OVERVIEW:

Posture is fast becoming the key focus for health and wellness in our society and for good reason. Our lifestyle and work conditions over the past decades have seen our posture decay quickly and it is contributing to most of the physical health issues we see today, especially with the slow and progress aches and pains developing in bodies with no obvious injury or starting point.

The more posture is being examined, the more clear it is becoming that deterioration in posture is the root cause problem of most peoples pains, and various mechanical health concerns. The Journal of Pain Management says it best with, “Posture affects and moderates every physiological function. from breathing to spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture.”

Simply put, posture is the MOST IMPORTANT component to how your body moves and feels.

Now, to explain what posture is, firstly understand what it is NOT.

Posture is not what you do with your muscles trying to hold yourself up, but what your body does when your muscles are relaxed and in a resting position.

This is an important point to understand as most therapies look at improving posture through stretching tight muscles and soft tissues while strengthening other weak muscles. This process often results in mixed outcomes with no long term changes in the shape or balance of the body as it’s missing the most important factor relating to posture which is structure.

In other words, posture is what your structural system or alignment of the bones in your body are doing to hold you up. If your bony alignment is well balanced, it will require minimal effort to hold yourself in an upright, well balanced position (ideal posture) and you will move and feel well. The function of your entire body will be optimal when posture is at its best.

THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT REASONS WHY POSTURE MATTERS:

1. Posture affects how your body feels, when it’s optimal, you don’t notice your body, in other words no aches and pains.

2. Posture influences nervous system function. The less stress on your nervous system, the better your body operates at every level.

CAUSES:

Poor posture is usually a result of slow, progressive changes in the alignment of your body through often small stresses over time. These stresses lead to the body having to compensate, and each compensation can slowly lead to large changes in overall bony alignment and thus poor posture.

The more the body has to compensate the less room it has to move freely, and over time will likely start to become rigid, or feel stiff in certain areas. This will also lead to aches and pains as well as many other body health problems.

Some common examples of poor posture are:

• Head shifting forward (forward head carriage)

• Shoulders rolling or dropping forward (pronation of shoulders)

• Upper body becoming rounded or humped (Dowagers Hump)

• Developing a flat back

• Low back becoming swayed or hyperlordotic (too curved)

There are many contributors that lead to deterioration of posture, a few everyday examples are:

• Sitting position

• Sleeping position

• Footwear

• Trauma (sports injuries, car accidents etc)

• Emotional stress

As mentioned before, poor posture can lead to many associated problems such as:

neck pain, back pain, headaches, TMJ (jaw) issues, shoulder problems, hip and knee pains, degenerative changes to the body, breathing difficulties, and brain fog or inability to focus clearly among many others.