Your feet and knees should both be pointing straight ahead (12:00 on a clock face). For example, stand normally in a way that feels comfortable. Some will be overly facilitated, some will be de-facilitated. Moreover, as a joint is out of position, then the muscles that directly attach to that joint will have distorted function. If a joint is not where it is supposed to be, then that joint will incur more friction as it works than it is supposed to normally and habitually incur. Our paradigm is that in the majority of cases, musculoskeletal pain is a result of postural imbalance. In EVERY case, what we do is essentially ignore symptom and treat posture. The way we deal with cervical issues is the same way we deal with knee pain or a degenerative hip or low back pain. Well that question gets right to the heart of Egoscue. If you'd like to learn more about that one ecise, you can go to this video:Īnd I'm happy to answer any other questions. Just getting these joints into more neutral alignment will not only decrease pain, you'll significantly increase your effective functional strength. It's passive in terms of what you are doing, but there is a LOT going on with this one. Again, wait it out until the low back settles at THAT level, then drop down to the next. You'll likely feel the low back arch back up again, modestly. Once you get the release at the top level, you then move to an incrementally lower level, which then asks for marginally less hip flexion and more psoas 'elongation' (pardon the term, we know the muscle doesn't literally elongate but I'll use it for brevity). As you guys well know, the body works as a unit. As that happens, not only do the hips, pelvis and lumbar spine reposition, but so does the thoracic back and shoulder girdles. That's an indication that the hip flexors are letting go. As that happens, you'll feel your low back begin to settle into the floor. Essentially, you're putting slack in the 'rope' and then waiting it out, allowing the muscle to begin to unwind and release. What this particular tower exercise does (we have different variations of it) is start the leg in a position where the attachment points of the hip flexors are brought closer together. In this position, the athlete will then begin to compensate for the loss of hip function with increased thoracic flexion, which feeds right into where they live all day at work.
Essentially, it will pull your pelvis into excessive anterior tilt, which will usually result in excessive lumbar extension. If your primary hip flexors (most notably the iliopsoas band, especially the psoas major) are becoming locked short and tight, as is the case with many athletes who alternate between extended time stuck in a sitting position and then hard workouts, it's going to mis-position your entire hip and pelvic girdle, as well as your lumbar spine.
Everything helped but that one ecise was key for me. Didn't find Egoscue until almost 7 years later and at that point was headed towards a wheelchair. I had been in a near fatal car wreck, went from 70 mph to 0 in less than a second. In fact, that one exercise you have pictured was one of the key exercises that literally saved my physical life. The various exercises that use the tower are deceptively powerful. If you do any Egoscue work, do it before your conditioning work and you'll get even more benefit from it. For example, for someone who works from 8-5 and sits most of that time, even if you just did a 5 minute 'at work' routine mid morning, then again mid afternoon, and went for a walk at lunch, you'd be coming out WAY ahead of the typical desk jockey and feeling much better by the end of the day.Īlso, the last piece of advice in the prior post is a very good one. It's important not just to work on basic postural balance and function in general, but as we get more studies on the effects of sitting we're seeing clear evidence that it's REALLY important to break up the motion patterns of your day.
#The egoscue method map free#
If you're stuck behind a desk for a good chunk of your day, Pete Egoscue's third book, "Pain Free at your PC" could be of benefit. If anyone has specific questions about Egoscue, I'd be happy to answer them as best I can. Also a huge fan of kettlebells and Pavel's approach to conditioning. Started as a client years back so I have experience on both sides of the fence. I'm the clinic director for the Egoscue clinic in Austin, Texas.
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