Suffer From Poor Posture?
We Help People Transform Their Posture To Get Out Of Pain And To Look More Athletic, Confident & Symmetrical
Poor Posture Causes More Than Just Pain
Poor posture reduces the bodies over-all connectivity and function. Scroll to the end of this page to learn about the most important driver of your posture and pain - the fascia. Otherwise, read about possible (and actionable) causes of poor posture alongside before & after case studies of people who have transformed their posture and quality of life.
Functional Patterns Atlanta uses a unique and holistic method of functional movement and various lifestyle alterations that offer incredible results. We want to work with you to get you standing tall, proud and pain-free.
What Causes Bad Posture?
Biomechanical Factors
The way you walk, sit, lay down, run and generally move in your day-to-day life has a profound affect on your posture. Think of your posture as the way you are ‘vertically stacked,’ somewhat like a game of Jenga. If you were to gradually pull at random pieces of the Jenga tower, it would eventually start leaning over to one side and lose its structural integrity. While humans are more complex than a game of small wooden blocks, the same principles of physics apply. We are constantly being acted upon by gravity, pulling us down towards the earth. We need to make sure our various muscles, joints, bones etc are firmly in place and stacked correctly on top of one another.
Are You Breathing Correctly?
Many people do not connect the breath to the structure of an organism. The breath is a powerful force within the body, capable of influencing the bodies structure based on where it holds its pressure. Take a deep breath. Where do you feel it? Do you notice certain parts of your body rise and fall? Perhaps you feel your breath in your shoulders, or maybe it travels to the lower belly. The areas that your breath reside grow space for you to do so. If you take deep breaths into your chest and shoulders, you will grow a bigger frame to accomodate. If you take small, shallow breaths into your stomach, you will likely express this in your frame. Much of postural correction lies in breathing correction. Where do you want to create pressure to expand and strengthen? Where do you want to reduce the pressure?
A-Symmetrical Dominance
Do you have a favourite side? Of course you do. We are generally either ‘left hand dominant’ or ‘right hand dominant.’ This doesn’t just stop at our hands though. If you are about to fall over, which leg always comes to your rescue? When you brush your teeth or your hair, is it with the same hand you right with? What about when you play sports or exercise? Surely you have a more coordinated side, arm, leg. While you may never really think much about this, it has a vast effect on your posture. Achieving a symmetrical posture comes from developing and balancing both sides of your body. While you may always have a favourite hand to write with, you can focus on the macro movements you do everyday (standing, walking, running, throwing & breathing), and try to make these more balanced and symmetrical.
Case Studies + Before & Afters
Before & Afters, explaining the clients individual situation and how Functional Patterns protocols transformed their bodies, minds and lives
All of the clients below followed a heavily personalised version of the Functional Patterns Protocol. They did 1-3 functional training sessions per week to improve their biomechanics, athleticism & coordination. They implemented suggested dietary adjustments to get better core engagement, internal negative pressure (no bloating), reduced fat/increased muscle and to reduce chronic inflammation. They also adopted a more functional lifestyle in their day-day lives. This meant more sunshine, better quality water and food and better management of stress.
Poor Posture, Constant Back & Knee Pain
Enhanced posture and quality of life gains from my client Irenie. From the first session I could tell I would enjoy training her. She listens, responds to cues well and has great focus to execute difficult corrective exercises and dynamic movements. She is also proactive in practicing what she’s learned at home and in her daily life. All ingredients to make lasting changes. Embodying the @functionalpatterns motto of living intentionally and not habitually.
BEFORE >
❌ Poor intra abdominal pressure
❌ Anterior shifted pelvis, lack of glute engagement
❌ No thoracic extension, forward head
❌ Knee valgus
❌ Lack of shoulder support through lats and upper traps
AFTER
✅ Intra abdominal pressure, TVA recruitment
✅ Glute engagement
✅ Improved knee position
✅ Thoracic extension, head position corrected
✅ Lats and upper traps more active to support shoulders and more even height
How Does Irenie Feel About Her Postural Transformation?
