Health effects of a poor or bad posture

Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities.

Poor posture can easily become second nature, causing or aggravating episodes of back pain and damaging spinal structures. Back pain may be the result of poor ergonomics and posture if the back pain is worse at certain times of day or week (such as after a long day of sitting in an office chair in front of a computer, but not during the weekends); pain that starts in the neck and moves downwards into the upper back, lower back and extremities; pain that goes away after switching positions while sitting or standing; sudden back pain that is experienced with a new job, a new office chair, or a new car; and/or back pain that comes and goes for months.

Health effects of bad or poor posture:                            

• With bad posture, your rib cage starts pressing down on the major organs – giving them less space to function. 
• Your waistline gains a few inches because of that And you lose a few inches from your height 
• Your stomach will jut out and dieting won’t help 
• You’ll suffer from back aches which won’t go away easily 
• Flexibility is reduced and one shoulder tends to be higher than the other 
• You’ll become injury prone because of poor posture. According to some science, bad posture also leads to having more negative thoughts. 
• Worst of all, you’ll never feel fresh and rested even after you wake up from a good nights sleep

How does posture affect health? 

Deborah Saint-Phard, a physiatrist at CU Sports Medicine, says the most common complaints among the people she sees are back, neck and shoulder pain, all of which can relate to posture. "Posture is all I talk about," she says. "It's very important." Saint-Phard says good posture is crucial for optimal performance in sports. "Oftentimes, I'll walk into a room and see teenage kids slumped over, with rounded shoulders and head slumped over. They'll have shoulder pains (when they) play tennis," she says.
Saint-Phard says poor posture is exacerbated by weak back muscles that are elongated and stretched out.

Douglas Wisoff, a Boulder physical therapist says: posture also can affect breathing. "If your shoulders are rounded and chest back, the result is that the chest cavity is smaller. ... You're talking about ventilation being quite a bit less. Then you have ... lower energy levels. Because your ventilation is so compromised, you get used to those lower energy levels. It has (an effect on) clarity, ability to focus, ability to concentrate, ability to excel in sports." Wisoff says stress can be a big contributor to poor posture.

Useful links:

* http://radiantrunning.com/article_stand_tall.html

* Health Problems Leading to Bad Posture

* 7 EFFECTS OF POOR POSTURE

What is a good posture?

Posture comes from a combination of good muscle control, strength, and self-confidence.
Posture can be defined as the way in which you carry yourself or the position of your limbs in regard to the remainder of your body.

To maintain good posture, you want to be aware of how you sit, stand, and walk to ensure your back is healthy and free of pain. Poor posture can be caused by a number of factors. Obesity, pregnancy, weak muscles, high-heeled shoes, poor working environment, and laziness are a few contributing factors to poor posture.                                  

Maintaining a good posture takes a conscious effort, much like any other habit. If you do something often enough, even standing or sitting straight with your stomach sucked in, it will become second nature and you won’t have to think about it. Besides getting rid of back pain, having proper posture can also affect the other joints in our bodies. If you slouch while seated, your back, knees, and neck may hurt. If you let your posture go while driving, it could actually be a contributing factor to an accident because you won’t be able to see properly out the rearview or side mirrors.

Your back is the workhorse of the body. Not only is it involved in nearly every movement we make, it is central to balance and keeping our head on straight, so to speak. Backaches and injuries are some of the most common complaints when people visit doctors or when they call in sick. If back pain is causing you problems, you’ll want to discuss it with your doctor. They may recommend a physical therapist or medication. You may also want to consult a chiropractor to help you correct bad posture. Take time to be aware of how you stand, walk, sit, and lift. If you relax too much you may get lazy and begin slouching instead of keeping your spine straight and stomach pulled in. Keeping your posture intact helps strengthen the muscles along the spine and can help reduce or eliminate back pain.



What is a good posture?

Posture is how a person holds their body when not only standing but when sitting or laying down. It requires a person to balance their muscle along their spine, have good muscle flexibility, and normal motion in the joints. Those who have good posture are aware of their posture and correct it when wrong. Posture comes from a combination of good muscle control, strength, and self-confidence. Those with good posture walk and sit with their back straight, shoulders back, and head high.

Douglas Wisoff, a Boulder physical therapis says: Reducing stress and ramping up physical activity can both help improve posture, he says. For those with very poor posture, he suggests seeing a professional for advice. "The mistake that people make is that they force themselves into a new position, rather than relax into a new position," he says. "(Improving posture) might require some good instruction. Forcing it creates that very tight military posture that you see. Basically you lay a whole new set of tensions on top of your old tensions. In the future, that causes problems."

Useful links:

* Posture for a Healthy Back