Posture refers to the position that you hold your body in while you’re standing, sitting or lying down. Believe it or not, your posture has a direct impact on your health. Luckily, poor posture can be corrected with a little discipline on your behalf. 

According to the Chiropractor’s Association of Australia, poor posture can cause headaches, back pain, tension, respiratory problems, fatigue and poor digestion, so it’s important that you correct any postural issues to prevent these health problems. 

Good posture has many health benefits, not just in helping to prevent back or neck aches. The following list provides an insight;

• Keeping the bones and joints of the body in proper alignment so that muscles are used correctly.
• Helps to reduce muscle fatigue and overuse injuries. 
• Prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions. 
• Decreases abnormal wear and tear of joint surfaces. 
• Reduces stress on the ligaments of the spine.  

The American Chiropractic Association provides some postural tips for when you’re seated, standing and lying down: 

When Seated 

Sit with your back straight and shoulders relaxed, with a small gap between the back of your legs and the front of your chair with your feet positioned flat on the floor (or on a footrest if your feet don’t reach the floor). Ensure that your knees are at or below the level of your hips, and adjust the backrest of your chair so that it supports your middle and lower back. Avoid crossing your legs or sitting in the same position for extended periods of time. 

When Standing 

Keep your back straight and shoulders back, and tighten your core muscles. Ensure that your head is positioned over your body (your earlobes should be aligned with your shoulders). Your feet should be approximately shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent. Most of your weight should be on the balls of your feet. If you’re standing for extended periods of time, shift your weight from your toes to your heels, or from one foot to the other. 

When Lying 

Make sure you feel at ease when you sleep, and use a pillow to support your head rather than your shoulders. Select a bed and bedding that enable you to maintain the natural shape of your spine. If you’re having difficulty improving your posture, reach out to Karrinyup Wellness Centre for chiro for postural problems. They can assist you in developing your core postural muscles and provide recommendations to correct your posture in a manner that reduces your risk of injury.

Common Causes of Poor Posture

Many people visiting our chiropractic clinic in Karrinyup often suffer from some form of back or neck pain relating to their poor posture. We offer a two-stage approach to chiro for postural problems that initially starts by correcting the problems associated with the client’s posture, this typically includes both chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy. 

The second approach is a process of identifying those underlying factors which are causing their poor posture. By determining and making our client’s aware of the cause(s) of their postural problems we can then help minimise the long term risks to their musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

If you would like to enquire about the causes of poor posture please contact Karrinyup Wellness Centre at 9341 3020 for a consultation. All of our chiropractors are here to help you!

The importance of good posture

Posture refers to the position that you hold your body in while you’re standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture has many health benefits, including;

• decreasing abnormal wear and tear of the joint surfaces
• neutral positions that decrease stress on the ligaments of the spine
• preventing overuse injuries reducing the risk of arthritis
• keeping the bones and joints of the body in proper alignment so that muscles are used correctly
• preventing the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions
• helps to prevent muscle pain and back aches
• reduced fatigue due to efficient muscle usage

Poor posture is positioning yourself in such a way that it places undue extra strain and tension on your, joints, ligaments and muscles. For example, with a slumped, forward head posture using a laptop, your shoulders and neck muscles will tend to be rounded and forward. If you stay in this position for long periods of time, you may begin to experience, neck pain, low back pain, tension headaches, and shoulder pain. These are common postures that are often seen in office workers, students, older adults and people constantly on their smartphones. 

If you sit, stand, or lay down with poor posture for long and often enough, it may eventually cause;

• Cervicogenic and tension headache
• Forward head and rounded shoulders leading to chronic neck pain 
• Jaw pain and chin tuck
• Shoulder and upper trapezius pain
• Reduced breathing efficiency
• Sleep and fatigue problems
• Causing arthritis or worsening of arthritic conditions
• Tight, tense muscles 
• Increased risk of depression and low mood

Causes of Poor Posture

The typical reason(s) why a client would utilise chiropractic and other manual therapy’s like massage at Karrinyup Wellness Centre for poor posture include;

Occupation type and advanced technology

The use, and in some cases reliance on modern technology, particularly increases in computer screen time, use of smart phones, tablets, and games has transformed how we work and live our lives however, it has essentially made us much less healthy. Of particular concern is that it can worsen your posture and lead to the above noted conditions.

You may of heard of the term, “Text Neck”, a condition whereby the chin tucks into a forward head posture position at the cervical spine due to texting on the phone for too long. This may lead to upper cervical spine pain around the suboccipital muscles and cause cervicogenic headaches. Gaming, reading, and watching your tv for hours on end, day after day and sitting on chairs or couches without any ergonomic support may often cause a worsening of your shoulder posture. This may cause an increase in thoracic kyphosis and pain around the shoulder blades or rounded shoulders.

Injuries

After suffering from any injury, particularly in your back or neck it is typical for some of the muscles at the site of injury to go into spasm in order to protect that particular area. This is a normal physiological healing response that helps to keep that area stablised however, chronic spasm may lead to reduced muscle strength and result in musculoskeletal disorders that worsens posture. 

Stress

Previous studies researching into the effects of chronic stress and anxiousness has shown that these people tend to take shallower breaths and have increased muscle activity or tension. The deep neck flexors shorten which may reduce cervical lordosis, reduce cervical range of motion and induce chronic neck pain and cervicogenic headaches. 

Poor footwear

Shoes that are fitted incorrectly may cause you to move with an abnormal gait pattern that places undue stress on your feet, ankles, knees, hips and low back. This pattern of change may eventually lead to poor posture.

Muscle hypotonicity / hypertonicity

Muscles can become either overly weak, or too tight which can lead to conditions like lower and upper crossed syndrome. Both of which can enhance poor posture. For example; weak core muscles can cause your lower back muscles to become over active leading to back pain. A physical therapy plan with appropriate exercises will help correct these problems.

Sedentary lifestyles

Many people are forced to sit down all day due to either their occupation like office workers, or those that go to school which can be detrimental to your posture. It is recommended that those that are required to sit down all day to get up regularly throughout the day in order to move around doing gentle loosening exercises. 

The massage therapists and chiropractors  at Karrinyup Wellness Centre are more than happy to help you in gaining good posture. For more information please call us at 9341 3020.