“I started FP to try and address my poor posture and the persistent pains in my lower back and knees. Since working with Shane I have really had to reflect on the daily habits and patterns that had been making me so uncomfortable in my own body. Prior to this I had been generally eating healthy and exercising with Pilates and yoga, however the improvements I have felt in my posture and wellbeing since stating FP in September 2021 have been incomparable.
I think it has a lot to do with how focused Shane is on ensuring the specific and precise execution of each movement to engage and work the whole body in an integrated manner. You leave feeling both exhausted and energised, I always have an extra bounce in my step after training. I feel I have also gained a sense of purpose and drive to develop and maintain better mobility, strength, and balance well into my older age.”
Joanna Pictured With Relaxed Posture - Anterior View. Before Jan 2020
After July 2020
6 Month Height & Posture Gains + Pain Gone
Breakdown Of Changes:
Anterior
✅ hip hike and rib shift improved
✅ knee valgus improved
Posterior
✅ lumbar decompressed
Lateral
✅ posterior pelvic shift
✅ thoracic extension
✅ core engagement
My client Joanna came to Functional Patterns through recommendation of her daughter. She came with open curiosity and encouraged by the results her daughter had achieved committed to train with me. Her dedication to her own progress has been outstanding and I could not ask for a better mind to train. Her body is catching up. This is just a snapshot of her progress and we have much to work on but at 62 years of age we are putting the breaks on the ageing process as we move her into the realm of efficient movement. Great work Joanna! 👏👏👏
Joanna Says…
“Last 20 years activities included lifting weights, hiking, jogging, with plenty of stretching, being trained by personal trainers along the way. Diffuse disc bulge, poor coordination & balance, pronated feet, knees turned inwards & lower back often going out of alignment. These symptoms became obvious after 2 years of yoga & never progressing beyond foundation level.
I started weekly sessions with Functional Patterns January 2020, & the 10 week online course a bit later. Gave up the weights, yoga, orthotics, stretching & all casual/work shoes with heels. My height when I was younger was 5ft 3ins, during my 50’s I shrunk to 5ft 2ins, now, at 62 I am 5ft 3.6ins, the tallest I’ve ever measured!
Thanks to FP for their tremendous effort in addressing the multiple dysfunctions on my body. You are patient, encouraging and not afraid to push me if I need it, but I know you care & continue to motivate me to make progress as seen to date”
@james_bazley - all photos are relaxed standing neutral
Postural Results + 2 Years Chronic Groin and Lumbar Pain Gone
James Bazley is a professional cricket player in QLD Australia.
Before - 96kg- chronic osteitis pubis and multiple stress fractures from 2013-2018 with traditional training. Minimal TVA engagement with an excessive kypholordosis
After - 100kg - Zero pain, now 2 years without missing a match, more overs bowled than all previous years, selected for QLD 2nd XI. Big improvements in lumbar compression and pelvic/rib cage positions
Bowling takes its toll on the body and there’s always room for improvement but focussing on the big 4 has reaped big benefits here. Gait to come
3 Year Entire Postural Transformation
Louis Says,
“Feeling and moving considerably better than I was in 2018. Out of all the supplements, diets, gadgets, gimmicks that I’ve tried, orienting my behaviours towards a more functional manner is the #1 🐐 , and FP sets the standard for this.”
BEFORE >
❌ Adrenal Fatigue
❌ Low testosterone
❌ Chronic right shoulder pain, full tear
❌ Left shoulder AC joint instability
❌ Osteitis pubis and stress reaction at left adductor origin
❌ Right shoulder depression + over retraction
❌ Left cranial compression
❌ Lumbar compression
❌ Ribcage shift
❌ Over-pronation of left ankle
AFTER
✅ Improved cranial symmetry
✅ Improved scapular position and Latissimus recruitment
✅ Improved neck position
✅ Improved tibial position
✅ Improved left ankle supination
✅ Improved ribcage shift
✅ Improved intra-abdominal pressure
✅ Approximately 6kg muscle added with a complete elimination of pain
How Poor Posture Causes Pain
To Understand Why Poor Posture Is So Troublesome, Let’s First Look At Something Called Fascia
"The fascia is any tissue that contains features capable of responding to mechanical stimuli, everything from your tongue tongue to your blood & bones (see a full list at the bottom of this page). The fascial continuum is the result of the evolution of the perfect synergy among different tissues, liquids, and solids, capable of supporting, dividing, penetrating, feeding, and connecting all the districts of the body… The continuum constantly transmits and receives mechano-metabolic information that can influence the shape and function of the entire body."
