Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group How many started w/ bad posture?

That's terrible. The muscle spasms are from pain - objective evidence of pain and you should get sympathy and concern at the very least.

I've always had good posture. Partly dance training, but mostly my grandmother keeping at me about it. Now, I have to fight to maintain it. argh.

Hugs,

Great question, Lindyap.

Even as a child I had very bad posture, and, like Sue, I have one shoulder that hangs a lot lower than the other.

My parents sent me to Irish dancing and my posture improved - a little.

It's always been painful to keep my head upright. It just naturally tends to tilt downwards.

I think a good PT will look at these things with an eye towards improving them, regardless of their cause.

We may not be in a place where we are ready or able to make the time, effort, or financial commitment to try and address them, however.

When I first started having SI joint problems in my early 30's, I'd have expectations that I could be "fixed" by seeing a PT, and they'd tell me that this joint or that was not in the right position, and it would set me off in a panic as to the why's and what's, thinking that they were missing the underlying cause, that there might be an active disease that was the real culprit

Now over 20 years later, I view it differently, I see them as two separate things, improve what you can, while also not giving up the search for an explanation as to what else might be going on

Last year, I couldn't exercise on my elliptical trainer, it would make the pain worse, would make my SI joint hurt, and caused a stinging in the delicate tissues, so I'd just stop, it was frustrating, I sure didn't want to start gaining weight, or eat less because of lack of exercise.

I searched for and found an excellent PT, who while she is knowledgeable about auto-immune, neurological issues, etc, and we have had many conversations about them, as well as my latest theories about stress being a factor in why the muscles are so tight, she has focused on the how the muscles and joints present in the here and now, and given me homework assignments to strengthen the muscles that weren't carrying their share of the burden. Other muscles were doing TOO much work, we soon discovered, for example, that I overuse my pelvic floor muscles to stabilize myself when bracing for a stop in the car. So as a result, those muscles are in chronic stress, while the abdominal muscles for example, are underused. Simple concept, but profound-

The first big surprise was how when she only worked on the pelvic area, I'd walk out of there with my shoulders and head held up better, with no conscious effort on my part, I was amazed, I knew of course that the muscles were connected, but I didn't think that the results could be so immediate.

Of course, the next observation was that the muscles will soon return to their "normal" state, with so many years of habit, they soon go back to their old ways, some of that is of course, trying to avoid pain, but some of it is just because I've come to carry myself in certain ways to compensate

(rinse and repeat)

So where am I now? Okay, my bank account isn't looking so good, these sessions with a PT trained and smart enough to see and treat such things are very expensive...

but I can now work out on the elliptical trainer a few times a week again, for about an hour each time, and that is truly great. Mostly we think it is because the left SI joint/sacrum is now in a more proper position, so that the joints are more properly seated, the muscle effort is better balanced, that makes all the difference

Of course, I am aware that for some of us, if the joint or group of muscles are in seriously poor shape, possibly due to AS, it may not be possible to get them fully functional again, to carry the weight that they normally should. But even in those situations, a PT would look at range of motion, try and determine exactly where the body is compensating for the area that isn't moving properly, with an eye towards distributing and stabilizing things as best as possible. That can help prevent or lessen secondary problems, not just muscle-related, but even neurological ones, muscles pulling our posture and bones into an undesirable position, can be putting pressure onto a nerve, for example

Hope this might help someone, that you won't be like me, and take 20 years to start seriously considering these ideas!

Hi Lindyap,

I'm afraid this won't apply to me. I was always aware of what bad posture could do, so I tried my best to keep straight all along. I can say what I think might have or did bring on my symptoms though...

First, "A bad back" that always went "out of whack" which ran in the family. At a very young age (probably around 6 to 8 years old) I started seeing a chiropractor (I think). This is where I started to learn about posture, and since bad backs ran in the family, I was reminded if I ever slouched.

The other part of my life that could have brought on the symptoms was how active I was in 'active stuff', like sports, gym (at school), off-roading motorcycles (and crashing), bicycle stunts (and crashing), skateboarding (and crashing), etc. lol.

Besides, I was only 10 when I had my first symptoms, and if we include having a bad back as part of my original AS symptoms, the actual onset would then be much earlier.

Take care,
James

dow,

thanks for that post! great advice, i think.

and so happy for you that finally this seems to be helping you so much.

Hi Lindyap, Bad posture won't cause the desease but it will inevitably make the difference in how one would fuse. All my life, until the last 10 years, I was an athlete, trainer, and then crossed over to PT. Many of my students and patients used to endearingly call me the Posture Sargent. That practice all my life made the difference when I started to fuse. I'm fused straight so far. Now the biggest struggle is my Thoracic part of my spine is now fusing and it is a daily battle of posture and stretches to make sure that fuses straight, now that I am not active anymore.
I hope all these replies helped you.
Cindy