Prepare for a shock. The posture you may have thought was ok for years, you will probably discover is full of imbalances and misalignments. But cheer up! All these imbalances, even the ones you knew were there but just put down to your particular body shape, they're probably all correctable.
Pete Egoscue has been specialising in the human musculoskeletal system for more than two decades. He has worked with athletes as well as those of us who just want to get around without too much trouble. He has worked on every musculoskeletal pain human beings could devise for themselves. And he has developed a system of exercises to correct the posture and restore the body's natural power to protect and rejuvenate itself.
He has an unconventional, and very simple way to explain the joint and muscle mechanics of the body. As a true layman in this area, I had no difficulty in understanding the interdependent working of the joints and the way that imbalance in one joint will have a knock-on effect on the balance of all the other joints and their connecting muscles.
He also explains in words of one syllable how we get ourselves into such an unbalanced mess in the first place. Don't expect any punches to be pulled here. One of Pete's central themes is the need for each of us to take responsibility, so he tells it like it is.
Once we are ready to take responsibility, Pete describes for us 4 basic bodily conditions, and shows us how to diagnose ourselves. And once the diagnosis is complete, we are given a system of exercises which, if we choose to follow, will allow us to correct ourselves and, in turn, allow the body to begin to repair whatever cartilage damage or other pain is being caused by the condition. Needless to say, perfection is condition 4, and there is a system of exercise designed to maintain that too.
Pete then takes us through a question and answer session covering the most common things he has been asked by patients over the years, and finally he takes a look at individual sports.
I found the book refreshingly frank, easy to understand and, in terms of my own body and posture, very illuminating. I had no difficulty in self-diagnosis, and the exercises themselves were easy to follow, if a little time consuming, but that depends on how eager you are to take responsibility for your own progress.
Most important of all, the exercises worked! My posture was indeed corrected and, a hidden benefit, the improved suppleness and strength had an immediate knock-on effect on my ability with all other forms of exercise I happened to be doing at the time.
This is one wake up call you can be grateful for.