Believe it or not posture is not only important for aesthetics and how we look to others, it is vital to the function and maintenance of every part of your body, from your muscles and your joints all the way to organ health and longevity!
Identifying a postural distortion (and having a plan to correct it) as soon as possible is one of the fastest ways to avoid long-term damage, quickly boost energy, and safeguard your health over your lifetime.
Take a look around. You won’t need to look far to see people of all ages and even fitness levels with deteriorating posture.
With more videos games, smart devices and increased time sitting in desks, driving in cars and being generally inactive…we’re not helping ourselves to solve these issues.
Experts are beginning to consider postural deviations and the health problems associated with them epidemic.
DID YOU KNOW POOR POSTURE CAN…
Accelerate depression, stress and consume energy.In a study with university students, walking in a slouched position decreased energy levels and increased feelings of depression.
A structural distortion puts your body in a state of increased energy consumption…in fact Roger Sperry PhD. won the Nobel Prize for stating “the more mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy is available for thinking, metabolism and healing.”
Add a few pounds and contribute to digestive disorders. Chronic slouching positions can constrict your intestines making digestion difficult. This also causes increased pressure on the abdominal wall, protrudes the belly and can make one look heavier than they actually are.
Increase musculoskeletal pain. It only makes sense that the harder your muscles must work to support your distorted body, the more fatigued, inflamed and uncomfortable they will become. How many people with headaches, back pain, shoulder pain or other related conditions are simply experiencing the secondary effects of poor posture?
Restrict breathing. More than one study has demonstrated that moving the head into a forward position can reduce lung function. Constricting lung expansion and contraction also diminishes the amount of oxygen getting to the rest of body.
Contribute to a shortened lifespan. It’s hard to say whether this is a “chicken or egg” situation but multiple studies show that (at least in the aging population that was studied) an anterior head position (hyperkyphosis) relates to increased mortality (chances of dying).
WHY IS POSTURE IMPORTANT?
The main reason poor posture is detrimental to the function of the human body is because it is a strong indicator of an underlying CORE PROBLEM with the spine and nervous system.
A CORE PROBLEM is a problem with one of the body’s central requirements for health.
Poor nutrition, a sleep deficiency, or lack-luster exercise habits would all be classified as CORE PROBLEMS. In each situation, leaving this problem unaddressed could lead to COLLATERAL DAMAGE.
To give a non-health related example…
If the foundation of your home had a shift that was left unaddressed, over time it could develop into a host of other conditions like damaged drywall, tilted doorframes and with enough time that CORE PROBLEM could begin to cause more serious issues like electrical or plumbing damage.
These are some of the important reasons why we take structural images of your posture and do a structural radiographic analysis. Some postural problems can be seen easily with the eye and others are more hidden and require advanced testing.
Try our postural self-assessment by clicking here.
Let me know how you did!
In good health,
Dr. Craig
Sep 21, 2020 at 8:42 AM
Hello. Thank you! Really enjoyed reading this page.
Sep 22, 2020 at 4:36 AM
This is a great content. Very well said.