Posture correction clinic

The vast majority of ordinary people's mild and moderate postural problems (rounded shoulders, forward head tilt, high and low shoulders, mild XO-shaped legs, etc.) are neither a magic trick that can "turn right-angled shoulders into swan necks" with one bone adjustment, nor is it completely useless pseudoscience - after finding a formal institution for accurate assessment, choose an appropriate intervention plan and stick to it for 3-6 months. More than 80% can be significantly improved, and there is no need to spend tens of thousands to buy the so-called "lifelong correction package."

Last week, I picked up a 22-year-old e-commerce operator. When she came in with a backpack, her neck was stretched forward by almost ten centimeters, and there was a hard lump on the back of her neck. When she sat down, the first thing she said was a tearful look on her face and she said, "Doctor, am I going to be paralyzed?" I previously applied for an 8,800 correction card at the beauty shop downstairs. After three months of treatment, my neck hurt even more. Now it’s difficult to even turn my head.” I ordered a cervical MRI for her, and the results showed that she had cervical opisthotonia and posterior cervical fascial adhesion, which was not paralyzed. However, every time the technician at the beauty shop rubbed her Fugui Bao and cracked her neck hard, the edema was brought out.

There are actually several approaches to posture correction on the market today. No one is absolutely right and no one is absolutely wrong. The issue of adaptation is completely different. For example, our colleagues from the Department of Western Medicine Rehabilitation pay the most attention to the balance of muscle strength. For example, the common upper cross syndrome means that you sit at your desk with your chest in your arms all the time. The upper chest muscles and trapezius muscles are too tight, and the back muscles and deep neck muscles are too weak. Pulling and pulling can pull the shoulders and neck into a round shape in front of the head. Their plan is to loosen the tense muscles first, and then train the weak muscle groups. They will not break your neck or bones at all, but rely on targeted training to slowly bring the force back to a balanced state. The advantage is that it is stable and not easy to rebound. However, it takes time to practice, and many people cannot persist.

But it would be wrong to say that bone setting is completely useless. Our doctors at the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology are really able to deal with sudden postural problems caused by small joint disorders. A while ago, a young man had a stiff neck. When he woke up in the morning, his neck was tilted to 90 degrees, and the uneven shoulders were particularly obvious. After a X-ray was taken, the small joints of the cervical spine were compressed. The doctor reset it, and he was able to turn his head at that time. The uneven shoulders were gone on the spot. However, this method is only suitable for small joint dislocations. If you have postural problems caused by muscle strength imbalance accumulated over the years, it will take at most two or three days after bone setting, and the muscles will pull back again. Frequent violent bone setting may also injure the ligaments.

There is also the functional training idea that many young rehabilitation practitioners love to use. I often recommend it to patients. To put it bluntly, you are not required to go to the rehabilitation room three or four times a week, but to incorporate adjustments into your daily movements - for example, don’t always cross your legs when sitting, don’t swing your hips when walking, and don’t just use your waist when lifting heavy objects. What you are changing is the habit of exerting force that you have developed for more than ten years, and it is not easy to rebound. I once had a programmer patient who had been practicing dumbbell training for half a year, but it didn't heal. Finally, I found that he kept his laptop on the left side of his desk all year round. Every time he looked at the screen, his neck was crooked, and his left foot was always resting on his right leg. I asked him to move the laptop to the middle and put his feet flat on the ground when sitting. After changing this little habit, combined with 10 minutes of shoulder external rotation training every day, his high and low shoulders were almost even in two months.

When many people come to the clinic, they come with the "standard body posture comparison chart" of Internet celebrities and say, "Look, my head is 3 centimeters away from the wall. Is there something wrong?" I tell them every time that there is really no need to pursue a 100% "standard body shape". The human body is not a precise mold. Some people are born with a larger curvature of the thoracic spine than others. For some people, because they use their right hands all the time, the right trapezius muscle is thicker than the left. As long as it does not hurt and does not affect normal activities, there is no need to force it. I have seen a girl before. In order to achieve what internet celebrities call "shoulder openness", she forced her shoulders back every day. In the end, the thoracolumbar fascia became inflamed. The pain lasted for two months and she couldn't even put on a sweatshirt.

Of course, I also have to remind everyone that those products on the market that claim to “correct XO-shaped legs in seven days” or “set bones and tighten hips by 3 centimeters in one go” are 100% IQ tax. Think about it, your posture problems are the result of more than ten years of walking, sitting and lying habits, and they can be solved in seven days? Doesn’t that violate the physiological laws of the human body? Don’t believe those who sell orthopedic insoles that say they can cure lumbar protrusion. The insoles can at most adjust the alignment of the lower limbs. If you really have a lumbar disc herniation, go to an orthopedic department to take a radiograph to see the extent first. Don’t think that an insole can solve the problem.

In fact, after doing posture correction for so many years, my biggest feeling is that there is really no need for everyone to be so anxious about "perfect posture." Right-angled shoulders, swan necks, chopstick legs, many of them are marketing concepts created by filters. A truly healthy posture is when you are comfortable and do not feel pain when you move, that is enough. If you really feel that there is something wrong with your posture, or even have symptoms of pain, numbness, etc., don’t buy random correction packages or practice blindly following Internet celebrity videos. Go to a regular posture correction clinic or rehabilitation department for an evaluation first, which is better than anything else.