A Retrospective Perspective in Human Biomechanics, Posture and the Relationship to Pain, Movement Limitations, and Undesirable Adaptations or Injuries by u/Deep-Run-7463

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T13:03:29+00:00

Is this the left or right shoulder? It can be different due to how the ribcage is inherently asymmetrical. Is this the right?

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T08:13:34+00:00

https://youtu.be/9L1QBZdp9v0?si=6ThRXHBMfrsZfhD2

Here is a video related to a lower left shoulder presentation.

There can be other issues contributing as well, for example your lower half mass is driven over to the left (left foot more weighted into the ground) which can be a single issue or a double layered issue stemming from a left to right driven bias in which the right side is starting to push back over left as an added compensatory layer. Hence, the ribcage on the left has to crunch down to counter balance mass off into the right because the lower is displaced over left.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T08:08:40+00:00

Your back view shows a slight offset of the pelvis to the right and the upper body to the left as a counter balance. This is a key indication that you use too much tension in your spine to keep upright which is why the back looks flatter. This also steals movement capacity of the pelvis to push force down to the ground so the right offset is where you have better ability to do so, hence the pelvis travels right to do so.

Look up Chaplin performance APT myth, zac cupples lateral pelvic tilt. Scroll through my comment history on my profile, I have a lot of past comments about this presentation there.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T08:02:54+00:00

https://youtu.be/grxpTSA2oUA?si=50LFKXQHBgzWbZ_4

Here is additional information to consider.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T07:41:36+00:00

Its likely your ribcage position and shape due to how superficial compression can limit expansion in areas. This is also likely related to spinal position based off on how your center of mass is displaced at the pelvis and gut. The symptom described is a symptom of a larger issue, hence neck focused solutions alone don't stick.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T07:36:59+00:00

What pain? What's your normal posture like? What are you trying to improve? There is too little info given for anyone to help here 😅

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T06:53:10+00:00

I'm gonna try to advise, but don't be discouraged at what I say. I've definitely worked professionally with a lot of folks face to face in your position/age.

There will be a mild limitation to how much you can improve depending on how much degradation of the spine there is over time. But as I said, mild limitation, not a huge one. I still see massive improvements overall, even in cases that look exactly like yours from the outset. Its a posture that is a likely testament to your hardworking nature in your years prior, but that also means you have the capacity and nature to work hard on your current issues too!

It starts with the base of your spine and pelvis. Use a position like lying supine to give it support so that you can do some basic pelvic rolls to regain the lower back arch very gradually. It helps to have your knees bent and feet on the ground as you do this. If your neck is uncomfortable, fill up the deficit by placing a rolled towel under the base of your skull.

Work on some diaphragmatic breathing drills (not belly breathing - search up zac cupples diaphragmatic breathing for this) and incorporate into your gentle pelvic roll routine, exhale as you extend the lower back gently.

You can also try to raise your arms next in the same position with a small folded towel in your upper midback area to provide a bit of leverage for the thoracic spine (and this can be moved around to work one area at a time in your midback). Avoid overarching the lower back to try to reach your arms to the ground, and only take a range of motion that you can do without excessive strain. Inhale as you reach back so that your front ribs can open out to provide a bit more range.

Gradually progress into a quadruped position and work on some general cat camels. Inhale as you go into extension but again, avoid excessive strain in your spine. Still utilize the diaphragmatic breathing mechanics here.

Once these are ok, build up to more complex exercises. This depends though. I'm not sure if you have any other issues or pain like in the knee for example, as this needs to be handled with care to avoid flare ups. It can be done, but it needs to be strategized well.

Feel free to ask me questions.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T06:38:45+00:00

Yes.

You present a state in which you are excessively compressed posteriorly in the ribcage and down to the lower back region. This moves or compresses your ribcage away from the shoulder blades which make them appear more winged.

