Fixing Posture?

Fixing Posture: What Loved Ones Must Know…

Posture Specialty: Posture is defined as the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting, or lying down. Standing correctly visually reflects on an individual’s health and ensures the joints and muscles, and other body structures are working properly. Dr. Alex Jimenez gives his insight and distinguishes the most common defects throughout a compiled group of articles.  He also specifies the recommended fix-it actions an individual should take to improve their stance and enhance their overall health and wellness. Sitting or standing improperly can occur unconsciously, but recognizing the issue and correcting it can ultimately help many individuals develop a healthier lifestyle. It is all about fixing your posture before it’s too late.  With proper posture specialty awareness, body mechanics remain stable for a lifetime facilitating overall health.

Why Posture Important

Appearance benefits with good posture are obvious, but there are many less-obvious health benefits you should know. Good posture can:

• Maintain correct alignment of bones and joints
• Reduce stress on ligaments, minimizing the risk of injury
• Prevent muscle strain, overuse, and pain
• Conserve energy as muscles are used more efficiently
• Decrease abnormal joint wear

Research has shown that poor postures may increase feelings of depression, affect your digestive tract, and influence confidence and stress levels.

Signs You Have Poor Posture

There are many indicators of poor posture, but some of the more common are hunched shoulders, rounded shoulders, rounded upper back, forward head carriage, and arched lower back. Another indicator is back pain. Unsure if you have good posture? Talk to the posture specialty chiropractor or schedule an appointment for a spinal examination.

Poor posture does not always present with spine or extremity pain initially since many individuals have the joint strength and mobility to correct abnormal positions and minimize stress. However, not all have good postural habits and the ability to correct poor positioning. This can lead to chronic stress and wear down normal joints to accommodate for these poor positions.

Contributing Factors To Poor Posture

There are several common factors linked to poor posture:

• Stress
• Obesity
• Pregnancy
• Weak postural muscles
• Abnormally tight muscles
• High-heeled shoes

The Effects of Poor Posture

• Pain in the Back, Neck, and Shoulders – Poor posture can cause stiffness or pain in any of these areas. The longer you sit or stand with bad posture, the more pronounced these pains are likely to be.

• Slow Digestion – Poor posture is almost always because of slumping or slouching the shoulders and core. This can cause the digestive tract to be pressed, making any digestion painful and more troublesome.

• Poor Self Perception – Our minds often take cues from the body. If slouching is a constant, our minds get the message that we feel poorly about ourselves, and our self-esteem and perception are likely to take a hit.

Maintain Correct Posture

The first step is awareness! Bring your attention to your posture as you sit, stand, or lie down. If you’re sitting, keep both feet on the floor or a footrest, don’t cross your legs, and use low-back support. While standing, keep your knees slightly bent, relax your arms and pull your shoulders back. When lying down, it’s critical to choose the right mattress and pillow and avoid sleeping on your stomach.

Posture Specialty: Chiropractic Care & Therapies

Your posture specialty chiropractor can help you to maintain and correct your posture through chiropractic adjustments, exercises, and recommendations on proper positions during different activities.

Treatment

As stated previously, back braces frequently mend postural issues, like slouching. As for structural problems like scoliosis, more aggressive treatments are needed.

Conventional treatment consists of:

• Heat
• Massage
• Stretching
• Strength exercises
• Supportive braces

Ultimately, one of the most simple and effective evaluations is just holding a yardstick or comparable object against the patient’s back, so the two of you can definitely see any abnormalities. This comprehensive approach generally describes some of the persistent chiropractic posture issues, including:

Tissue Damage:

If the neck, lower back, mid-back, or any other area is weak and/or inflexible, the individual will probably not see very much posture improvement until these conditions are adjusted, and the muscles have been strengthened.

Kyphosis:

Hunchback is a degenerative spine condition that’s very prevalent in women over 60. While more advanced cases may be life-threatening and may require spinal fusion surgery, most men and women respond well to therapeutic adjustments and other treatments.

Scoliosis:

This condition is much like genetically-induced kyphosis since there’s no cure, but several therapies are available. In extreme cases, surgery may be necessary.

Un-Level Pelvis/Pelvic Tilt:

A pelvic tilt, a lower sacral base, and a femur head discrepancy can indicate a lower-extremity source, but not whether it is an anatomical or functional short leg. A clinical postural exam with lower extremity screening is the only way to make this determination.

Forward Head Posture:

The anterior positioning of the cervical spine. This posture is sometimes called Scholar’s Neck, Wearsie Neck, Hunch & or Reading Neck. It is a posture problem due to several factors, including sleeping with the head raised too high, prolonged use of computers and cellphones, lack of developed back muscle strength, and deficiency of nutrients like calcium. Potential negative effects include tingling and numbness in the arms and a burning pain between the shoulder blades.

Solutions For Bad Posture

• Exercise – Both regular exercises and posture-specific exercises can help strengthen the body and improve overall posture. This might include moves that especially work the core, back, and shoulders.

• Find Some Triggers – Bad posture is a tough habit to break. It can help to give yourself constant reminders. Ask a friend to remind you when they see you slouching. Post sticky notes all over the mirror or your desk at work. Set intermittent alarms on your phone. Do whatever it takes to bring good posture to the forefront of your mind.

• Get Chiropractic Care – This is actually a great place to start for correcting poor posture. Posture specialty chiropractors can eliminate painful areas of the spine that may be contributing to poor posture. They may also help increase flexibility, improve mobility, and give you some simple everyday tips for getting your posture and basic spinal health in check.

Proper Posture With Chiropractic

 

Injury Medical & Chiropractic Clinic: Chiropractor