Why is Good Posture Important?

Why is Good Posture Important?

Posture is important for many reasons.  My top reasons for having good posture are:

1. It affects your health and fitness
2. It sends a message to others about how you feel about yourself
3. Good posture can make you appear taller, thinner and more at ease

Identifying Poor Posture

Before you can correct bad posture, you must first identify it. Some of the causes of poor posture include poor sitting and standing postures, inflexibility or weakness in joints and muscles and sitting or standing incorrectly in a workplace such as cradling a phone receiver between your shoulder and neck.

Signs of poor posture include holding your head and neck too far forward or down, slouching and rolling (or hunching) your shoulders, slouching forward while sitting, arching your lower back too much.

If you are sitting on your wallet in your hip pants pocket, place your purse on one shoulder or if you sit at a computer hunched over you most likely have a posture problem. 

The best way to identify bad posture is through a detailed posture evaluation. A posture evaluation will take pictures of you standing in front of a grid as well as doing different muscle tests. With this evaluation you will know exactly your posture issues are.  You will be surprised on how your posture looks.

Benefits of Good Posture

By having good posture, you can prevent or eliminate low back pain, neck strain and carpal tunnel syndrome. These conditions and more result from constant muscle strain caused by holding your body in an unnatural position. Poor posture also can quickly put wear and tear on your joints, which can then lead to arthritis and other problems.

Good posture allows you to use your muscles more efficiently because they are in correct alignment. Correct use of the muscles not only relieves pain but  it can also give you an energy boost because your muscles don't have to strain themselves.

Complications of Poor Posture

When you achieve good posture, you will prevent your spine from becoming fixed. One example of this is seen in people who must bend forward for long periods of time at work. Not only are these people at risk for developing a permanent spinal problems, but their postural muscles become imbalanced making it progressively more difficult for them to stand up straight.

Some of the problems from a fixed spine include constricted nerves and blood vessels, muscle pain as well as sore discs and joints. With good posture you can prevent the headaches, breathing problems, fatigue and damage to internal organs that can result from spinal maladjustment.  

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF GOOD POSTURE

Other benefits of good posture include improvement in breathing as well as better circulation and digestion that result from relieving the bodily stress on the torso and allowing your lungs, digestive system and other organs more room to function. As an added benefit, better posture also will improve the quality of your voice if you do not allow your chest to totally deflate when you exhale.

 

Tips for Good Posture

When seated, place both feet on the floor or on a foot rest if they do not reach the floor, keep your knees level with your hips and sit with your back firmly against the chair. If necessary, adjust the chair so it supports your mid and lower back; or place a small cushion or rolled towel behind the curve of your lower back. Don't lean forward or slouch in your chair.

Do not cross your legs, and keep your ankles in front of your knees; keep your shoulders straight and relaxed, with your forearms parallel to the floor. Maintain a slight gap between the back of your knees and the front edge of your seat. Don't sit in the same position for long periods; stand up and stretch often. Remember to stretch your head upwards with chin pulled in slightly.

The key to good standing posture is the same as sitting: maintain a neutral spine, or one that is not stressed by twists or turns that fatigue spinal muscles and put extra pressure on spinal disks. Hold your chest high, with your shoulders back and relaxed; support your weight on the balls of your feet instead of your heels. Keep your feet parallel and spaced at about shoulder-width apart, with knees slightly bent.

Fitworks Corrective Therapy has been successful in helping clients improve their posture because of musculoskeletal imbalances. By building and stretching the muscles the imbalances go away and posture improves.  Give Fitworks Corrective Therapy a call today to get a free posture evaluation and discover how your posture is doing. 801-703-8503

Gary Rumel, Corrective Therapist

Fitworks Corrective Therapy

www.fitworksutah.com

References:

www.scoi.com

www.livestrong.com