What is posture?
Postural Alignment is how you hold yourself, but you might now be aware that there are two types of posture:
- Dynamic posture is how you hold yourself when you are moving.
- Static posture is how you hold yourself when you are not moving.
Send me the 60 sec Posture Reset Video
Gravity is a drag
No matter who you are, there is one law that no one is above and that is law of gravity.
All day, every day the force of gravity is at work pulling on your body. Luckily your body was designed to withstand the force of gravity, when used correctly.
The spinal curves in our back and neck distribute the weight of the body in such a way that it requires the least amount of energy. When you allow yourself to “fall out” of its normal shape, the forces that are put on the back and neck increase dramatically.
You can experience this for yourself if you pick up a slightly heavy weight and hold it next to your head just above your shoulder. Now take that same weight and hold it out in front of your body. It is obliviously more difficult to hold out in front of you which is exactly what happens when we have poor postural alignment.
Why is posture so important anyway?
Postural alignment is related to overall body health. Studies have shown people with poor postural alignment have poorer health than those who have good posture. Poor posture can also lead to headaches, neck pain, back pain, muscle aches etc.
There is also the issue of the unsightliness associated with poor posture and advancing age. Unfortunately many of the people who have gross postural abnormalities at an advanced age have limited success with treatment due to the chronic nature of their condition.
Why do I need a chiropractor to tell me that I slouch?
Determining that you have bad postural alignment is not usually that difficult, you might have already heard it from parents and teachers. What a chiropractor does, is determine what you can do to improve your posture.
At first this might seem to be common sense. Standing up straight is the way to improve your posture right? Unfortunately it is not always that simple.
Years of bad posture can lead to changes in your muscles and skeleton. This can cause you to get into poor posture much easier, because it feels comfortable. I find these areas that have been changed and create movement that frees up the body to regain the correct postural alignment.