You’ve probably been hearing the words, “sit up straight” your whole life, but did you know it is much more than a sign of good manners? Good posture is synonymous with good health and is just as important as eating right, exercising and getting a good night’s sleep.
When your spine is straight and fully erect, it allows things like your respiratory and digestive systems to function properly because your blood flow and nerves are not restricted. So basically, your body works best when you practice good posture.
Unless you’ve experienced trauma to your spine, poor posture doesn’t happen overnight. Factors that contribute to the gradual decline in your spinal alignment include:
- Bad mattresses
- Being obese or overweight
- Improper footwear
- Weak core muscles
- Excessive television watching
- Excessive use of handheld electronics
- Spending hours working at a desk
- Poorly designed work spaces
Over time, poor posture causes your muscles and ligaments to move which leads to pain, stiffness and fatigue. Chiropractic treatment can help undo this damage by using spinal manipulations to gentle bring your spine into alignments and restore the correct positions of your muscle and soft tissues.
To check your posture, try these simple tests:
- Standing in front of a mirror, check to see if your shoulders are level; your head is straight; there is an equal amount of space between your arms and your sides; your hips are at the same level, your kneecaps face forward; and your ankles are level with each other.
- Have someone take a photo of you facing sideways and make sure that your head doesn’t slump forwards or backwards; your chin is parallel with the floor; your shoulders line up with your ears; and your lower back curves slightly forward.
Poor posture is easily fixed with corrective exercises, lifestyle changes and spinal adjustments. If you need help sitting up straight, schedule an appointment with Dr. Cheree today.
