Why is Posture Important to me?

When I first meet a deep tissue massage client I watch their movement and posture. Regardless of what they are coming to me for (pain relief, maintenance sports massage, post event massage).  I'm already looking at posture before my clients enter the building, but why is that relevant to sports or remedial massage?

This diagram is just one of a few typical postures. As you can see the muscles are lengthened and weak in certain areas, and shortened and tight in others. This gives me a clue as to where to feel for problems with my client, despite the pain presenting in other places these muscles could be contributing.

So I start with posture to give me a guide to what might be some underlying tightness, this is just one clue to what might be a problem.  Then I ask the client what they need or want.  Next I ask the client to move in order to test the muscles for length, range of movement and other tests (e.g. neural tests or for specific injuries). Finally I will FEEL. This may all only take 5mins, but gives me an overview of what is going on and where to start helping.  Only then can I treat my client in a manor that suits them best.

The body is so complex that the pain isn’t always where the problem is. Or to put it another way, the presenting pain may not be where the problem started.

After treating my client I can then give them exercises to help strengthen weak muscles and prevent reoccurrence (or aid healing).