The authoritative introductory book on posture correction

"Atlas of Sports Anatomy (3rd Edition)" by People's Sports Publishing House, "Posture Correction Guide" written by Davis, and "Anatomy Train" which is slightly more controversial but highly practical.

I encountered a lot of pitfalls when I first started to correct my posture. I went to Internet cafes every day in college and my shoulders were rounded and my shoulders were stretched forward. When I wore a T-shirt, I always had a bulge on my back, like a shrunken shrimp. At that time, I followed the recommendations on the Internet and bought three or four Internet celebrity books with the covers of "Build Right-Angle Shoulders in 7 Days" and "Correction of XO-shaped Legs in Two Weeks". I practiced blindly for less than half a month. My neck was so stiff that it was difficult to even turn my head, so I went to the rehabilitation department. When I was doing physical therapy, the old doctor who was attending the clinic glanced at the Internet celebrity book in my bag, pushed it aside, and casually wrote these three book titles and threw them to me: "It's not too late to understand these books first, and then practice blindly."

Only after I really tried it did I realize that it is not unreasonable for these products to be popular in the industry for 20 to 30 years.

For novices who just want to adjust their daily minor problems, it is enough to read the "Posture Correction Guide" first. There is no obscure academic nonsense. Each adjustment movement is accompanied by a real-life correct and incorrect comparison chart. It also clearly explains which muscles should be tightened when exerting force and what side effects will occur if it is not done correctly. I used to take care of a little girl who had just graduated and worked in operations. She worked at her desk until early in the morning every day, writing plans until early in the morning. Her shoulders were so round that she couldn't hold up a sling, and her shoulder blade seams were so painful that it was difficult to even lift her arms to put on clothes. So I asked her to follow this book for 15 minutes every day to stretch the pectoralis major muscles and activate her middle and lower trapezius muscles. Within three weeks, she sent me comparison pictures. The bulge in her back was half flat, and even the shoulder blade seams that had been hurting for more than half a year were much more comfortable.

If you already have waist and neck pain caused by sitting for a long time, or if you want to develop into a sports rehabilitation or fitness coach, then "Atlas of Sports Anatomy" is an inescapable foundation. Don't think that anatomy has nothing to do with ordinary enthusiasts. I met a young man before who always said that he had back pain after sitting for a long time. He followed the online video to practice Xiao Yanfei blindly, and the more he practiced, the more severe the pain became. After reading this book, I found out that his back pain was caused by long-term tension in the iliopsoas muscle. Xiao Yanfei trained the erector spinae muscles. The more he practiced, the more the muscle was stretched, and of course it would be aggravated. You must buy the third edition of this book edited by Gu Deming. It is printed in full color. The starting and ending points of muscles, their functions, and the corresponding pains are all clearly marked. Don't be greedy and buy a pirated black and white book worth more than ten yuan. You can't tell the difference between muscle and fat after reading it for a long time. It is a waste of time.

As for "Anatomy Train", it needs to be mentioned separately. There is indeed a lot of controversy about it in the industry. Among the rehabilitation practitioners I know, some have fluffed the pages of this book and carry it in their bags. Others firmly believe that the myofascial chain theory is "pseudoscience" and is far less rigorous than traditional anatomy. But to be honest, for some difficult problems that cannot be solved by traditional methods, using the ideas in this book can really work wonders. Last year I had a friend with high and low shoulders. He practiced traditional methods for half a year to strengthen the weak side muscles, but the difference in shoulder line was still more than one centimeter. Later, according to the fascia chain idea in "Anatomy Train", I loosened the tibialis anterior muscle of the calf and adjusted the line of the foot arch. After more than two months, the shoulder was basically flat. However, novices should not just read this book. It is easy to get confused by the interlocking fascial chains. After you have laid a solid foundation in the previous two books, you can just read it to expand your ideas. You don't need to read all the contents in the book, just pick and absorb the parts that are useful to you.

To be honest, there are really a mixed bag of body posture books on the market now. Many of them are cobbled together by editors. They always say "one action solves all problems" and purely charge an IQ tax. You must know that posture problems are never a matter of a single part. The forward head you think may be caused by the upward conduction of the force line caused by flat feet. The false hip width you think may be the compensation for the forward tilt of the pelvis caused by core weakness. If you just focus on the local part and practice blindly, the root problem will not be solved. If you don't talk about it, it may lead to new injuries.

Oh, by the way, one final word. When buying a book, don’t just look at whether it has a fancy cover or whether there are internet celebrity recommendations. Most of the really useful reference books have simple covers that will wrinkle the corners after two months of reading. Notes are everywhere. This kind of book can really help you. If you buy it and it looks like new for more than half a year, then you probably bought it wrong. It’s better to buy it on a second-hand platform and exchange it for a cup of milk tea.