A Curve That Keeps Us Straight, Part 2

Pain Free for Women: The Revolutionary Program for Ending Chronic Pain
by Pete Egoscue

(Page 3 of 3)

Imagine another horizontal line running through your left hip and on through your right hip. Imagine still another horizontal line running through your left knee on through your right knee.

Finally, imagine a fourth horizontal line running through your left ankle and on through your right ankle.

Okay? Now imagine a vertical line coming straight up from your left ankle through your left knee and left hip, then passing to the inside of your left shoulder so that it bisects your left ear. Imagine the same thing on the right side.

What have you got?

You've got a grid composed of horizontal and vertical lines that intersect at your principal load-bearing joints (Figure 1-4). The only ones that are slightly asymmetrical are the shoulders, because of the way we grow and how our shoulders work. Most people assume that the shoulder is the point where the clavicle attaches to the humerus (the upper-arm bone). And it is. But the shoulder is actually three points of articulation that constitute a joint complex spread out over enough real estate that the vertical lines of the grid cross it, even though not as obviously.

I'm running on about this because understanding the grid's role is fundamental to gaining an appreciation of how the musculoskeletal system moves smoothly and powerfully while staying erect. A grid consisting of exactly parallel horizontal and vertical lines is perfect for withstanding gravity's downward force. In the case of the musculoskeletal system, it uses the points of interaction - the ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders - to support, assist, and give the spine the structural integrity it needs without sacrificing flexibility.

This alignment of the joints allows us to shift our weight from side to side and front to back, so as to provide sequential four-point support when we walk and run - left front/right rear, right front/left rear, and so on. The hips and shoulders simultaneously rotate, rise, and fall in coordination. Meanwhile, the head, with its precious cargo of brains and eyes, stays level to look for danger and assess opportunities.

In the mechanical process that we call walking, roughly three and a half times your full body weight is projected downward onto one foot via the four load-bearing joints directly above, as the other foot is lifted off the ground and swung forward. The weight then transfers to the other side to repeat the loading of the foot, ankle, knee, hip, and shoulder. Individually, the joints aren't strong enough to handle that kind of a load. Not even the huge hip joint can take such a beating. But working together, it's a piece of cake.

The problem is that most of us ask our joints to go it alone. Our sedentary lifestyles have robbed us of our load-bearing alignment. The horizontal and vertical lines that I asked you to imagine are not parallel. The grid is askew; the scaffolding is tipped every which way. It's hardly an exaggeration to say that we are not walking so much as executing a controlled collapse. With each step, the scaffolding shudders and shakes forward, is caught just on the brink of falling, is steadied, and then is heaved forward again to bend and buckle. And away we go toward fatigue, stiffness, chronic pain, and increasing immobility.

Checking for Misalignment

The E-cises in this book are designed to correct and prevent musculoskeletal system misalignment. They are surprisingly effective and easy to do, because even though the body has undergone years of dysfunctional stress and strain, it never irretrievably loses its design.

When I first started out as an anatomical functionalist primarily helping people with back pain, I realized that every case - no matter how different the circumstances or the age of the individual - involved two things: observable skeletal misalignment and muscular weakness. What I developed was a method for strengthening key muscles and using them to restore and maintain alignment.

Over the years I've received many compliments and kind words about my work. But I don't deserve much credit - the human body is the real hero. If we pay attention, the body shows us what it needs in order to function properly. Once I realized that the starting point was always alignment - the grid, with its vertical and horizontal parallel lines - held in place by sufficient muscular strength to counteract the effects of gravity, I was able to see the misalignment and corresponding muscular weakness. When the grid is askew, there is dysfunction. Downward gravitational force guarantees it. The slumping structure stresses the joints and causes the spine to lose its S-curve. I can see it happening - and so can you.

Copyright © 2002 by Pete Egoscue with Roger Gittines.

About the Author

An anatomical physiologist, Pete Egoscue has worked with hundreds of clients who had pain associated with computer use. He has also been consulted by some of the biggest names in sports. Practicing full-time since 1978, he is now working out of his clinic in San Diego, California. He is the co-author of Pain Free, along with Washington, D.C.-based writer Roger Gittines.