Bad posture can start at the neck (image credit Roberto Alamino @ Flickr)

In this first of a series about posture and how it affects us I want to cry out “I don’t want Poor Posture. I want to be able to stand up for myself“.

For good or bad, our posture affects how we stand and move. When our posture is bad it contributes to pain in our lives and negatively affects how we feel about ourselves. In my opinion, improving our posture is one of the important factors to consider if we want to enjoy our lives to the full.

Bad posture is typically caused by

• Actions that are habitually repeated.
• Pain related condition(s).
• Stress or spinal trauma arising from an accident or injury, or
• Psychological factors.

But whatever the reason for anyone suffering from poor posture, it can negatively affect our health and our whole life. And, for that reason, maybe we should do something about it.

Forward Head Syndrome Is No Joke

The most common postural weakness is “Forward Head Syndrome”

The spine and muscles support the head. And heads are not light weights. Weighing in at about 8% of the whole body mass, a typical adult head weighs around 10 to 12 pounds.

Just imagine holding a pole upright with a ten pound sack of potatoes hooked onto the end of it. Now imagine that you lean the pole over at an angle, still with the potatoes hooked onto the end. The farther over you lean the pole, the “heavier” the whole thing becomes, and the more difficult it becomes to support.

This is just what happens to your neck and shoulder muscles when your head is held in a forward position. Your muscles strain to “take the weight”.

Maybe It Is Not Your Fault

Maybe you “can’t help” putting your head forward because your computer screen is too low. Or maybe you have progressive lenses in your spectacles and so have to lean forwards to view the monitor through the top part of your glasses! Or it could even be that you have developed the bad habit of sitting and standing with your head jutting forwards….

……. but when you do that, your neck and shoulder muscles strain to do as you ask of them. In fact, for every inch of forward head movement, the relative weight of the head on the spine is increased by an additional 10 pounds. This means that muscles have to work overtime. The cervical spine pulls out of alignment. Muscles and tissues become shortened and strained.

Eventually, postural imbalances develop which are difficult to correct without assistance.

Poor posture can be helped by receiving physical therapy. Done properly, this will help lengthen shortened muscles and bring back mobility and balance to the cervical joints. Or you may want to try exercising as a first resort.

The Best Stretch To Improve Posture

Mike Reinold, specialist in orthopedics and medicine for physical rehabilitation therapists, believes that this could be “the best postural stretch“. Those who follow this exercise on a daily basis are sure to find benefit, not only for forward head syndrome, but also for other parts of the body similarly affected.

Seeing a therapist, or following an exercise regime will certainly help improve poor posture and help you stand up for yourself again.

Poor Posture Affects More Than The Body

The thing is, the way we stand not only affects our muscles and ligaments. It also causes us to give off non-verbal messages about our self-esteem and mental attitude.

In other words, your posture can also affect how you feel about yourself.

If we are to enjoy our lives it is better that we emanate feelings of self-respect and self-confidence to the people who are around us.

Massage and Mind can help those with poor posture to deal with these imbalances and to help them learn to stand up for themselves in all meanings of the word.

To find out more about posture, or to arrange for a no obligation assessment, just contact me.

In future posts I will cover the causes of poor posture, how to find your own postural weaknesses and how to correct poor posture. Meanwhile, do your best to avoid forward head syndrome…

… more help is on the way. If any of the above applies to you, why not stand up and shout, “I don’t want poor posture. I want to be able to stand up for myself”

And I’m sure you do too.

Don’t you?

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