Posture

Is your posture making you sick and tired?

We all know that we should maintain good posture throughout our lives, we remember our parents, grandparents and teachers telling us to stand and sit up straight. But why? How important is our posture for our overall health and wellbeing? Well the research is now showing us the devating affects abnormal posture has on not only our physical bodies but also our emotional wellbeing and brains.

Firstly, what is posture?

Webster’s Medical Dictionary defines neutral posture as the stance that is attained “when the joints are not bent and the spine is aligned and not twisted. Ideal posture indicates proper alignment of the body so that the least amount of energy is required to maintain a desired position. The benefit of achieving this ideal posture is so that the least amount of stress is placed on the body’s tissues. (1)

There are certain characteristics that make us human one of the most important things is our posture. Our genes are 99% identical to chimpanzees. One of the most prominent differences is our bi pedal up right posture.

What is an ideal human posture, and what does it look like? 

The body is designed to have the head, rib cage, and pelvis perfectly balanced upon one another in both the front and side views. If the posture is deviated from normal healthy position, then the spine is also deviated from the normal healthy position. The ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and ear should all be in a perfect line. When this is true it takes little effort to hold yourself up in space and energy is utilized to move your body in space and not to fight against gravity.

Feeling tired? If you’re not maintaining good posture it’s no surprise.

• Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize Recipient for Brain Research found that“ 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine”
• The worst type of posture is a forward head posture FHP. To check for this, the ear should be in line with the shoulder when looking from the side. Even 1 cm forward can have serious impact on your health.
• “For every inch of Forward Head Posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds (4.5 KILOS).” (2)

Want to live longer and better? What you need to know from the research…

• Landmark study revealed older people with a forward head posture don’t live as long. (3)
• “Forward head carriage may promote accelerated aging of intervertebral joints resulting in degenerative joint disease.” (4)

• FHP has been shown to decrease quality of life, health and increase in disability. (5)
• Slumped posture affects mood and how we deal with stress.  “Better posture can maintain self-esteem, reduce negative mood, and increase positive mood compared to a slumped posture.” (6)

Most common cause of FHP

1. Spinal Subluxations in the neck or upper back are the most common causes of chronic FHP that we see. This is where the small spinal bones move out of alignment due to trauma or postural stress over a long period of time from things like whiplash or excessive computer work that distorts the natural lateral curves of the spine.
2. Weakness of the Postural muscles
3. Improper breathing and general loss of mobility and flexibility

Things you can do right now…

• Limit excessive computer work, Television and hand held devises
• Take regular stretch breaks from working at computers or driving
• Teach your children about good posture as early as possible
• Start practicing yoga or pilates regularly
• Have your spine checked by a wellness chiropractor for subluxation

OUR APPROACH TO POSTURE.

Your first visit at Quantum Healing starts with a digital posture evaluation, ROM, neurological testing and standing postural X-ray assessment to determine the exact position and alignment of every vertebra. From here we work out a series of spinal adjustments and exercises over a period of time to help you start to achieve better spinal alignment, posture and overall nervous system function. Your second postural assessment occurs on your 12th visit and although everybody will respond at different rates depending on the severity of your case we often see marked improvements in your standing static posture in this short amount of time. 

I will also teach you the most important exercises to do daily to help the adjustments hold, strengthen the new alignments and increase your overall flexibility and mobility. Breathing exercises and mediation is something we have a big focus on at Quantum and this practise of spinal alignment with breathwork and mind focusing has been used for 1000’s of years in the east to improve health and overall life experience.

Can everyone get posture correction?

The earlier you come in the better and the more likely you can regain normal human posture. We see kids, teenagers, adults and the older generation. Unfortunately over time the abnormal stresses and strains on the spine from poor alignment resulting in poor posture cause degenerative change that starts to become permanent. The mid back can also develop changes in the height of the vertebra permanently deforming the spine. For this reason the X-ray evaluation is used to assess any degeneration and how much correction would be expected.

Thanks for tuning into this post, please share if you feel compelled to do so. Also, remember to stand tall and smile lots. 🙂

Dr. Trent (Co-creator and Wellness Chiropractor)

SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES

(1) (Danis, C. G.; Krebs, D. E.; Gill-Body, K. M.; Sahrmann, S. (1998), Relationship between standing posture and stability, Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, pp. 502–517)

(2) (Kapandji, Physiology of Joints, Vol. 3)

(3) Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Volume 52, Issue 10, pages 1662–1667, October 2004

(4) 31st Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, September 2- 6, 2009.

(5) Spine 2009 Jul 1; 34(15):E519-27

(6) Health Psychol. 2015 Jun;34(6):632-41. doi: 10.1037/hea0000146. Epub 2014 Sep 15. “Do slumped and upright postures affect stress responses? A randomized trial.”