I saw the sign above at a mechanics shop when I was out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants the other day and I had to smile. When people ask me what Posture Therapy does I often use the analogy of it being like taking your car to the mechanics to get the tires aligned. You do this so your car drives well and so there isn’t unnecessary wear and tear taking place on your car – it’s the same for Posture Therapy. You do the corrective exercises to get your body back in proper alignment so it moves properly and doesn’t wear down leaving you with a painful knee or stiff back.

One simple test you can do to see how your “tires” are wearing down is to grab a pair of your favorite well-worn sneakers and flip them over. What do the wear and tear patterns look like? Are they even right to left? Are they the same size? Are they in the same location?

Below is an example from a client’s pair of Five Finger shoes before she started working with me. You’ll notice that the wear and tear patterns are different from left to right. They’re in different places, they have different sizes, and there are more on one foot than the other.
This isn’t her right foot’s fault. It has to do with what is happening above the foot – in the ankle, knee, hip, and shoulder – and how it is different on the right and left sides of the body. I’ve been working with this client for some time now and as her posture improves she can feel that her weight is more evenly distributed in her feet. If she sticks with her exercises I will look forward to posting a picture once she buys and breaks in her next pair of Five Fingers; they should wear much more evenly.

If you’re curious how your overall alignment is affecting your body shoot me an email and we can set up a free posture evaluation in-person or over Skype/Facetime. You can find me at painfree.courtney@gmail.com.