Phantom Belly Syndrome

I have a "Wierd One" to share with you good people....... My wife has pointed out to me that when I stand still, I lean slightly back and bend my knees as if I am compensating for the big belly that is no longer there. I have been trying to break this habit, but if I am not thinking about it, I revert to form. Any comments or suggestions would be welcome. Mike

Mike, I don't think this is so weird. I started out with a physical therapist for my torn rotator cuff. What I found was that my poor posture due to my weight contributed to the shoulder damage. Through the course of treatments, I discovered that I'm very used to holding what used to be my oversized body in strange positions to make up for the weight distribution. I'm still stuck in my old posture habits. My body is out of balance because of all the compensating that it has had to do for so many years. I still sit with my shoulders hunched forward, and arms pulled up front instead of hanging naturally at my sides. I'm working with the PT to learn exercizes that will train my muscles and strengthen my weak areas. I'm hoping that this will pull everything in alignment. Just my humble and very unprofessional opinion, but I wonder if your hamstring muscles have shortened and your abs have stretched to accomodate this posture. I wonder if you did hamstring exercizes and worked on your abs, if that would help pull things more naturally into alignment. You're probably already working on these things, but maybe a PT or trainer could give you some pointers. Connie

Mike, Connie's thoughts are exactly mine. I've been in and out of PT since surgery and now work with a personal trainer at my gym to "fix" the problems left behind by rapid weight loss. Re-training those muscles will help. But you'll need some professional guidance to keep from making things worse. Happy thoughts, Va 5' 3.5" 232/142/140 -90 pounds -82 inches

Sorry, VA, I meant to say you, not Joy, in my response to Mike! Maureen

Thanks, Reenie! You can confuse me with Va any day! Joy

Well, being a person fortunate enough to see you once a month, I have to say I've never noticed any posture issues. But what you describe and what Connie and Joy share about their dealings with this makes perfect sense. My doctor (PCP) is trying to help me with my body being suddenly out of whack and causing intense pain, especially in the left shoulder and right hip. I'm going in for an MRI this week to see what's going on with my hip but doc suspects severe arthritis that was probably always there but my fat cushioned the pain points so I didn't know. I'm also falling a lot! Four times this last month! Thank GOD I am able to scramble up now like a 5 year old, but I don't know what's going on or why I'm doing this! Anyone else having this problem??? Maureen

Thank you all for your replies; I have been getting my exercise by walking 2 to 3 miles a day at an almost running speed and Kayaking in when it's not too cold. Maybe its time to join a gym.... at least for the winter. I'm certainly not as flexible as I would like to be and some professional training might solve a lot of problems. As for your falling down, Maureen, that's a little scarey! My balance is sometimes a bit haywire when I get out of bed, but I haven't fallen. It almost sounds like a problem with your equilibrium (inner ear issue??). You're certainly doing the right thing by working with your PCP. Take care and be well; Mike