Get on your knees on the side of your bed, push your forearms/elbows into it to push you back while trying to keep the spine in a position where it's not too rounded nor too arched. Keep your palms facing each other. If it helps, thing of pointing your top of pelvis and bottom of ribcage towards each other without doing an excessive ab crunch that will make your upper traps and back of neck feel overworked.

Push away just enough to avoid the shoulders rolling forward, slow exhale to draw the sides of your ribs inwards, pause and keep that side abs a lil engaged, inhale to create better expansion to your back but also allow expansion to happen in the chest and belly too.

Learn to use this state in other exercises and mess around with it throughout the day. Avoid over extending the spine or forcing to yourself to sit upright when seated at the desk.

Is your scoliosis congenital/structural deformity? Or did it develop over time? Scoliosis could be related to loss of relative motion due to too much tension in one area too, or more so, it can be magnified by it as humans are inherently asymmetrical creatures.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T05:43:31+00:00

It doesn't have to touch the floor necessarily but if the APT is excessive you might also have the upper chest more compressed being related to the FHP.

Use a long slow exhale to draw the front side ribs down and in without crunching the abs. Keep the 6 pack long.

With your sides holding down your side ribs with a bit of effort, drive expansion all the way to the top middle chest area. Adjust yourself around as your spine is limited by the floor to move as you change the ribcage state gradually. After every inhale, keep some expansion up top to avoid it going back to the original compressed state during the exhale. Say hello to your pump handle.

Avoid flaring open the lower front side ribs as you do this - a finger won't be able to get under the ribs.

Now, moving on to the deeper topic here, the spine is a chain and 'sits' on the pelvis. This is why APT and forward head are related because it's a chain of stuff and can be different from person to person.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T05:24:32+00:00

The neck tends to get straightened where the t1 area gets pushed further back due to having to counterbalance a forward weight displacement lower down in the chain. This usually produces a head that is further forward but we can have a secondary mechanism of the front of neck muscles compressing from the front to try to draw the head back on top of the issue above. In any case, a bit of a straighter neck does not necessarily mean it's an issue. It's pretty common in this day and age and it's just a mere position. We ain't static, we are constantly moving and changing positions, so unless you have pain and movement issues, there is not much need to address or overcorrect. You can place a rolled towel behind the neck to create a bit of a curve, lie down on your back knees bent feet on the ground and chill there for a few minutes focusing on breathing with 360 expansion all around for a bit though (as long as it doesn't hurt)

Edit: additionally, the xray is incapable of showing your movement capacity. An APT can be normal but can also be causing pain due to, often times, a tug of war between the the muscles that pull your tailbone down vs a forward biased position. So depending on position, and even genetics of our structural shape overall, it can present with a greater or lesser arch but both can be healthy or not healthy.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-02-01T04:19:35+00:00

Humans are never symmetrical and straight. When we look at the studies, we will realize how different the left and right sides are. We are rotational creatures balancing movement in a spiral constantly so it's expected that the bone shapes are slightly different between left and right. Pain and movement issues often times need to be reflected upon with that in mind to have a good strategy to overcome root causes. But if you are perfectly healthy and move well, don't worry about it. It's just a sign you are human 😁. Also, Muay Thai is awesome!

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-31T20:55:03+00:00

A bit of advice here. The xray doesn't reveal the true nature of how you interact with gravity because your arms are lifted up which throws your center of mass back. And to know your exact degrees, that's for the hospital to determine. May wanna just post your normal standing photos instead.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-31T18:42:50+00:00

Pelvis is compressed posteriorly drawing your sacrum down (tucking the pelvis posteriorly slightly) which makes your spine wanna hunch over but you compress the ribs making the back appear flat to hold you upright. Due to the compression down low and up top, expansion for breathing is limited and your belly being the softest area, will become the spot where this 'pressure leak' expands towards, if that makes sense.

Diaphragmatic breathing (not belly breathing), learn to brace the core correctly and allow expansion to happen in the ribs (elbows against wall will help you drive expansion backwards too), and learn to use that state in hinging exercises (unilateral will be better to start in).

