Posture, Stretching, and Muscle "Jumping"
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated March 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
The human body is a highly complex system of organs, muscles, bones, connective tissues, and more all held together and able to express movement through networks of tension that exist within the body. It’s remarkable and a truly beautiful phenomenon when witnessing the graceful movement of a dancer, athlete, or model, and the prerequisite for this is good posture and balance across these tensional pathways. When postural and tension imbalances exist how the body can express movement through space and time is limited and may lead to problems such as acute and/or chronic pain, fatigue, and injuries. To correct postural imbalances bodily tissues that are shorter than optimal must be lengthened, and tissues that are longer than optimal must be tightened. Scar tissues need to be loosened up, certain muscles are best to be developed, and proper spinal alignment is a must. This article is a jumping off point for starting a postural realignment and optimization protocol and some key factors that are useful to know.
The Effect of Stretching on Posture
Stretching is the process of lengthening muscular and connective tissues. Some common and effective methods of stretching are:
Dynamic Stretching
Active Warmups - Priming exercises performed by athletes which incorporate a slight 0-5 second stretch into them are a form of dynamic stretching that are good form warming up and preparing for exercise.
Vinyasa Yoga - By flowing from one pose to the next and with each breath reaching a little further into the pose of the moment makes vinyasa yoga a form of dynamic stretching that can be quite demanding but overtime with regular practice results in noticeable flexibility and postural improvements.
Static Stretching
Passive Stretches - Holding a simple stretch for 20-60+ seconds is the easiest way to perform static stretching at a low skill level. It’s good to perform static stretching for the movement patterns that felt stiff after exercising.
Yin Yoga - In yin yoga poses are held for 60+ seconds, often for five minutes or greater, and the intention is to breath into tight spaces releasing any tension present in order to sink deeper into the stretch. Compared to hatha yoga, yin yoga stretches musculature more than connective tissues.
Hatha Yoga - In hatha yoga poses are held for long lengths of time like in yin yoga though typically the stretches target the flexibility of connective tissues (such as the femoral-hip joint) instead of muscular tissues.
Short dynamic stretches are good for warming up and getting ready for movement or strength training but they do little for fixing postural imbalances as they rarely result in long term flexibility improvements. To make fundamental changes to tensional patterns throughout the body, long deep stretches are best, and doing them consistently a few times a week will result in the greatest velocity of change in flexibility and posture. It is possible to get injured during stretching if pushing past a safe limit, so listening to the body and the ample warnings it provides is very important to reduce risk of injurious damage as much as possible.
When contracted and tight tension lines in the body are opened up and stretched to more optimal positions, a few things occur. First the newly lengthened range of motion (ROM) of that particular posture will be weaker than the limited posture that proceeded it. With a greater ROM newfound possibilities exist, such as new bodily positions, greater potential for muscle hypertrophy, and a higher ceiling on maximal strength potential, but care must be taken at the onset of this new freedom in flexibility to strengthen the body slowly so injury is prevented. If performing strength training while also performing fundamental postural adjustments via stretching, reduce exercise weight significantly and focus instead on movement quality. The central nervous system will require retraining which will take time but the long term rewards are well worth it.
Secondly energy flow throughout the body will be improved. Bioelectric currents that may have become “stuck” in parts of the body will flow better, as will force generated or load placed upon the body. As a quick metaphysics aside, the flow of kundalini chi energy through the bodies bioelectric/meridian/chakra system will be improved and may result in some quite noticeable and striking bodily and mental phenomenon to occur or awaken. It is important to be aware that embarking upon a postural optimization journey will be quite transformative and demands attention and respect.
Third the release of tension in certain parts of the body will bring awareness to other postural dysfunctions that may have been hidden before. For example, the hamstrings limited ability to stretch may have hidden the fact that the lower back was chronically tight, and now with hamstrings looser the muscles and connective tissues of the low back begin to speak up letting you know they require stretching and realignment.
Before turning the discussion towards how strength training can improve posture and also a simple test you can perform to assess the quality of your posture I want to discuss a useful indicator of where and what to stretch via a phenomenon I have labeled “muscle jumping”.
