Tips for Better Posture

We’ve always been told to have good posture, but what is posture? Posture is how you hold your body when you are moving and when you are not moving. We will be covering topics to help you better understand why it’s important to maintain good posture and ways to improve it.

You may not realize it but your everyday activities such as sitting at a desk, carrying a purse or bag over the same shoulder, driving, and even sleeping can cause you to have bad posture.

Here are some tips to help you improve your posture:

• Stay active. Staying active and exercising is beneficial to your overall well being. Simple exercises you can practice like walking, swimming, or riding your bicycle can strengthen the muscles supporting your back. To specifically target your posture, you can practice exercises like yoga and tai chi that are a balance of core muscle and back muscle strength.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Keeping a healthy weight is an essential part of maintaining good posture. Extra weight on the body can negatively affect your health. Your abdominal muscles can deteriorate, causing you to have back pain, which can lead to issues in your pelvis and spine.
• Sit properly. When sitting it’s important to sit up straight and align your shoulders, ears, and hips. Keep your legs uncrossed and feet on the ground. Balance is key. The body can get tired of being in the same position. Switch sitting positions often and take walking breaks.
• Stand properly. Stand up straight and tall with your shoulders back. It’s important to put your weight mainly on the balls of your feet and keep your feet about shoulder width apart. Tuck your tummy in and let your arms hang naturally at your sides. Footwear can also affect your posture when standing. Avoid wearing shoes with a high heel.

Good Posture vs. Bad Posture

Good posture uses less energy. It teaches your body to sit, walk, stand, and lie with the least amount of strain on the ligaments and muscles. Good posture helps your body move more efficiently and freely, but most importantly it can lead to long-term health. Bad posture is when your spine is being held in an unnatural position like slouching your shoulders, sitting with your spine in a C shape, and bearing your weight to one side of your body. This can lead to excessive strain on your muscles and further health problems.

Why is Good Posture Important?

Good posture will not only make you look good, but it will also make you feel good. It’s important to your overall well-being. From taking on everyday tasks with energy and ease to a healthy life long-term. Some benefits of good posture include reduced lower back pain, less tension in your shoulders and neck, increase in muscle function, decreased risk of abnormal wearing and tearing on the joints, increased lung capacity, and improved circulation and digestion.

On the contrary, bad posture can lead to several health problems. It puts tension on your muscles and ligaments which can cause back, neck, and shoulder pain.

Detrimental effects of bad posture also include poor circulation, impaired lung function, poor digestion, constricted nerves, and misaligned spine.

How Can Your Chiropractor Help You With Your Posture?

If you have bad posture, your chiropractor will most likely ask you questions about your day to day lifestyle, and your work conditions to determine how it may be affecting your life. They will assess and examine your back to determine how they can fix it. Once they have a little background on you, chiropractors at Envista Medical can help you with your posture with soft tissue work to determine how your muscles interact with the rest of your body.

If you have overactive muscles, your chiropractor will use specific muscle releases and strengthening exercises to correct the imbalance in your soft tissue. Your chiropractor may also recommend an adjustment to increase motion in the joints and to reduce tension in the surrounding muscles. Your chiropractor can also teach you specific stretches, exercises, and rehabilitation depending on your needs.

If bad posture has affected you, or you have any questions, contact Envista Medical today for a free consultation 661-380-7222.