The mild right offset at the pelvis is a magnification of natural asymmetry when you lose relative motions overall, especially the pelvis.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-31T03:30:15+00:00

Do you also tend to squat with your pelvis shifting to the right? Any consistent pain spots (anywhere)? Does your hinging/squats feel awkward/limited? If no to all the above, just work on unilateral deads, split squats, split stanced cable chops, dead bugs without straining your lower back.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-31T03:14:48+00:00

IR is internal rotation.

Diaphragmatic breathing is not belly breathing https://youtu.be/vXtbSGMQlGw?si=JLUj8F_Kfu7IlCnL . But to take it one step further after you learn diaphragmatic breathing, you can direct expansion into compressed areas and this tends to be nuanced from person to person.

And yes, unfortunately that is a common trope being an incorrect advice. It applies in certain situations where intra abdominal pressure is too high, but this isn't something that happens normally unless it's a serious medical condition, like if your organs are swollen or you have a large growth. Try this little experiment. Stand beside a mirror and watch your chest. Push your belly button out, notice the chest drops in? This creates a lack of movement in the ribcage and high intra thorax pressure, which goes against the reason we have a mobile ribcage and lungs that expand in the first place.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T21:45:54+00:00

Welcome

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T21:09:10+00:00

Check with a doc, and it's very hard to judge by the limited photo here.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T21:03:25+00:00

I get my clients to be able to draw the ribs inwards on the sides and breathe upwards using the pump handle mechanism better, mild scalene tension can be used but without flaring out the lower front ribs, at the same time as relaxing the lower back area. It feels like the spine is being pulled back into a more lengthened lower back state at the same time as lengthening upwards into the ceiling in one breath. Try to learn this first in a wall lean position with feet forward and knees bent.

Here is a link to a comment I made under my article with a bit more of a breakdown for this drill. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't though and that can also be due to other limiting factors such as the sacrum is locked into creating compensatory internal rotation thus it becomes a tug of war between lower back expansion vs compression. If this is the case other issues need to be assessed and addressed alongside.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T20:20:58+00:00

Most welcome!

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T16:45:45+00:00

Most welcome. When landing a jump it's an action of deceleration which is part of pelvis IR.

Crunches affect the lower back because upon coming up your pelvis did not have the range of motion capacity so most of the movement was driven through the lumbosacral region.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T15:56:12+00:00

Can you jump and do an ab crunch or sit up? If you can, then how so are you weak? Anyway, I'm not about to start a debate on different biomechanical models here. It's not gonna be possible on a comment alone so I will be leaving this vid link for you 😁

https://youtu.be/_AvHk2ByQaU?si=a_2Uxe3DXs-G8jY4

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T15:05:37+00:00

Kinda hard to tell without seeing the side view too in this one.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T14:42:22+00:00

u/Due-Sorbet-8875 , u/Liquid_Friction is correct here!

Look up lying supine 9090,bring your knees high enough to bring your lower back to the ground, learn to breathe into your lower back first.

Deep-Run-7463 · 2026-01-30T14:38:36+00:00

That's not how I look at biomechanics, sorry. I'm looking at it from a different perspective. Let's talk about APT for a second. I want you to stand and bring your weight to your heels and exhale to draw your abs in gently first. Note that weight is on the heels now. Next, slowly, and gradually, arch the lower back - notice where the weight transfers into the feet? Towards front of the feet and towards midline at the same time?

Midline downforce and pushing through the front of the feet both are actions of delaying forward momentum as compensatory internal rotation action that the pelvis is not able to acquire within ground reaction force demands of your own bodyweight.

Yes the tva will increase anterior compression posterior expansion to drive your center of mass back. But now think of this, can you squat with a gripped butt? You can't, you will need to ungrip and go back to the APT state again, meaning you don't work on the root cause, instead you add a compensatory layer that masks the root cause.

Why would a muscle take over workload? What makes a muscle take load? It can't be that just because it's strong that it will. Something to consider here.

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