How to know if you have good posture and what you can do to make it better.
Why Is Good Posture Important
Having good posture isn't that big of a deal, right? Wrong!
Did you know posture can affect your mood? Studies suggest that fixing posture can help to bring a more positive mindset and reduce fatigue in depressed individuals.
Posture is so important and is also great indicator of past or potential future injury if not corrected.
Your body works as a whole and all parts from every side work together.
Therefore, our daily habits and what we do with our bodies the most will paint the picture of what's left, either good or bad.
Why Is Poor Posture Common?
A big reason is that the tech age really is upon us. Most of our time throughout the day is spent slumped at work in a desk chair, bending the neck down to stream on social media, or melted in the couch watching tv after a long day of work.
Another reason for poor posture is as a result of past injury and lack of correcting it or following advice and homework. It is really important to see a physical therapist post surgery or injury and listen to what they say. In addition, following through afterwards with a trainer and doing the homework is very important. One day of missing correction won't hurt, but one day of correction won't fix it either.
Inactivity eats away at us and weakens our body's structure...for the worst.
Poor posture can result in headaches, problems swallowing, lower back pain, and inability to breathe properly, among other things.
Poor posture presents itself everywhere, but I'm sure you're good, right???
What Should Good Posture Look Like
So what does good posture even mean?
Well, good posture starts from head to toe.
From the front, we are looking for even shoulders and hips. Ankles should be in line with the knees, and the head should be right in the center.
On the side, we look at hip or shoulder tilting or slumping, as well as lower and upper back arching or caving. As for head position, ears should be in line from the shoulders to the knees.
Lastly, from the back, we look at shoulder position and slumping, ankle positioning, and once again, the level of both shoulders and hips.
Any deviations from the standard, we would want to correct as much as possible.
How Posture Can Be Improved
The short answer? Get moving!
Spending more time upright and moving strengthens your body and puts it in the position it was meant to be in. Spending time walking, strengthening and mobilizing the body, as well as correcting misalignments due to injuries, etc. can reverse most issues in posture.
A super important component to fixing poor posture is core strengthening exercises... And I'm not talking crunches, I'm talking deep core.
The whole "core" is actually any part of the trunk of the body that wraps around the spine. It encompasses the front, sides, and back and runs from the neck, all the way down to the mid thigh. If any direction pulls too much, it can create a misalignment in the opposite direction. For example, if you have weak abdominals, this can indicate issues from behind, in the lower back.
What's The Point?
Posture is extremely important. If your posture is misaligned, it can lead to some serious injuries. As mentioned earlier, our body acts as a whole so one affected or injured part can affect another. Even over training of one plane of the body can produce a negative effect.
Adjusting and fixing your postural alignment can not only reduce and prevent injuries, but it can also help you operate more confidently and positively in the world.
So get moving! If you are curious about where you "stand", see a corrective specialist to help you make a plan.
Prepare an exercise routine, join a fitness class or start walking daily today!
Any little bit helps!
Are you guilty of slumping?
How do you plan on making your posture better?
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