Postural Assessment

The first step in deciding what state our posture is in is to take an objective, but constructively critical look in the mirror.

For most of us, we would need a bit of convincing that our posture was a problem before rushing off to get a professional opinion and splashing out loads of money. And a good job too. The first step in accepting you may have a problem is being aware of it yourself.

Unfortunately, critically and honestly assessing our own posture can be very difficult. Not only because it involves staring at oneself in the mirror with very little clothes on, but also because we are so used to how we look, we simply do not see the things that others would spot a mile off.

There is no longer any need to fear those sagging bits or knobbly knees that greet you in the mirror. By using the following simple techniques, you can learn a lot about the state of your posture in the privacy of your own home. In fact it's even possible to gauge whether the cause is structural, functional, or both. But be careful, you could end up diagnosing yourself before you've even had an assessment!

1. Photograph it

The best do-it-yourself way of checking out the true state of your posture is to photograph it. For this you will need the following:

One trusted friend/partner/family member;
Underwear/swimsuit;
Digital camera;
Somewhere light but private in your own home;
Colour printer/photo editing software.

Choose your place to take the photograph, ideally in front of a plain wall with some good light. In your underwear/swimsuit, take a few moments to adjust how you stand. For this method to be effective, you must stand as naturally and relaxed as you can - don't be afraid to let everything hang loose. You might find that you feel uneven and lopsided, that is fine. The most important thing is that you stand with your feet flat against the ground at approximately hip width apart. Don't hold tension by trying to stand on the outside, balls or heels of your feet.

Have your chosen person take four photographs (more if you are vain); one full frontal, one full back view, and noe of each side.

For digital photos, download them onto your machine and open each of them up in your photo-editing software. For those without photo software, print out the images and arm yourself with a pen and a ruler. Now you are ready to study your posture in the privacy of your own home.

On the photographs of the left and right sides, draw a straight line (if using the computer, hold the shift key as you draw it to keep it straight) down the centre of your body, and then compare the results to the good and poor posture examples shown on Root2Being.

For the full frontal and back views, draw horizontal lines (again holding down the shift key as you draw the lines) across the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. By studying the differences in height of eachof these marker points on each side of your body, you can begin to get an idea of how and where you are lopsided.