Learn How Bad Posture Really Gets Created

Bad posture is not a sign of laziness. It has nothing to do with not using your muscles properly to hold you up. It is caused by changes to the bony structure that makes up your spine. Your body’s “scaffolding” goes out of alignment through daily activity, falls, and accidents and your body cannot fix these changes by itself because it does not have muscles that pull in exactly the right direction.

These misalignments can happen through a variety of causes. It does not even take much force to create them! Imagine a baby getting patted on the back to help with burping. That’s enough force to start the process! Here are some of the common reasons why bones get moved out of position:

• Car accidents
• Falling and landing on your back or bum
• A friendly slap on the back
• People pushing on your spine while you are face-down (yes, a firm massage may do it)
• People walking on your back while you are face-down (yes, we’ve heard it all!)
• Falling off a horse or getting kicked by a horse
• Sitting for long periods in an unsupportive seat (car seats, train seats, and plane seats are not built with people’s bodies in mind!)
• Using a mattress which does not offer enough support
• Incorrectly setting up your pillow
• Wearing shoes that do not support your body properly

All these things can cause bones in your spine to get moved out of alignment. Your body can often fix these misalignments – if it has muscles to do so. However, if bones get pushed out in a forward direction, your body does not have muscles to pull them backward. As a result it has to compensate. This means twisting up in other areas. The goal here is to take pressure away from the original site. The more the body twists up, the more your structural alignment changes and the worse your posture becomes.

Results of bad posture

If your spine is out of alignment, the weight of your body gets distributed unevenly and joints can get stuck. Your body mechanics start to change and your body doesn’t function as well as it should. The increased pressure in some areas can lead to degenerative changes to bones, joints, and cartilage. The doctors then call this “wear and tear”, “arthritis”, “disc problems”, or simply “degeneration of the spine”. They may tell you there’s nothing that can be done about it; that you just have to live with it; that it may get even worse over time; and that it is simply a normal sign of old age. However, it has nothing to do with age – and everything with the amount of twisting up that has happened to your spine over a lifetime. Young people can have appalling posture, while the elderly can be in pretty good shape.

Why is posture so important?

Posture is important for a variety of reasons:

• People with good posture look taller and more confident.
• Good posture means fewer aches and pains, and better overall functioning of the body.
• Bad posture has a negative effect on overall health. Good posture can save/extend your life!

This last point is very important! There is a statistically relevant connection between bad posture and the risk of falling and injuring yourself, poorer overall physical functioning, poorer mobility, increased risk of spinal fractures, and even an increased risk of death!

Scientists looked at elderly people with hyperkyphosis (“humpback”). This means their upper or mid-back is rounded and their neck sticks out so that their ears sit in front of their shoulders. Here’s what the research found out about these people:

• They are 1.38 times more likely to fall and injure themselves.
• They find it significantly harder to bend, walk and climb. They also have reduced grip strength and find it harder to rise from a chair.
• They have a greater risk of being admitted to hospital with breathing problems.
• They have a 1.44 greater rate of mortality.
• In elderly women with spinal fractures, the presence of hyperkyphosis (“humpback”) predicts an increased risk of death.
• Elderly women with hyperkyphosis (“humpback”) are less mobile. It takes them longer to perform mobility tests.

The more the head sits in front of the body (called “forward head carriage” by scientists), the heavier it becomes on the neck. For every inch that the ear is in front of the shoulder, the head adds an additional 10lbs of weight on the body, and it can add up to a total of 60lb.

What would you say if we told you that the process can get reversed? That we can untwist your body and restore your posture? That restored posture means improved function and less pain?

Schedule a discovery call with one of our practitioners. We are here and ready to help so you can get your life back!