Don't Be a Slouch - Stance Matters!
By Sara Butler
When you have poor posture it’s about more than just hunching over. Sure, that’s definitely on the top of the list of postures to avoid but there are a lot of other bad habits that can contribute to bad posture. Your chiropractor wants to help you understand how these poor postures can impact you, and how you can correct them so you don’t have to suffer through pain and injury. Here’s a list of some of the biggest sins that you could have in your stance.
Legs Crossed
Look around you at any given moment and you’ll more than likely see someone sitting with their legs crossed. And it’s not just women you see doing it either!
Here’s why this is a posture you want to avoid: When you sit with your legs crossed, it forces your pelvis to roll forward, and this causes your spine to become unstacked. See, normally the bones in your spine are stacked like books, one on top of the other. When the bones are unstacked it means more pressure is going to be put on your lower back, and it forces you to lean to one side -- which causes an imbalance in your pelvis. It’s bad for you and will lead to discomfort and larger issues over time.
Hyperextension
Everyone knows that hunching over and rounding your back is bad for you, but so is doing it the other way in an attempt to overcorrect for poor posture. If you overarch your spine, you aren’t maintaining a neutral spine and this puts a strain on your muscles and your joints too.
To try to find a neutral, stacked spine without going too far in either direction, you should imagine your head is attached to a string. Imagine the string is pulling your head up as you slightly lift your chest and bring in your core muscles. Your shoulders should be back and down with your chin tucked in.
Lifting Wrong
When you lift something you should never, ever lift with your back! The goal when you lift should be to utilize the muscles in your legs and hips as you lift, keeping your back straight. You should never bend over at the waist to pick something up or you could end up hurting your back and maybe even doing some lasting damage!
Distributing Weight Unequally
It doesn’t matter if you’re standing or sitting- if you catch yourself leaning to one side then you need to correct yourself. If you unevenly distribute your weight then you will force your spine to curve to one side unnaturally, and that puts stress and strain on everything!
If you have more questions about posture problems, talk to your chiropractor at The Joint about it today!