What are Muscle “Jumps”
Old recruitment patterns, tight muscles, and stiff fascia may make certain postures impossible to be done correctly anatomically at specific points in movement patterns, and when those points are reached then an ultra-tightness is experienced in the affected muscles and fascia, and instead of stretching these tissues simple readjust their relative placement within the body, “jumping” to the new placement. Muscle jumping allows movement patterns to take place without interruption at the cost of quick suboptimal postural readjustments at specific points that range from minor to major in scale. The problem with a muscle jump is that it avoids fixing the postural “chokepoint” and instead the tension is redistributed to other parts of the body, where it may accumulate, causing acute or chronic pain and postural imbalances. During strength training muscle jumps are often responsible for the sudden shift in form and improper loading of force on parts of the body that shouldn’t occur.
What is Fascia?
Fascia is a band or sheet of fibrous connective tissue made primarily of collagen that can be found under the skin attaching to, stabilizing, and enclosing muscles and other internal organs.
The collagen fibers that make up fascia are oriented in a wavy pattern parallel to the direction of pull (unless the fascia has been scarred). Fascia is flexible and able to resist unidirectional tension forces which at their limit will stretch the collagen fibers from wavy to straight. Fibroblasts within the fascial tissue produce the collagen fibers.
Whereas ligaments join bone to bone and tendons join muscles to bones, fascia surround muscles and other structures as a sort of net. When it comes to stretching, postural improvement, and strength training fascia plays a very important role.
Muscle jumps are quite common and most people are unaware of their true nature, or even of their existence, but if you pay close attention to how a movement pattern feels you will notice them. A muscle jump might create a small sound or create a feeling of quickly clicking or jumping within the body. Doing slow vinyasa yoga is a great way to feel and identify reoccurring muscle jumps that you have, and once identified further investigating the nature of these postural imbalances is easy. Muscle jumps occurs when a movement is faster than the tissues can optimally move and stretch through the movement, so when a muscle jump is felt reset position to the beginning of the movement pattern it was felt in and slow the movement down dramatically.
For example, standing tall with arms straight overhead sweep the arms downwards on each side making a big circle. Let’s say a muscle jump occurs at the bottom part of that sweep on one side of the body or to one arm. When that happens it’s an indication that the section of the body that jumped was stretching insufficiently to complete the movement in symmetrical perfection. Resetting the circular sweep of the arms but slowing the movement down by 5-10x when approaching the location of the muscle jump will keep the tension on that small overloaded section of muscle and fascia and the tension will now be felt. If done slowly and correctly the jump won’t occur (it may take a few times) and instead a broader zone of tension will be encountered usually in the surrounding area of where the jump occurred but rarely somewhere totally different.
Identifying muscle jumps and resetting them by performing those movements extremely slowly and with great quality will optimize posture quickly. Identifying and stretching muscle jumps is in-between dynamic stretching and static stretching in effect. It helps to improve short term performance but since the stretches are more qualitative that dynamic stretching the changes are more permanent. Tai chi and Qigong are excellent ways of smoothing out these types of fascial imbalances because they focus on slow and deliberate movement patterns.
The phenomenon of muscle jumps allows us to solve another mystery that perplexes many people when it comes to posture and stretching. For example it is common to stretch the hamstrings statically, and at a certain point into the stretch the fascial limit is reached, so a muscle jump occurs and now with tensional lines rearranged in the body, the tension that was once in the hamstrings has moved itself to the foot of the same leg. Or perhaps the neck is now feeling tight, or the hips, etc. Many fascial lines connect to and terminate to the hands, feet, hips, and skull so it is common for tension to be loaded to these regions. The bad news is that when tension is loaded in these zones it can be very painful acutely or chronically. The good news is that tension loaded into the hands, feet, hips, and neck can be worked out and released fairly easily if given proper attention.
Back to the example of the hamstring stretch having created pain and tension in the plantar fascia of the foot, otherwise known as plantar fasciitis, the practitioner at this point should stop the hamstring stretch and chase the tension out by massaging the foot, performing cross-frictional massage, etc. In a minor instance only a few minutes of active therapy may be needed to release the accumulated bundle of tension, in other instances if tension has been constantly fed to a singular location and chronic pain and inflammation has repeatedly accumulated in that area, it may takes weeks or months of consistent therapeutic work there and across the body to remedy the problem.
A quick story to illustrate the point…
Early after graduating college for my job I was walking 5-10 miles a day on concrete and asphalt. My coworker (who also did the same amount of walking) and I both developed plantar fasciitis in both feet. This was very painful and greatly limiting our ability to work and we both wanted for it to go away, but how we approached the situation differed. I was heavily into powerlifting at the time and had been using voodoo floss bands on my knees both as a warmup and as a recovery practice, so I applied the method I had learned and decided to begin wrapping my feet with the voodoo floss bands daily.
