For the first seven years of my working life I was a roofer. For much of my time putting on the slates and tiles I was in a twisted position leaning to the right. For the first two years of my apprenticeship I carried everything the slaters needed up ladders on my shoulder.

What the heck was I thinking about!

It was only years later when I was plagued with back pain, headaches and with my wife and children pointing out how ‘lopsided’ I was that I decided to visit an osteopath. WOW! I’m now a raving fan. I go, my family go, my friends go, everyone goes and everyone whom I have recommended calls me and thanks me because it’s an area of our health that we just don’t think about enough.

Structure and posture

I didn’t realise just how important posture is but it ranks right up at the top of the list when talking about good health. Posture is as important as eating properly, exercising and getting a good night’s sleep.

Good posture ensures:

• Your bones are properly aligned and your muscles, joints and ligaments can work as nature intended.
• Your vital organs are in the right position and can function at peak efficiency.
• Posture also helps contribute to the normal functioning of the nervous system.

Without good posture, you can’t be fully physically fit. The good news is that almost everyone can avoid the problems caused by bad posture and you can make improvements at any age. Many people don’t realise how much they need a strong structural support system until their bones have decayed, they have a bent and twisted spine, their muscles are weak and they are in a lot of pain.

The musculoskeletal system comprises about two-thirds of your body mass and its management uses up nearly 90% of your body’s energy. It has some obvious functions:

1. It keeps you ‘upright.’
2. It allows you to get from A to B.
3. It protects your internal organs.

It’s important. And the most important part is the spine. Your spine (and its individual vertebrae) is of vital importance because it protects your nervous system. Think about your nervous system as the central processor of your body; it controls and co-ordinates every function. It’s worth looking after.

Prevention is the key

As a society we have been educated to think preventatively about the health of our teeth and eyes, but little else, and especially not our spines.

Think about this. All the functions and processes of your body are controlled by your nervous system and, in turn, this system adapts you to the many changes occurring moment by moment in your environment, so without a healthy nervous system your body will cease to work correctly. Illness and degeneration may result.

Chiropractors and osteopaths are the experts at diagnosis and treatment of poor posture and musculoskeletal misalignment, which can compromise the proper function of your body. And don’t worry, osteopathy and chiropractic are philosophies of health – not just bone cracking and muscle stretching! Osteopaths and chiropractors work with the structure of the body, recognising the imbalance of joint position or mobility. Through touch, massage, manipulation and stretching techniques, they can diagnose and treat people with many physical and emotional problems – not just twisted former roofers!

What’s your posture like?

I’d recommend everyone should see an osteopath or a chiropractor, but if you’re not sure ask yourself if any of the following sound familiar:

• You get musculoskeletal aches or pains.
• You get headaches.
• Your energy is consistently low.
• Your posture is misaligned.

To see if your posture is misaligned look at yourself in a full-length mirror and check the following:

1. Are your shoulders level?
2. Is your head straight and not tilted to the side?
3. Does your chin jut forward?
4. Are the spaces between your arms and your sides equal on both sides?
5. Are your hips level and not sloped to one side?
6. Are your ankles straight and not turned in or out?
7. Is your lower back slightly curved forward, not too flat or curved too much?
8. Is your hem line uneven?
9. Do you wear down your shoes unevenly?

Here’s some simple advice from my osteopath, Fiona, to improve your posture:

1. Stand with your feet parallel (not turned out) about a hip’s width apart. Bringing your feet parallel engages the muscles in the front of your thighs and keeps your hips, knees and ankles in proper alignment.
2. Stretch up through your body to the top of your head. As you do so feel your spine lengthen as you get taller.
3. Bring your pelvis to a neutral position. To find this neutral position, place your hands around your hips, then tuck your tailbone in slightly until your pelvis is directly over your thighs. Make sure there is no bend in your hip joints and there’s less sway in your lower back. As you tuck your tailbone in, you should feel your abdominal muscles engage slightly.
4. Draw your shoulders back and relax them down, bringing your hands in line with the seams of your trousers.
5. Level your chin, keeping your head directly over the spot between your shoulders, not forward or back.

That’s a perfect posture!

Physical exercise

I see Tim when I’m out running and he’s super-fit. Built like how you’d imagine a firefighter to be built and he really shifts along the lanes. But that quote from Tim is the real key to physical exercise. Getting started. Some days he doesn’t want to, some days (lots actually) I don’t want to. There are lots of really good excuses. You know how it is: it’s cold and wet, the dark nights are coming, there’s a million things on your ‘to do’ list – ‘I’ll start tomorrow’. Does that sound like you?

Anything is better than nothing

You don’t have to start by putting your name down for the London Marathon ‘because that will make me exercise’. Start with the simple regular things and after a few weeks you’ll feel the difference.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Invest in a mini-trampoline and walk or jog on it while watching TV (no excuse for bad weather and you can burn up to 300 cal/hour).
• Put on some music and dance around the house (burn up to 400 cal/hour).
• Take the stairs at work instead of the lift.
• Rather than cursing because there aren’t any spaces at the front, park as far away from the shops as possible and walk.
• Get off the couch on to the floor, act like a cat and do some spinal and total body stretching.
• Lose your chair and sit on a fitness ball while you are working.
• Find an exercise buddy or join a group – the Ramblers are great.
• Go to dance lessons, or yoga or a badminton class – try things until you find something you really enjoy.
• Play with your kids.
• Learn about then apply anaerobic exercise techniques. Brilliant for busy people.

The key is to start and enjoy yourself. ‘No pain – no gain’ is not a helpful strategy when embarking on exercise. Be sensible and start off slowly but surely. No one ever continues doing anything for long if it hurts!

Breathing

Just stop for a moment and think about how you breathe. Is it through your nose, mouth or both? Do you breathe into your upper chest or deeply down towards your belly?

Take an interest in your breathing

Why? It’s very, very important! It is clear that optimal oxygenation of your cells through proper breathing, nutrition, fluid intake, exercise and stress management is absolutely necessary in order to maintain your health.

You breathe approximately 28,000 times a day. If your breaths are shallow, taken in through your mouth and confined to the upper parts of your lungs, your body gets a message that you’re facing an emergency. This creates and releases stress hormones, which, over time, can cause many adverse effects in your body.

How to breathe

Correct breathing is the key to oxygenating your cells, so it’s worthwhile knowing how to do it properly:

• Breathe in through your nose.
• Breathe into the lower part of your lungs – so your tummy sticks out (I call them ‘Buddha breaths’).
• Breathe slowly.