visit him in person. He can be reached by phone: 503-257-1324, mail: 221 NE 78th Avenue, Portland, OR 97213, e-mail or World Wide Web: www.CascadeWellnessClinic.com

Home | Services | Bio | Benefits | Interests
Info | Articles | Tips | Classes | Links | Search | E-mail | Top

©1997-2008 Dr. Rick Allen
Cascade Wellness Center