What’s normal ?

I spend a lot of my time in clinic reassuring patients that their body and how they move is normal for them and in most cases isn’t a problem.  I often see patients who have been told that their spine is out of alignment or that their legs aren’t the same length and that this is the route of all their problems.  As clinicians we have to be really careful how we word our descriptions to our patients as poor choice of words can lead to worry, stress, poor movement and avoidance.  We are all slightly wonky in our own unique way and we aren’t symmetrical beings, so how our right side looks and functions may not be the same as our left side.  I am fascinated by the human form and love to see it in all the different shape and sizes that I do but it really does make my job a head scratcher.  Trying to tease out what is normal for a patient and what has come about from injury or habit is tricky.  Often patients have one shoulder higher than the other; is that tight shoulder muscles on one side, weak shoulder muscles on one side, tight side muscles, a bent spine or just habit from standing in one position for long periods of time.  Just because shoulders aren’t level though it doesn’t mean that is a problem.  Leg length discrepancy is found in 70-90% of a normal population and up to 20mm is common.  So telling someone they have a leg length discrepancy without explaining that this is ok can harm the way a patient perceives their body.

This is Lama Gant, the first person in history to deadlift 5 times his own body weight.  He was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis aged just 14 but he didn’t let the condition define him.  Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that in 80% of cases the cause is unknown.  Lama took up power lifting to keep him strong and went on to be the best power lifter in the world, still holding several world records to this day.

His determination and dedication took him to unparalleled levels, despite his condition.  He wasn’t defined by his differences.  This is such an important message to get across, just because you have been labelled with something, it doesn’t mean you have to let that label define you.  My best friend was diagnosed with MS many years ago and is a proper inspiration by running ultra marathons and not letting the MS label define her.  The human body and the mind are both very powerful but to make your body strong you have to have the right mindset.  It does take hard work and determination to make significant changes to the body and for many this is simply too much.  My role is to support a person to make manageable changes so they can improve their form or function and improve their situation.

I once went for a functional assessment at a conference and am still strangely haunted by a young man shouting ‘dysfunctional’ as I did a series of movements.  I left feeling rather old and creaky after being advised to throw my self on the scarp heap (joke!) Joking aside I did feel like a bit of a failure then I observed my super bendy friend going through the same experience.  She isn’t (well neither of us are!!) dysfunctional.  We each just have our own way of moving.  I am 6 ft 1 with very long legs so I am always going to find it harder to touch my toes but it doesn’t mean that is a problem.  I see pictures on instagram of how we should be moving and how if we can’t do something it is bad for us.  But we are all unique.  Our joints are all set slightly differently, we have different amounts of different types of fibers in our body, we have different movement patterns but this simply makes us ‘us’.

I often hear the words ‘my posture is terrible’ but no posture is terrible, its just posture.  The problem does arise when we stay in one posture for hours on end (like sitting at a desk). There is no such thing as ‘normal’ posture.  So next time someone says your posture is bad or your therapist is sucking their teeth and telling you that you are all wonky and will need ‘realigning’ have a good think about what that actually means to you and what do they actually mean.  Most injuries arise from over load;  too much, too fast, not enough, not the fact that your leg is slightly longer or your shoulder is a bit higher.

Remember ‘normal’ isnt ‘normal’…..wonky is normal so let’s celebrate being a bit wonky and embrace our differences.  Don’t be defined by labels and find someone who supports you to be the best version of you, not the best version of the person they think you should be.  If you need help to be a better version of you or want help recovering from an injury then please get in touch

Have a fab weekend folks and embrace the wonkiness xx