Posture Specialists Take Center Stage Interview with Steven Weiniger, DC

I first attended a lecture by Dr. Steven Wcinigcr in 2011 and quickly realized the importance of his message for the profession. Dr. Wciniger, an internationally known educator and speaker, is a leading authority on posture and an advocate for the posture-based chiropractic practice. His book. Stand Taller Live Longer, enumerates the many benefits of strong, erect posture. He expertly developed his BodyZone program to provide chiropractors with the tools needed to position themselves, and ultimately the chiropractic profession, as the ultimate authority on posture. "Posture Authority" is a title that is naturally and rightfully ours—if we can claim it and brand it. The StrongPosture R program can help us do that. It offers anah tical tools and corrective techniques that are compatible with and casih incorporated into any style of practice, and can swiftly allow any chiropractor to become the "Posture Authority." Dr. William Koch (WK): Steven, please accept my compli­ments on your work and your vision in developing the Body-Zone.com program and the StrongPosture R protocols. You have done the profession a great sen ice by pointing out that chiropractors, with their unique understanding of the mechanics and implications of weak posture, arc best qualified to be the ultimate authorities on posture. We also have the best technol­ogy to correct it: the chiropractic adjustment. Dr. Steven Wcinigcr (SW): Thanks. Bill. This has been a passion of mine for a long time. It begins with the recognition of posture as being a function and the outward expression of the body's structure, so we teach simple and effective ways for any chiropractor to incorporate a measurable postural evalua­tion into a practice. Cam ing it to the next logical step. I developed a scries of rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the three basic elements of posture. I call it BAM. which stands for balance, alignment, and motion. This program is a great addition to any practice because it equates posture with function and spinal alignment, creates awareness of postural weakness as something that can be strengthened, and actively engages the patient in the cor­rective process. WK: That is why I immediately saw the validity and impor­tance of the Bod> Zone concept. It shows posture to be a function of stmcture as opposed to one under conscious control. The old idea of telling someone to "stand up straight" has never worked because posture is a sub-cortical function. There is simply too much going on in life for us to maintain a conscious focus on our posture. From my perspective as a biomcchanical engineer, it is obviously right that you equate proper function with the cor­rect stnietural and weight-bearing alignment of the centers of mass of the head, torso, pelvis, and legs over one another. A simple but powerful principle, and one of the few things that even one in the healing arts can agree upon, is that function always follows form. When we can help to make that clear to our patients, it becomes easier to actively engage them as participants in their own care. SW: Yes. exactly, and one of the best ways to do that is by giving them an individualized daily exercise routine. One of the numerous benefits is that the exercise becomes a daily reminder of the importance of body alignment. It helps them to develop strong posture. I always refer to strong or weak posture as op­posed to good or bad posture. No one wants to be weak and everyone wants to be strong. People can more readily relate to that, rather than vaguely calling it good or bad as though it were a behavioral issue. WK: People like to share new information with friends and family. Once they understand the significance, when they see weak posture in others, they will likely point it out and suggest a visit to their chiropractor, a posture specialist. That is the best kind of advertising we can have. SW: Tliafs right. Bill, it is best when our patients do our advertising for us. A posture practice is naturally self-marketing because posture is easily seen by the patient. It is the visible evidence of body and spinal alignment as opposed to the vertebral sub-luxation complex, which, from the public's standpoint, is a bit abstract and difficult to understand. WK: Steve, tell me about your new PostureZone iPhonc app. I think the idea is brilliant. SW: Thank you—everyone's telling us it's very cool. Once downloaded, the doctor can easily take full-body posture pic­tures of a patient, and then by placing one of four PostureZone cursors at the center of the head, torso, pelvis, and lower ex­tremity, it measures deviations of as little as 1/10 of a degree from vertical. This is a great way of establishing a baseline of a patient's posture and the measurement of changes as they prog­ress through the corrective process. It is also an effective way of documenting for insurance as well mcdicolcgal purposes. The basic version is free, and allows patients to check their posture, as well as that of family and friends. The doctor's app has a one-time cost of ten dollars, and lias enhanced image export and case handling. WK: That is a great way to create a heightened awareness of posture. I can sec so main benefits in adding this program to a new or existing practice. It really is a no-braincr because it taps into several different market niches. The "baby boomers" arc getting older, but they don't want to get old. They want to stay active. Strong posture is essen­tial to moving well. They also want to look good. Hunched, stooped-over posture is not attractive and makes a person look old. regardless of age. This should be a fundamental part of any anti-aging program. Strong athletic performance is dependent on strong posture. The biomcchanics of all sports activities is based on the lever­age, motion, and shock absorption that can only be provided by a strong, well-aligned structure. And so main occupations these days involve long hours sit­ting at a desk or driving a car. Over time, this ongoing postural stress leads to damaged spine posture, and uncorrected will eventually result in degenerative joint disease. Even children are show ing signs of postural stress due to long hours spent working with computers and playing video games, on top of the time they spend sitting in school. It is important to call parents" attention to their chil­dren's posture, which can provide an excellent opening to do presentations and screenings for schools and PTAs The StrongPosture® exercise program em­powers people with a "self-help" way to coun­teract day-to-day accumulative postural stress. When we engage our patients with an exercise program, it can expedite their course of care and help them get faster results. This is good from the patient's perspective and serves us by counteracting the perception that main people have that chiropractors try to entrap their patients and keep them coming endlessly. I feel very strongly that twenty-first century chiropractors need to be better and smarter, stronger and faster in everything they do—more show and less tell. We not only have to deliver on the "chiropractic promise" we must to do it quickly, efficiently, and economically. Our credibility as individuals and as a profession is built on results, not by trying to sell patients time-shares in our practices. Your program fits perfectly with two projects I am working on: a seminar program called Integrated Chiropractic Technologies and a book. ChiroPractice Made Perfect. Both arc designed to help improve the skill set of the younger members of ourprofes-sion so they can better serve their patients and enjoy the kind of professional success you and I have. I urge my readers to check out your book. Stand Taller - Live Longer, as well as your public website, www.bodyzonc.com. and professional websites. www.PosturcPracticc.com and www.PosturcZonc.coni Thanks. Steven, and keep up the good work. You arc making a difference. Dr. Bill Koch is a 1967 Cum I.aude graduate of Palmer. After 30 years of practice in The Hamptons, NY, he retired and moved to Abaco, Bahamas, where he and his wife Kiana travel by boat to provide Chiropractic care to the residents of the remote out islands. Dr. Koch, author of the book Chiropractic the Superior Alternative.writes a blog: Mentoring Young Chiropractors http: DrHHIiamHKoch.com and is working on three new books: ChiroPractice Made Perfect, The Out Island Chiropractor and Conversations with the Chiropractic Technique Masters. He may be contacted at uutislanddcahotmail.com.