Good Posture Equals Good Health

Good posture is important for your overall health. At Homberg Chiropractic and Wellness – your Knoxville chiropractor – our goal is to get and keep you healthy.

Physical reasons for poor posture include

• Inflexible muscles that decrease range of motion (how far a joint can move in any direction). For example, overly tight, shortened hip muscles tug your upper body forward and disrupt your posture. Overly tight chest muscles can pull your shoulders forward. This can happen as you sit at a computer all day or are always looking down at your phone or tablet.

• Muscle strength affects balance in a number of ways. The core muscles of the back, side, pelvis, and buttocks form a sturdy central link between your upper and lower body. Weak core muscles encourage slumping, which tips your body forward and off balance. Strong lower leg muscles also help keep you steady when standing.

All of this can affect other areas of our health as well. In a study from San Francisco State University, students were told to either walk down a hall in a slouched position or skip down a hall. The slouchers reported increased feelings of depression and lower energy than the skippers! Slouching can also affect how others see you. Janice Novak, author of Posture, Get it Straight, says if you walk into someone’s office slouching and bent over they can perceive you as being not as vital to an organization. Sitting in a crunched position can also cause your intestines to be crunched, which can lead to constipation.

The most common form of poor posture in all age groups is Forward Head Posture (FHP). FHP can result in neck and shoulder pain, restricted movement in the neck, and a forward curvature of the spine.

Unnatural curvature can create a host of other painful problems. Because it’s directly impacting the nervous system, this hunch back posture can compromise breathing capacity and lead to physical limitations in daily activities, sometimes in extreme fashion.

While adolescents experience rapid changes in their posture as a result of the growth phase, most of the issues adults encounter are the result of poor habits. Some bad habits to avoid as an older adult include rounding the shoulders forward, locking the knees, and cocking your hips to the side while standing.

Negative Health Effects of Poor Posture:

• Increased incidence of headaches/migraines

• Unnatural forward curvature of spine

• Jaw pain

• Nerve constriction

• Arthritis

• Impaired functioning of circulatory and digestive systems

• Spinal subluxations

• Difficulty breathing due to lung and diaphragm constriction

The good news is, like most bad habits, you can change things to improve your posture. At Homberg Chiropractic we restore your spine to the correct alignment and we prescribe exercises to strengthen the muscles to help you improve.

Call Homberg Chiropractic today to schedule an important so we can start improving your posture today!.