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THE SPINAL LIFT: SHOULDERS DOWN - SPINE UP!

(Photo courtesy of WaterAid International/Caroline Penn)Don't Just Support Your Head, Lift it!

People have transported loads on their head for a long, long time.   To prevent damage,  the body needs to be balanced, stable  and vertical. People who carry this way (70% of body weight or more), are known for  their exceptional posture habits. Anything less would cause injury and disability.

To carry with this stability they drop their shoulders and lift their head - like the action of the PostureJac. It becomes normal to them. Their body and mind conforms to strong and straight. It transfers the weight efficiently through the bones to the ground with minimized stress.

A typical head weighs 10 - 14 pounds.  You can  support  it or lift it with your spine. Active lifting involves the whole body, contributing to conditioning and strength.  Passive support contributes to sagging and postural decline.

Your body can learn to retain this kind of natural-feeling Tensegrity_003.
posture too. This active lifting action can make you feel taller as you learn to elevate  your head instead of just supporting it


"Gravity is the therapist." ...Ida Rolf
Vertical posture holds the whole body in a dynamic balance, sustained by gravity. Architect Buckminister Fuller used the term "tensegrity" for his famous structural designs like these that seem to defy gravity. (photo courtesy of Andy Payne, LIFT Architects). Changing the balance of tension affects the shape.

Highly respected for his analysis of living anatomy, Thomas Myers, author of Anatomy Trains, uses tensegrity to explain how interconnecting forces in our bodies allow for efficient structure, movement and transfer of forces. Functional tensegrity in good posture includes gravity to hold everything in a synergy through an axis around the spine. It allows our body to move and protect our organs without collapsing or Howie_and_Peter_-_Posture_Mediumcrushing injuries. It minimizes the load on each component; especially the spine.

Poor posture causes unbalanced horizontal forces and loading on the spine. It changes the alignment and shape, and pulls the center of gravity forward. Sagging, bending, compression, stressed muscles and fascia all affect movement and structure. It also changes the size and shape of the body cavity, creating stress on organs, nerves and blood vessels.

Prolonged poor posture means prolonged stress and eventually damage. Injury can create scar tissue which may limit the extent of recovery. Intervention is best at a young age when new habits develop more readily, but people of all ages can find relief from being drawn back toward vertical posture. View examples in the Applications section.

To make it last and feel natural, your body and mind may need time to adjust. Muscle memory is built from frequent repetitions and sustained action. Tightness needs to release and strength must build.

Find out how the PostureJac can help.

This page offers explanations, demonstrations and models of the unique lifting action prompted by the PostureJac. See how it works with gravity to promote spinal lift, vertical posture and tensegrity in the body.

Please browse through this page and check out the video demonstrations.


"My PostureJac arrived just after I had finished a six-hour drive in a small rented car. Slipping on the PostureJac to give it a try, I pulled my shoulder muscles down into a relieving stretch, and automatically 'jacked' my spine up back into its normal length. Now, when I come home from long plane trips, PostureJac gets a workout before I do.

PostureJac is a well-designed piece of equipment, that can be used for different exercises, but the primary one is in my opinion the best and most unique: using downward pressure on the shoulders to create upward movement in the thoraco-lumbar spine. PostureJac has an immediate 'why didn't I think of this?' feel to it, restoring length and freedom to a compressed spine when you don't have access to competent individualized bodywork."
Thomas Myers, Author of Anatomy Trains (Elsevier 2001, 2009), www.anatomytrains.com


The focus on this page is the unique lifting aspect of the PostureJac.
Check out the Neck Pain, Back Pain and Posture, Chronic Pain and Deep Neck Flexors and MyoFascial Pain and Trigger Points pages for more reasons to consider this device.

Elevating The Spine:

PostureJac Employs Dr. Makofsky's Corkscrew Principle

Think of the handles of the corkscrew as your arms.

As the arms are depressed, the spine is elevated. The spine is being "jacked up".

Consider the diagrams below

Shoulders Up - Spine Down

When the shoulders are elevated, the spine loses rib cage support. With the additional weight of the head, the force of gravity pulls the spine downward.

It causes the compression and bending of the body that changes the shape resulting loss of mobility, function and chronic pain.

Shoulders Down - Spine Up

Working with gravity to draw the shoulders down, the inward compression on the rib cage "jacks" the spine up. This is the lifting action used to transport loads on top of the head.

The body is stabilized and balanced.
The center of gravity is drawn into to an axis around the spine.

The spine is brought into vertical alignment.
Retaining this alignment may be a gradual process. When posture has been poor for many years, muscles, joints, and fascia have adapted. Restoration may take some time and require additional assistance from professional therapy.

Like those transporting loads on their head, doing this frequently, or holding it for extended periods builds muscle memory retention. Integrating it into daily habits and practices increases the liklihood of long term change.

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Spinal Lift - Posterior

Click to Watch Demonstrations and Explanations of the Spinal Lift

Check out the other exercise demonstrations on the Exercises menu

Suspension Bridge Model


The PostureJac works in a similar fashion to a suspension bridge (i.e., Newton’s 3rd law of motion). Just as the towers (action) provide an upward force (reaction) to support the weight of the road, the PostureJac induces an upward spinal force which supports body posture. Gravity is used to increase stability.

When this upward “bouyancy” becomes established in your brain, you experience alignment that is taller, lighter, stronger, and emotionally uplifting as well.


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Measuring The Lift

How much can you elevate your spine? Here is a way to demonstrate the lift.

While the subject is standing at normal height, the height of the frame is adjusted to gently touch the top of the head. Upward force on the frame can be measured by the difference in weight between the subject's weight at rest and while exerting force. Using the PostureJac, subjects can generate 20 - 30 pounds of force on the top of the frame.

This force could be generated by a combination of spinal realignment and decompression.

*Caution: This demonstration activity is not recommended for those who suffer from any symptoms of spinal compression.


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The PostureJac has been a great addition to my practice! I treat patients with postural and motor control deficits; the unit provides sensory and proprioceptive feedback that facilitates appropriate motor recruitment, arthrokinematics, and osteoalignment in the clinic and at home. I also appreciate the versatility of the PostureJac, which allows me to creatively combine manual techniques with patient- assisted mobilizations.”

Edward W. Bezkor, PT, DPT, MTC

Last Updated on Thursday, 04 March 2010 12:49
 
 

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Spinal Manual Therapy, An Introduction to Soft tissue Mobilization, Spinal Manipulation, Therapeutic and Home Exercises, 2nd Edition

By Dr. Howard Makofsky, Slack, Inc.

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