Posture is not something people talk about enough, yet it’s importance cannot be understated. Most people know they should have good posture, but most don’t know what ‘good posture’ means. Well today we’re gonna tell you just that.
Your posture is just an alignment of your muscles, joints, bones, and spine. Everything here has to be well-functioning and well-aligned to give you the best support and ease. If you’re off-alignment, you’ll start feeling the reason you found this article.
What alignment is best?
The spine should have 3 curves. The first curve at the neck, second at your upper back, and lastly in your lower back. The importance of these three curves lies in the fact that they help distribute weight and shock evenly through the spine instead of at certain points of the spine. This helps your spine last longer instead of degenerate faster.
What does bad posture do?
To start, we can all agree it doesn’t bring out the most confident you. Next we’ll list out some of the many things that bad posture can cause short-term and long.
| Body System | Short-term Effects | Long-term Consequences |
| Muscles and Skeleton | You may feel tight shouldeers, tight neck, tight back, back pain, muscle soreness, back stiffness, neck stiffness. | Permanent changes to your posture, persistent aching, bony-changes like bony spurs. |
| Respiratory system | Breathing difficulties, full deep breaths feel more challenging. | Shallow breaths, feeling out of breath. |
| Digestive system | Tight and uncomfortable belly. | Can lead to bloating, discomfort, and indigestion. |
| Circulation | Sitting or lying down for long periods can make you feel heavy and stiff. | Swelling often, restless, or even ‘stuck’ feeling after not moving for shorter and shorter periods of time. |
| Nervous system | Different systems not working well, your body feeling tense and irritated | Headaches, tingling sensation, constant tightness |
| Mental Wellbeing | More tired, less confident. | Feeling less energetic, down, and lower self-esteem. |
Get Help With Posture
Follow our guide here to find out more on how to help yourself help your back! Alternatively contact us here to book a consultation so that we can help you find your solution.
Don’t wait
Often times waiting for things to get better on its own creates more negative results than positive. We form bad habits trying to not create any pain and these bad habits stay with us. They result in bad posture and compensatory pains and stiffness at other parts of our body instead of where the initial pain was at. For example having a stiff neck can end up causing you to hunch forward more as the body tries to compensate bending of the neck with bending of the upper back. These subtle changes can slowly but surely lead to worse pain, stiffness, and body condition. So don’t wait, have it looked at.
Sources and Further Reading
- American Chiropractic Association – Posture and Health (acatoday.org)
- Harvard Health Publishing – Why Good Posture Matters (health.harvard.edu)
- Journal of Physical Therapy Science – Effects of Posture on Health (jpts.or.jp)
- Cleveland Clinic – Posture and Ergonomics (clevelandclinic.org)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke – Back Pain Information (ninds.nih.gov)