The Importance of Posture
Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting, or lying down. Proper posture allows for good muscle flexibility; normal motion in the joints. A balance of muscles on both sides of the spine.
Poor posture or slouching isn’t a normal position for the body. It causes our muscles to work harder and can lead to degenerative stresses on our spinal joints and ultimately lead to long term health issues. Poor posture puts a lot of stress on the spine and can lead to neck pain, arm pain, numbness or tingling, midback pain, low back pain, or sciatica.
There are many indicators of poor posture. Some of the more common are rounded or slumped shoulders, hunched shoulders, upper back hump, uneven shoulders, winged shoulder blade, swayback or excessive arching of the low back, and forward head carriage. Any of these can lead to nerve pressure, cause inflammation and eventually back pain.
Chiropractic can help restore function to these areas of your spine and lead to improve balance and health.
Factors that Contribute to Poor Posture:
There are several common factors linked to poor posture:
- Stress
- Obesity
- Pregnancy
- Weak postural muscles
- Abnormally tight muscles in the legs or low back or hips
- High-heeled shoes
Appearance benefits with good posture are obvious, but there are many less obvious health benefits
Good Posture promotes:
- Maintenance of correct alignment of bones and joints
- Reduced stress to ligaments in the spine
- Proper balance of muscles on both sides of the spine to prevent muscle strain or overuse
- Energy conserved as muscles are working more efficiently
- Strong and flexible muscles especially along the spine
- Ability to move freely through all range of motion
- Decreased degenerative or abnormal joint wear
Having good posture means that:
There are several common factors linked to poor posture:
- Your spine has three normal curves: cervical, thoracic, and lumbar
- Your bones and joints are in good alignments so that muscles can be used properly
- Ligaments and tendons connecting the spine together are not being stressed or showing fatigue prematurely
- You stand upright with your head balanced over your spine and shoulders
- You are FREE from neck or back pain
What does Good Posture look like?
Good Posture from the front view includes:
- Head balanced over shoulders with ears even height
- Torso balanced over hips with shoulders even height
- Hips even height
- Feet facing straight forward or slightly outward
From the side view:
- Your ear should line up to your shoulder
- Your shoulder lines up to your hip
- Your hip lines up to your ankle bone