Do you ever see the ads for posture gadgets in your timeline on Facebook or in your Instagram feed? Curious to know what I think of those? As I’m all about posture, I get these ads and posts all the time. I also get this question from clients all the time so it’s good to get into that today.
First things first. Some of these gadgets actually work. But more often than not they only provide a temporary fix, like a band-aid. I’m not saying that is a bad thing. It is just a different approach to posture and pain than what I, as a practitioner of the Egoscue method, advocate. I’m all about the long-term solution to your pain, not trying to fix it immediately! As they say ‘easy come, easy go’. What happens if you take your gadget away? Will the pain return? Or stay away forever? What have you done structurally to improve your body? To change your muscle memory? (Remind me to write a blog about that!)
Quick fix or long lasting relief?
What it comes down to, is the answer to two questions: 1) do you want a quick fix or a fix that takes more time but is more lasting? A related question is 2) do you want to depend on a tool, a gadget, for the rest of your life (or for the moments you are in pain)?
Or would you rather learn the skills to *understand* your pain, to connect your pain to what is going on in your posture, and what exercises can help long term? Because that is the kind of help I believe in and am offering you.
Taking a pain killer
Compare this to taking a pain killer when you are in pain. You are just masking the pain signal, which is still there, masked by the chemical drug. Your body is trying to tell you something. So rather than listen to it and figure out what signal it is sending, you tell the body “I don’t want to hear your signal, I’m going to continue what I’m doing, which made me hurt in the first place”. That’s a bit like mopping the floor while leaving the tap running, isn’t it?
I can help you become pain free
I want to let you know that you are not on your own on your journey to becoming pain free and deciphering your body’s signals. I’m there with you every step of the way. I get it, being in pain sucks. I’ve seen it in many clients. And your first impulse might be to numb the pain. Which is something you might want to do to take the edge off. But then you want to get to the root cause of the pain, which is often not where it hurts. Your shoulder pain might be related to your hip position and function. This is where I come in will help you to figure out what’s going on. You can think of me as an interpreter, helping you to decipher your body’s signals. Eventually you’ll get it yourself which is my goal all along. Isn’t it much better not to be dependent on any tool or gadget but to understand your body’s language?
The ultimate answer
So what about those tools? Did you know they can actually make your body weaker and make the problem bigger? If you constantly support your lower back, it’s going to get lazy, just like your feet get lazy when you support your arches (more on that in another blog!). What we want is for your body to get as strong, functional and aligned as it can get, so you can continue doing what you love and enjoy, without having to worry about whether or not you have brought your gadget with you that day. I believe we shouldn’t depend on gadgets like that, and instead get our bodies back to the function and alignment it was meant to have!
As always, any questions drop me a line, I’m happy to help you figure out your options!