- Foundation of Osteopathic Research and Clinical Endorsement (Bordoni et al., 2021)
Normal movement of the body is allowed because of the presence of the fascial tissues and their inseparable interconnection, which allow the sliding of the muscular structure, the sliding of nerves and vessels between contractile fields and joints, and the ability of all organs to slide and move with each other as influenced by the position of the body. One of the fundamental characteristics of the fascia is the ability to adapt to mechanical stress, remodelling the cellular/tissue structure and changing to suit the environment.
How Does Posture Affect Our Fascia?
Our body is never completely still when we are awake. Even when we are just sitting or standing, our body is constantly making adjustments to compensate for our motions, big or small. The connecting mechanism of all these movements is fascia.
Fascia hates incorrect movement. Why? Its job is to adapt to mechanical stress and if that mechanical stress is abnormal or dysfunctional, your fascia has to work double time and compromise its values to adapt to that stress. This is the fundamental basis of maladaptation. You put your body in a certain position or move it in a certain way enough times and it is forced to adapt to that environment - whether that adaption benefits you or harms you.
Conversely, How Does Fascia Affect Our Posture?
Once your body has maladapted to an environment of dysfunctional movement, your fascia becomes less lubricated and rigid. It essentially calcifies/hardens. Your bodies structure adapts to the dysfunctional movements and loses its structural integrity. People with poor posture feel much less connected within their body because their connecting mechanism, fascia, is now compromised.
Fascia does not just handle posture, it innervates and connects the immune system, the nervous system, pain receptors and just about every single system within your body. Dry and dysfunctional fascia therefore causes a host of issues aside from poor posture.
Dysfunctional fascia turns basic feeling receptors within the body into pain receptors. These receptors become overactive and can be identified as a source of chronic pain.
What Can You Do To Get Your Fascia Healthy Again?
Functional Patterns is centred around improving your fascia to improve every aspect of your health. As you can see above, fascia truly is the most important organ/system in the body when it comes to preventing, managing and even reversing chronic health conditions such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, immune conditions… the list goes on.
Functional Patterns techniques and protocols balance, rehydrate and put elasticity back into your fascia. Each and every movement has been carefully thought out to undo fascial dysfunctions and to create an environment where the adaptions that your body makes are beneficial to your over-all health, vitality and structure.
Does Diet Affect Your Posture?
Learn what foods can negatively affect your biomechanics and spinal integrity.
The food you eat has the potential to cause bloating.
This raises two questions:
Is it possible to have a stable spine and pelvis if the core is not engaged adequately?
Might chronic bloating inhibit core activation to some extent?
One of the fundamental functions of the deep core (or transverse abdominus) is to retract the navel and help provide stability to the pelvis and lumbar spine. Imagine attempting to retract your navel (pulling in your belly button) while you are bloated.
Chronic bloating seems to promote a firm round belly that completely loses the ability to retract – which then promotes arching in the lower back and ultimately increases the likelihood of pain to occur. In our field experience, cutting out certain foods is a critical step in eliminating certain types of chronic lower back pain.
Improve Your Core Tension & Body Composition.
All of our clients have access to our incredibly effective Functional Patterns dietary protocol. When you work with F.P. Atlanta, you get a 17 page booklet outlining the exact methods we’ve used to help countless people of all walks of life to feel more energetic, feel more confident and to gain muscle while losing stubborn fat. Our diet protocol is thoroughly tested and researched and serves to rehydrate your fascia, tissue & muscle, increase collagen production, reduce chronic inflammation, increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat percentage.
Get in touch.
Tackle your posture from every possible angle with Functional Patterns Atlanta. Changing your structure will not be easy but we have proven to be the foremost experts in this space with undeniable client results. We address posture from the very core and will leave you feeling more connected, symmetrical and stable.
We are currently waving the fee of our initial 30 minute assessment for new clients. This will only be available for a short period of time so please get in touch if you’re serious about changing your posture and getting out of pain.