[Body twist] Things guitarists should know about body

My name is Takuto Fujioka, guitarist in an acoustic unit called BABY BABY and an occupational therapist.
Thank you for always reading!

Today’s topic is about "body twist" caused by playing the guitar.

The movements that we usually do in our daily lives actually cause the body to twist.
For example, when we are standing, we often put our weight on one leg, when we are sitting in a chair, we cross our legs, etc.
Keeping the same posture during long hours of desk work can also cause body twist.

This is the case for playing the guitar, too. The postures and movements you do when playing the guitar can cause the body to twist.

However, you can't change your posture every time you play the guitar.
So, let's look at the posture when playing the guitar, paying attention to "what happens if you keep this posture", so we can take measures before the body starts to hurt. This is today’s topic.

(This time, I mean, every time I write a column, I write it from the perspective of a right-handed guitarist, so if you are a left-handed guitarist, please reverse the left and right.)

This time, I would like to look at the twist of the upper body, mainly around the shoulders.
Here is what it looks like when I’m holding a guitar!

n my case, the left shoulder goes up to balance with the right shoulder, and my neck leans to the right, resulting in my head moved to the right, my right shoulder goes down, and the body is slightly off center to the right, as a result.

I didn’t notice that the center was off that much until I saw the picture….

Usually, people hang a guitar from the left shoulder with a strap, putting the weight of the guitar on only left shoulder.
When that happens, the human body naturally shifts for balance.

It is a very convenient human function like the automatic tuning function, but it also has a disadvantage.
That is, the longer you spend playing the guitar, your body gets into the habit, and it starts to affect your normal posture.

In other words, even when you are not playing the guitar, you will be in the same posture as when you are playing the guitar.
This is how body twist happens.

Also, to play the guitar, the right shoulder will get inwardly twisted, which is called internal rotation.
At the same time, the scapula also shifts outward.

Repeating the same movements using the same muscles and joints may cause joint pain such as frozen shoulders.

In addition, if the position of the shoulder blades or the position of the head shifts, the muscles around the neck will become unbalanced between the right side and left side, which may cause symptoms such as stiff shoulders and headaches, making it easy to get tired.

It is also possible that trunk instability may cause a negative loop in which the spine bends resulting in the posture deterioration.
In fact, my posture is pretty bad.....

First of all, it is important to know if your current posture is biased or twisted, and what exactly your posture is!

However, unfortunately, it is difficult to notice body twist on your own.
So this time, I will list some checkpoints for the shoulders (scapula), so if you are interested, please ask your music friends, family, and partners to check your posture for you!

I took off my clothes, and I hope it will help you check your own posture.

If you check these three points, you can easily know the position and condition of the scapula.
Generally, if you are having a healthy life, I don't think there will be a big twist. The important thing is to check the balance of the left and right sides.
If you can find out the cause of the unbalance between the left and right, you can correct the position.

Looking at my posture again, I didn’t expect the right shoulder blade to be that much lower, and the position of the head is too far from the center.
I think that my posture when playing the guitar also affected my posture...
I should be more careful with my posture (T ^ T)

I avoided technical terms to make it easier to understand, but how was it?
Sorry if the explanation was insufficient on some points, but all you need to do first is to be aware that your posture when playing the guitar and the normal posture when doing nothing are different.
Also, I recommend stretching your body after playing the guitar!

Only you can protect your body.
Even if you don’t have any health problems, your physical damage and fatigue gradually accumulate in your body. I think that you can avoid unexpected disorders by paying attention to your posture not only when playing the guitar but also in daily life.
I hope that more people will be interested in posture!

Bye for now ~!