How Important Is Your Posture?

If you’ve been in our office at least once, then you’ve heard us discuss posture; most likely in the context of this is where your posture is and this is where it needs to be.  Most of us have poor posture; it’s just a reality at this point.  Human beings as a whole have moved away from the activities that they were designed for; running, walking, hunting for food, etc., and we now live in a world where the large majority of us spend eight to twelve hours every day seated in an office, or in some form of abnormal position like a mechanic spending all day under the hood of a car.  But what does this mean?  We’ve all been told not to slouch, to stand up straight, etc., but why?

                From a chiropractic perspective, poor posture is one of the greatest contributors to spinal related musculoskeletal and visceral complaints that we see.  When we move away from our normal posture we create stresses and strains in our nervous system.  A study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that changes in our global postural components cause stresses and strains on our central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.  These global postural components include our head, thorax, pelvis, and legs, and abnormal positioning of any of these in relation to the other can create a stress to your nervous system.

                So to sum that up, poor posture has a detrimental effect on both your peripheral and central nervous system.  And yes, that’s central nervous system, you know the term that encompasses only two structures in your body, one of which is your brain?  But it goes much further than that too.  A study from the Journal of the American Geriatric Society found that a hyperkyphotic posture, i.e. a hunched over back, can actually predict mortality and the greater the hyperkyphosis, the greater the chance of mortality.  In other words, the worse the posture is in your back, the more likely you are to die!

                I know that’s a pretty intense statement.  My intention here though is not to scare you, but instead to inform you.  As we move more and more to a technology dependent society, our postures are going to suffer in direct proportion to our dependence on our phones, computers, and televisions.  As a result of this, the problems associated with poor posture are starting younger than ever before!  In England, a recent study found that 84 percent of 18-24 year olds reported back pain associated with what is now being referred to as “iPosture”.  These youths reported spending as much time in front of a PC, laptop, or tablet screen as they do asleep in bed!

                It’s so important to address these problems now because without care, they will only continue to get worse.  If you, or someone you know, is dealing with pain or other issues, then please call us at 302-368-1300 or come in today.  There is a good chance that an abnormal posture is creating tension and stress in the nervous system and causing your pain.  We will do a full posture evaluation and show you which areas need to be improved to help resolve your problems and improve your health!