When you look in the mirror what part of the body do you see? Your thighs, chest, or arms? The common thread is that these parts are all in the front of you. We often get lured into expanding the muscle that we see. How often there is a muscle magazine that has a picture of a person's back on the cover? We need to stop trying to impress ourselves with our reflection and start focusing on the muscles that we don't see in the mirror.

When I coach my defensive football players on how to safely tackle during summer camp, I'd say, “Keep your back straight, butt out, neck extended.” The front part of the body doesn't come in until after contact. The muscles that predominantly “protect” the spine are all on your posterior. The abdominals, which resist hyperextension, are the exception. The spinal erectors and others act together with your abdominals to stabilize the spine. The complete circumference of your abdomen is a crisscross of muscles that “protect” your back in all directions. “Protect” means to resist forces that would cause extreme bending in the spine. Over-bending sideways or backwards has a propensity for spinal fractures. When bending too much forward, the spinal discs are usually injured. A disc is just like a haupia-filled malasada when you squeeze one side too much. It shoots out posteriorly into the spinal cord. You know what can happen as a result of that. Maintaining spinal positions is crucial in sports to prevent traumatic injury and in everyday life to reduce wear and tear.

Now let's not forget the upper back. The thoracic region carries the shoulder blades and in that rests the life of your shoulders. As a physical therapist, I see a strong correlation between rounded upper backs and “wear 'n tear” shoulder injuries. In support of my observations, there is a plethora of laboratory studies that prove improper shoulder blade positioning leads to weakness and incorrect shoulder joint mechanics. Basically, these faulty mechanics lead to over stressing certain structures of the shoulder during movement. The key is to pull your shoulder blades back and down to allow your rotator cuff to properly control your shoulder joint. Without a straight upper back, you will not be able to pull your blades in the correct position. Theses principles apply to any exercise that uses your upper extremity. So when you're working on your upper body, take a side view of yourself in the mirror and see if can't make your upper back go a little straighter.

The spine is the base of the entire body. Our limbs and the nerves that supply them originate from the spine. We tend to take our back for granted which can lead to a lot of pain later in life. When you strengthen legs and arms, make sure you do not use a weight that compromises the position of your spine. Again, these principles do not only apply when you are working out. Posture is very important on reducing wear and tear attributed from job and house duties. Remember, humans stand erect so let's try to keep it that way.