A Chiropractic Tale: How to Make Posture Work to Your Advantage

By Sara Butler

Your posture. You’ve probably been hearing about it since you were a kid when your mom or grandma told you constantly to stand or sit up straight. Now that you’re older, you can do whatever you want -- including having bad posture, and you’re probably accomplishing that goal! With 80 percent of Americans destined to have back pain at some point in their lives, posture almost certainly is a public health issue.

The good news is that no matter your posture habits up until now, the chiropractors at The Joint Chiropractic can help you to sit and stand in a healthier way. Improved posture also has the side effect of helping you to see the world from a different perspective -- or a taller perspective, anyway!

Here’s what you need to know about posture, how it can impact your health, and how the chiropractors at The Joint can help. After all, who doesn’t want to be a little bit taller?

Posture: What Is It?

Before you can understand how posture can impact your health and height, you must first understand what posture is. Basically, there are two types of posture. They are:

• Dynamic - This is how you hold your body when you’re in motion, such as when you’re walking, bending, or running.
• Static - This is how you hold yourself when you’re still and unmoving, such as when you sit, sleep, or stand.

To really ensure your posture is where it needs to be, you must ensure that you have good posture both dynamically and statically -- and the key to all of that is the spine. There are three natural curves in your spine: one in the lower back, one in the mid-back, and one in the upper back. Correcting your posture to help maintain the natural curves in your back is vital to your spinal and overall health.

The Impact of Poor Posture

Poor posture can make you look shorter, but it can actually have a real impact on how tall you grow to be. When you’re a child and your body is growing, growth plates that will fuse later are active. If you hinder their growth process with poor posture, you may end up shorter than you were genetically predisposed to be.

Once you are out of puberty, you’re not out of the poor posture woods. Chronic slumping or slouching can cause:

• Shoulder pain
• Neck pain
• Back pain
• Digestive issues
• Reduced flexibility
• Joint restrictions
• Increased likelihood of injury
• Breathing issues

As you grow older, it’s normal to lose a bit of height due to the compression of the discs between the bones of your spine, making your spine just a bit shorter. However, you can exacerbate this process with poor posture and create some serious discomfort for yourself in the process. Luckily, it’s never too late to change your posture for the better with help from the chiropractors at The Joint!

How the Chiropractor Can Help

Chiropractors at The Joint can perform hands-on chiropractic adjustments to your joints to help address any issues they identify with joint restrictions that are the result of poor posture. Once the natural joint function is restored, then the body can work as it was made to and posture can be improved upon with a little work on your part.

What You Can Do

Posture can be changed, but it will require patience and practice. To improve your posture between visits to the chiropractor, you should:

• Talk to the chiropractor about stretches you can do to help maintain proper posture throughout the day and battle fatigue
• Set up your workspace in a way that helps to reinforce proper posture; this is called ergonomics
• Be aware of how you’re sitting and standing by realizing when you’re slouching and taking steps to address it
• Work on reaching and maintaining a healthy weight
• Exercise and work to build up the muscles in your abdomen and back that help to support your spine properly
• Wear appropriate footwear for activities and make sure they are supportive

It’s never too early, or too late, to think about your posture and how it can have an impact on your health as well as your height. Let the chiropractors at The Joint help you to stand tall no matter what stage of life you’re in and you’ll be healthier and happier as a result.

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.