Why IS Posture so Important???
To most people, “good posture” simply means sitting and standing up
straight. Few of us realize the importance of posture to our health and
performance.
The human body craves alignment. When we are properly aligned, our bones,
not our muscles, support our weight, reducing effort and strain. The big
payoff with proper posture is that we feel healthier, have more energy, and
move gracefully. So while the word “posture” may conjure up images of
book-balancing charm-school girls, it is not just about standing up
straight. It’s about being aware of and connected to every part of your
self.
Posture ranks right up at the top of the list when you are talking about
good health. It is as important as eating right, exercising, getting proper
rest and avoiding potentially harmful substances like alcohol, drugs, and
tobacco. Good posture is a way of doing things with more energy, less stress
and fatigue. Without good posture, you cannot really be physically fit.
Without good posture, you can actually damage your spine every time you
exercise.
Ideally, our bones stack up one upon the other: the head rests directly on
top of the spine, which sits directly over the pelvis, which sits directly
over the knees and ankles. But if you spend hours every day sitting in a
chair, if you hunch forward or balance your weight primarily on one leg, the
muscles of your neck and back have to carry the weight of the body rather
than it being supported by the spine. The resulting tension and joint
pressure can affect you not only physically, but emotionally, too, — from
the predictable shoulder and back pain to headaches, short attention span,
and depression.
Poor posture distorts the alignment of bones, chronically tenses muscles,
and contributes to stressful conditions such as loss of vital lung capacity,
increased fatigue, reduced blood and oxygen to the brain, limited range of
motion, stiffness of joints, pain syndromes, reduced mental alertness, and
decreased productivity at work. According to the Nobel Laureate Dr. Roger
Sperry, “the more mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy is
available for thinking, metabolism, and healing.”
The most immediate problem with poor posture is that it creates a lot of
chronic muscle tension as the weight of the head and upper body must be
supported by the muscles instead of the bones. This effect becomes more
pronounced the further your posture deviates from your body’s center of
balance.
To illustrate this idea further, think about carrying a briefcase. If you
had to carry a briefcase with your arms outstretched in front of you, it
would not take long before the muscles of your shoulders would be completely
exhausted. This is because carrying the briefcase far away from your center
of balance places undue stress on your shoulder muscles. If you held the
same briefcase down at your side, your muscles would not fatigue as quickly,
because the briefcase is closer to your center of balance and therefore the
weight is supported by the bones of the skeleton, rather than the muscles.
In some parts of the world, women can carry big pots full of water from
distant water sources back to their homes. They are able to carry these
heavy pots a long distance without significant effort because they balance
them on the top of their heads, thereby carrying them at their center of
balance and allowing the strength of their skeleton to bear the weight,
rather than their muscles.
Correcting bad posture and the physical problems that result can be
accomplished in two ways. The first is by eliminating as much “bad” stress
from your body as possible. Bad stress includes all the factors, habits, or
stressors that cause your body to deviate from your structural center. Bad
stress can result from a poorly adjusted workstation at work, from not
having your seat adjusted correctly in your car, or even from carrying too
much weight around in a heavy purse or backpack.
The second is by applying “good” stress on the body in an effort to move
your posture back toward your center of balance. This is accomplished
through a series of exercises, stretches, adjustments, and changes to your
physical environment, all designed to help correct your posture. Getting
your body back to its center of balance by improving your posture is
critically important to improving how you feel.
At Advanced Family Chiropractic, We focus on your postural correction. It
usually involves a complete and thorough history, exam and most likely
x-rays may be needed or requested. TO see is to know and not to see is to
guess !!!!
Feel the healing begin as you walk through our door !
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