What is Posture?

Posture is the position in which you hold your body while standing, sitting or lying down.

Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit and lie so as to place the least strain on muscles and ligaments while you are moving or performing weight-bearing activities.

Good posture helps you in the following ways:

• Keeps bones and joints in the correct position (alignment) so that muscles are being used properly.
• Helps cut down on the wear and tear of joint surfaces (such as the knee) to help prevent the onset of arthritis.
• Decreases the strain on the ligaments in the spine.
• Prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions.
• Prevents fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, which allows the body to use less energy.
• Prevents backache and muscular pain.

What is Poor Posture?

Postural dysfunction or “Poor” posture is defined as when our spine is positioned in unnatural positions, in which the curves are emphasized and this results in the joints, muscles and vertebrae being in stressful positions.

This prolonged poor positioning results in a build up of pressure on these tissues.

As we get older, bad habits such as slouching and inactivity cause muscle fatigue and tension that ultimately lead to poor posture.

The complications of poor posture include back pain, spinal dysfunction, joint degeneration, rounded shoulders and a potbelly.

Painful conditions associated with poor posture are so common that most people have some firsthand knowledge of these problems.

Low back pain is the most frequent complaint but research shows neck, shoulder and arm pain has become increasingly widespread as a result of postural dysfunction.

Contributing Factors To Postural Dysfunction

• Lack of education or awareness of correct posture
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Occupational demands
• Joint stiffness
• Decreased fitness
• Muscle weakness
• Muscle tightness
• Poor core stability
• Poor ergonomic work-stations

Conditions Poor Posture Can Cause

While back and neck pain top the list of postural dysfunction, there are many others — such as poor balance, headaches, and breathing difficulties.

A few other conditions linked to poor posture include:

1. Incontinence. Poor posture promotes stress incontinence — when you leak a little urine if you laugh or cough. Slouching increases abdominal pressure, which puts pressure on the bladder. The position also decreases the ability of the pelvic floor muscles to hold against that pressure.

2. Constipation. Poor posture on a toilet — hunched over with your knees lower than your hips — can promote constipation. Constipation is characterized by fewer than three bowel movements per week; hard, dry stools; straining to move the bowels; and a sense of an incomplete evacuation.

3. Heartburn and slowed digestion. Slouched posture after a meal can trigger heartburn caused by acid reflux (when stomach acid squirts back up into the esophagus). Slouching puts pressure on the abdomen, which can force stomach acid in the wrong direction. Some evidence suggests that transit in the intestines slows down when you slouch.

4. Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease.  Changes in spine alignment can also lead to blood vessel constriction, which in turn affects nutrient and oxygen supply and can result in blood clots and deep vein thrombosis.  All of these side effects can greatly increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease if the misalignment goes untreated.

5. Hyperkyphosis. Hyperkyphosis is a spinal deformity causing a forward-curved posture of the upper back (thoracic spine). Sometimes, a person's poor posture can cause the thoracic curvature to become excessive and stiff, making it difficult to change. Such is the case with hyperkyphosis (sometimes called “humpback,” “round back,” or “dowager’s hump”). This condition can affect people of all ages, but the thoracic curvature most often begins to increase in people over 40 and continues with advancing age. It is believed that 20% to 40% of older adults—both men and women—will develop hyperkyphosis.

HyperKyphosis “Humpback” Predicts Mortality

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that kyphotic posture was associated with an increased rate of death due to atherosclerosis.

The authors specifically noted:

“Hyperkyphosis is associated with restrictive pulmonary disease and poor physical function, suggesting that hyperkyphosis might be associated with other adverse health outcomes.”

The study found a 44% increase death rate in individuals with hyperkyphosis and the trend towards mortality increased with greater kyphotic curvature of the spine.

Although hyperkyphosis is generally thought to be due to osteoporosis, this study did not support that notion.

Hyperkyphotic posture includes a rounded back, hunched shoulders, and a forward leaning head.

Bad Posture Negatively Impacts Health

Bad posture has been specifically connected to increased risk of death.

For deaths due to atherosclerosis, participants with hyper-kyphotic posture had a significant 2.4 times greater rate of death.

And here’s probably one of the most important findings: even at a mild degree of hyper-kyphotic posture, there was a definite rate of greater mortality!

This means that everyone in a community is at risk, no matter how small their posture deviation may be.

Everyone can relate to bad posture. The problem is that the majority will relate bad posture to a cosmetic issue, not one that destroys organ function. Studies like this shine light on the fact that bad posture literally contributes to disease processes and early death over a period of time.

Communities must know that Chiropractic seeks to change structure as it relates to function and this study helps to confirm the need for that mission.

Every Chiropractic technique will help improve posture by correcting vertebral subluxation.

Chiropractic adjustments have a direct influence on the nervous system that is always attempting to balance posture.

In my opinion, based on this study, Chiropractic care clearly adds years to life and life to years by improving posture through the detection and
correction of subluxation.

This allows the entire profession to take the focus off pain and move the patient’s focus onto the significant benefits of an improved quality of life.

Whole body health stems from lifetime Chiropractic care for the correction and preservation of posture.