BAD POSTURE

It’s virtually impossible to go a day in Cape Town and not seeing someone with bad posture, never mind always having good posture, yourself. Looking down at phones, sitting hunched over a computer, slumped at a desk, or a head too far in front of the shoulders are all things we see or do ourselves, every single day. Yes, poor posture has become super common. But it is it normal? Absolutely not!

You see, the human body has a specific alignment or posture that makes it strong, function optimally, and avoid early degeneration. The ideal perfect posture from the side is with your head (ears) directly over top of the shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over knees, knees over ankles. From the front, the head should be neutral (not tilted to either side) and the left and right shoulders, rib cage, hips, knees, and feet need to look the same. On the inside, all the bones of your spine needs to be straight from top to bottom and your pelvic bones need to be level. From the side, we need to have 3 curves (neck, upper back, low back) ranging from 35-50 degrees. (https://idealspine.com/what-is-cbp/)

The vast majority of postural problems happen because of months, years, or even decades of bad posture habits. If it only happened once, looking down while using your phone probably wouldn’t result in a headache, slumped shoulders, “text neck”, or upper back pain. But, realistically, we use our phones and computers dozens(or hundreds) of times every single day, resulting in countless hours with our bodies in terrible positions. The bad posture habits become the norm and eventually your body will give you a warning signal telling you how terrible your posture is with something like a headache, constant tension between the shoulders, dull low back pain, or even a disc problem. Unfortunately, there are plenty of studies which also show that things like increased upper back rounding, text neck, and a large curve (like scoliosis) in the low back can affect the organs which you can’t feel like your lungs, heart, digestive, and reproductive organs.

Fortunately, benefits of Chiropractic Care on posture are massive. Our Sea Point Chiropractors use adjustments to encourage the joints and bones to move better and align properly, while adding in posture-specific exercises to strengthen the muscles which hold the spine and body upright. We also like to add in proper ergonomic training so that the work you do moving forward won’t add to the issue. That way, pain, stiffness, and decreased function from Forward Head Posture, Text Neck, rounded shoulders, and even things like scoliosis can be relieved and the problems which once held you back won’t be an issue in the future!

Reference:
Posadzki, P., Ernst, E. (2011). Spinal manipulations for the treatment of migraine: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 34(5), 274-279
(https://idealspine.com/what-is-cbp/)