Left: latex voodoo floss band. Middle: elastic knee wrap. Right: physiotherapy ball
I mobilized my foot as best I could while it was wrapped under great compressive forces, each wrap cycle lasting about 60-90 seconds in length and I went from one foot right to the next, so wrapping both feet 3 times in that manner took about 10 minutes. I performed this voodoo flossing and foot mobilization 1-2x a day consistently and within 2-3 weeks my plantar fasciitis completely disappeared. In effect I had broken up the scar tissue that had formed and made my foot more flexible. I told my coworker of the protocol and of my success, but unfortunately he ignored my success and decided to instead rely on painkillers for symptom management before eventually opting to get surgery on his feet to relieve the pain, which required incisions and likely causes permanent structural alterations. Ouch.
All the tissues of the body have an ability to remodel themselves and regenerate, and while it may not be easy to fix certain problems, learning how to improve movement and heal the body by utilizing the natural healing mechanisms we’re all gifted with is always a step to be taken before resorting to methods like surgical and pharmaceutical intervention.
The Effect of Strength Training on Posture
In my experience it is more common for constricted and tight muscles and connective tissues to be causing postural problems than it is for loose muscles and connective tissues, but it is possible for this problem to exist. To correct for parts of the body that are too loose and stretched beyond optimal, targeting strength training is one of the best approaches. By performing exercises that constrict muscles and strengthen them, loose muscles can slowly be tightened and brought into optimal postural balance.
For example if the hamstrings are too stretched out which as a result is causing glute and lower back problems (as a result of the hamstrings contributing too little to the stabilization of the hips), performing deadlifting exercises will strengthen the hamstrings and tighten them. An exercise that targets the entire hamstring/glute/lower-back complex like a glute-ham raise would also be highly advantageous in this instance. When beginning from a hyperextended loose state and tightening certain muscles, it’s important to start with very light weight (or ideally just bodyweight) with an emphasis on great form. Once the proper patterning is established the number of reps performed per set and overall volume can be increased, and once this becomes easy then adding greater amounts of resistance via weights follows.
Just like with stretching, this process is not to be rushed in order to avoid any chance of injury, and it may take weeks or months in order to achieve proper functioning and alignment. It’s also very common to find a loose muscle paired with a tight muscle. For maximum effectiveness a posture realignment protocol will have a stretching component and a strength training component. Days of deep stretching and strength training should be separated from each other by sufficient time for recovery to occur, typically 1-2 days.
A Simple Posture Test
The hips and spine are the main structures of the body that determine one’s posture, and a quick way to determine whether postural imbalances exist is to sit cross legged in meditation for 5+ minutes. When sitting in this way with zero movement, forces naturally begin to load downwards through the spine and sits bones, and if posture is good then sitting upright in this manner is fairly effortless. If postural imbalances exist and tension patterns are thrown off as a result then sitting upright in meditation even if keeping completely still will cause the deviant muscles to fatigue which will begin causing discomfort or pain. This can happen in just seconds for some people, especially those who are untrained and out of shape. For others with lesser postural problems it may take 5-15 minutes to begin feeling the effects of inefficiently loading the weight of the body downwards through the spine.
Sitting in meditation is a great way in and of itself to bring balance to the body. Continuing to sit while deeply breathing through the discomfort will help the tension to be released, and every time upright spinal posture begins to deviate or collapse, relengthen the spine as if being pulled gently by a string from the top of the head. Tension can be released upwards through the neck and head in this manner while also strengthening the deep musculature of the spine. I highly recommend keeping a daily 10-20+ minute meditation practice as a core component of a postural optimization protocol.
Dietary Considerations for Postural Realignment
There are just a few notable things to mention as it relates to diet when undergoing a stretching and postural realignment protocol:
Drink plenty of water in order to keep all the tissues of the body well hydrated and therefore well lubricated.
Consume foods high in the amino acid glycine (a major component of collagen), or consume collagen directly.
Foods high in glycine: Pulses (lentils, beans, chickpeas, peas), Nuts & Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, almond), Vegetables (spinach, cabbage, asparagus, watercress, seaweed, spirulina), Fruits (bananas, apricots, oranges, avocado), Animal Products (bone broth, poultry skin, seafood, connective tissues, egg whites), Dairy (cheese, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese)
Reduce intake of added sugars and highly processed foods in order to limit inflammation throughout the body.
For a more comprehensive discussion on the topic of connective tissues and how to repair and regrow them, please read my guide:
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