The Importance of Posture

‘Stand up straight!’ Who hasn’t had this command barked at them at some time in their lives? Posture is an area that we are often told to be conscious of but in reality it is an area that few of us truly understand. Today we are going to demystify posture and outline a few steps you can take to ensure you have optimal posture.

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Posture can be thought of as the representation of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves. All of our experiences in our lifetime can be viewed through the window to our posture. If the eyes are the gates to the soul, then posture is the map of the journey. Here are some common influences on our posture:

➢ Exercise programs – a poorly designed exercise program can alter posture for the worse, while a well designed program will consistently improve posture
➢ Nutrition – poor nutrition leads to organ stress which then carries over and affects the musculoskeletal system.
➢ Muscle balance – When muscles get too strong relative to another muscle on the same joint, they pull posture in that direction. A common example is tight chest muscles pulling the shoulder forward due to the weaker back muscles
➢ Emotional health – Depression has been associated with a stooped posture.
➢ Stress – Our stress levels will tense our muscular system, altering our postural mechanics
➢ Injuries – An injury such as a broken leg will shift our posture away from the injured side.
➢ Sleep – a lack of sleep will lower our available energy levels making it harder to maintain good upright posture.
➢ Hormones – Hormones have incredible effects on the musculoskeletal system
➢ Work environment – Sitting at a desk all day will alter posture towards the position which is been adopted
➢ Motor Programs – faulty movements encourage over development of certain muscle groups.
➢ Respiration – Breathing through the mouth will generally pull the head forward and collapse the chest.
➢ Vision – Poor vision will often lead to straining of the neck to see clearly.
➢ Jaw mechanics – Altered jaw mechanics will alter the mechanics of the sacro-illiac joint, Occipital/atlantal joint and the ankle joints
➢ Visceral Health – our organs reflex their stress into our muscles
➢ Sports and Work activities – This can be dominance of a movement pattern e.g. a golfer being rotated towards the side the swing with
➢ Flexibility – poor flexibility often leads to poor posture
➢ Spinal subluxations – Any spinal change will obviously affect posture
➢ Spiritual challenges – This is very similar to emotional stress
➢ Primitive reflexes – These reflexes are ingrained into our central nervous system from in utero and have a high degree of influence on our motor skills. Underdevelopment of a primitive reflex will generally impair movement skills and thus degrade posture
➢ Parental influences – Children will observe their parents and copy them
➢ And many more!

Balanced posture is a very challenging objective to achieve due to the plethora of factors that affect it. Here are some action steps and exercises that will assist you achieve optimal posture and aesthetics

1. Get your work ergonomics checked. It does not matter how good your exercise program is if you spend 8 hours a day hunched over! Your DC Health practitioner and many others can assist you in setting up an ergonomically sound workplace.
2. Get a personalized exercise program. A program customized for you is one of the most important areas of addressing poor posture. A good program will always result in a move towards better alignment. If your posture has been degrading with your current exercise program, it is time to get a new one.
3. The standing wall lean exercise

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4. Lying longitudinal foam roller mobilization. Please speak to your DC Health practitioner about getting a foam roller

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