Bad posture

[8338]

Hi everyone,
Today I was trying on some shirts and my posture is soooooooooo bad. My back is hunched over unless I work at sitting and walking straight. It actually hurts to be hunched over but my body naturally does it now. When I try to straighten up while walking I look like a robot. I was never like this before the operations. My back looks caved in where the operation was.
I was wondering if it's from the 6 laminectomies that I had and or from those muscles being cut. My but also pushes my stomach out and I can't seem to "suck" it in. They told me how to strenghten at the gym. They asked me if I felt my stomach muscles tighten and I told them I can't feel anything
Anyone else with poor posture and big belly after all of this.
Barb

[paul55]

Barb, I 've got a big belly but it is caused from too much beer! And being sedentary because of my legs. When I get too big, it hurts my back muscles, especially the lower ones. My point being is that we do need our back muscles to walk erect. And stomach muscles as well. I can see how it would be difficult for you not having feeling, but being able to perform the excercises they tell you to do, tells me that your muscles do work, although you can't feel them. I would continue to do the excercises they gave you if possible, it can only help. Of course here I am telling you to excercise while i sit on my fat butt having another beer!! Sorry!!!

[went]

I keep being told that I have good posture, but I can never tell if I'm sitting correctly or not. I always feel too leaned back, or too forward, or crooked, or leaning, etc. You do need to have strong back and stomach muscles to even it all out.

I love beer. It's delicious.

[ScrapHeap]

Poor posture, yes. Guilty as charged. It is the sum of a lot of things. I never had great posture to begin with. I am pretty tall and always had less than 5% body fat. My posture got steadily worse over time after 3 previous back surgeries. Post operative, we have x amount of down time while recovering. Muscles atrophy, we are far less active physically, etc. I'm sure those things factor in. It's also hard to focus on posture for those of us with diminished or no feeling.

On the belly thing, believe it or not, I use to have one... kinda sorta. It was an amazing inflatable/deflatable wonder of the world. I guess the clinical term is distended. I was all back up and just wasn't very aware. I.E., I ignored it. Does that count as a belly?

+1 on beer is good. I can't handle much, if any of it these days. I never know how/if it will hit me on top of the Lyrica. One year and almost 9 months since my surgery.... I've had maybe four or five beers total.

[Joel]

Hmm. Wine, beer, Lyrica--I've never noticed any adverse affects in combination. But again, we are all different. Posture--gads mine is terrible! My left leg is always sorta goofy, I walk duck-footed for balance, stick my belly out for balance, my pants are usually hiked-up high cause I can't tell if they are falling off, my arms are usually swinging around for balance, only occasionally do I walk in a straight line--does this make a pretty picture?? HAH! Gives my family some comedy relief anyway...

[ScrapHeap]

LOLOLOL!!!!! I feel ya on the walking thing. My wife use to say I walked like that goofy character Martin Short use to do in his skits on Saturday Night Live. I can't for the life of me remember the character's name at the moment. But believe me, the wife's reference wasn't complimentary. Over the last several months I've managed to improve my gait and stride. Though I usually have to do most of what Joel described before I cover much ground. In short stints on level ground and within familiar territory, I seem to do OK. The wife says I now walk like John Wayne. Not sure if it's much of a compliment. But it is a definite improvement over her previous reference.

Hey! I'll take my lil victories where ever I can get em.

[chickiet]

Are you thinking of Ed Grimley?

[ScrapHeap]

BINGO! That's it!! I'm still trying to figure out how one goes from Ed Grimley to John Wayne. But hey. It's her perception of my ambulatory skills (or lack thereof). She's entitled so I just have to go with it.

[Ali-Brad]

Oh what I would give to have good posture again. I used to have great posture typing, making sure my desk had everything in the right place, right chair, foot rest, etc.. My 'good' posture was left on the operating table !! My neck leans forward after a C1-C3 laminectomy and a C1-C5 fusion !! My whole upper spine feels 'xx!!xx......'. I used to love wearing heals and stool at about 5'9" in them. These days it's flatties and I'm sure I've lost about an inch in height. Such is life ...............

Alison

[cindylee]

Hey guys, count me in the bad posture group. I used to be tall and straight...5'9 1/2...I lost an inch and a half somewhere, and if I stand straight and tall for any length of time, it feels like th top part of my back will collapse onto the lower half. I have become a shape shifter...I lean and lunge and lounge in all directions. Someday I'll look i the mirror and be surprised if I even recognize myself! Cindy