Poor Posture is a leading cause of injury

Did you know that poor posture is one of the leading causes of injury?

So, your athletes are complaining that their shoulders or knees are sore, or their back is tight, but you haven’t done anything out of the norm in their training program– you’ve trained them the same way, their week has been the same and you can’t work out why this has happened. Sound familiar?

If this is you, then there’s a good chance that your athlete's posture is letting them down.

From my personal experience training athletes of all levels, it seems like your body will let you get away with poor form and poor posture for a while. Then suddenly, when you hit your late 30’s/early 40’s your body says, “that’s enough now” and the aches, pains and injuries start!! 

Watch short video - Click Here

So, how does poor posture result in pain? 

Poor posture means that some muscles are too tight and others are too weak. Thev pull the bones into positions they are not designed to be in and this results in pain and even injury. The other outcome is that we are not able to reach optimal performance levels as our alignment is out - we can't reach as far in the swim, our glutes can't produce enough power on the bike and our back and knees hurt when we run. 

Let's look at this in a bit more detail: 

• Weak core: Your core helps to create space between your vertebrae. If it’s not engaged, then the spine will compress (poor posture) and create pressure that can result in pain. A strong core also creates stability from which to generate power. If your core muscles are not strong enough to stabilise the body, then some muscles will overwork resulting in pain and even injury.
• Strength imbalance/muscles being too tight or weak: A weak core and poor technique will result in a muscle imbalance (poor posture), which can affect you in sport and also in your daily life. If you sit at a computer for eight hours a day with your shoulders rolled forward and body slouched, then you will produce a muscle imbalance, hence the pain so many office workers experience. Translate this same position to the bike and you get tight shoulders, tight hips and it will inhibit your breathing

Let’s have a look at what makes good posture.

• Strong core: Your core is strong to enable you to support your spine. You sit, stand and move without slouching that creates a stable base from which to move, train and race.
• Strength balance: Your muscles are strong and balanced, which enables the joints to move efficiently and produce maximum power with reduced pain.
• Good technique: You practice and move with good technique in sport and daily life.

The great news is that your athlete's posture can be improved with consistent practice and then they can get maximum benefit out of the training program you design for them.

How Is This Achieved?

Pilates For Sports have worked with coaches all over the world to produce optimal outcomes for their athletes. They have developed a Free 28 Day Challenge (no credit card required) designed to strengthen the core, develop muscle balance and provide  information needed to improve technique. The program contains:

• a fully customised program designed by an instructor to meet the needs of each athlete
• pre and post posture photo analysis
• a zoom call with an instructor to make sure your athletes are getting the most out of the program

I am feeling so much better. my hip pain, piriformis issue is mostly gone. My back pain is also better. It was awful at work and during runs. I notice when i am slouching and straighten myself now - Michelle F

So I had a swim win tonight, OWS with garmin gps. I know it isn’t crazy accurate, but my time came down significantly finally, still have a bit to go to reach my goal, but I got way closer, and in a much faster time frame than I thought. Now to build the strength to sustain it and I’ll be laughing!    Wendy P

I’ve been using a few tips here and there, the biggest thing I’ve been concentrating on while running is using my arms. On Sunday I did a long run and my one KM I made a big effort to use my arms - it was by far my easiest KM in all 11, and it was my fastest too (even though it was the 7th I was running that morning haha!) so I’m really chuffed with how the tips are helping me too! I’ve also been doing a bit of work on increasing my cadence to match the 180, but it is a little difficult.Tom C

Start your Free 28 Day challenge now or forward this to your athletes so they can get the most out of the training program you design for them. 

Try this simple roll up exercise to get underway:

Watch Roll Up exercise video - Click here

Join our free 28-day challenge now by clicking here ,  or find out more about our programs at Pilates For Sports

Noeleen O'Shea is the co-founder of Pilates for Sports, an online training program designed to improve your core strength, muscle balance and technique so that you can perform better at your sport with less pain, more power. Pilates For Sports are Partners of USA Triathlon, USA Track and Field and USA Cycling