Is Better Posture Really the Goal?
By Sara Butler
Many people wonder if a chiropractor’s main goal is to get patients to use good posture when they’re standing, sitting or basically doing anything at all. So, what’s the deal? Is good posture the ultimate goal of every chiropractor? The answer to that may not be as simple as you think!
The Importance of Good Posture
Good posture definitely has a high ranking in the list of important things in a chiropractor’s mind, but they view it more as one of the keys to achieving and maintaining good health – and good overall health is their goal.
In the grand scheme of things, good posture is just as important as healthy eating, sleeping well, exercising and limiting your use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. Why is it so important? When you practice good posture, it puts less stress on your body, reduces fatigue and helps you to achieve good physical fitness.
If you don’t practice good posture, it can compromise your body’s ability to be efficient, and over the long term can negatively impact systems of your body beyond your muscles and joints, including your digestive system and respiratory system.
The Trap of Poor Posture
Poor posture is an easy thing to practice and can result from bad habits and factors you are surrounded by in your environment. Today, bad posture is found in a lot of people due to:
- Car seats that don’t support the body and back correctly
- Sedentary desk jobs that involve heavy use of computers
- Watching a lot of television
These factors combined with injuries, accidents, being overweight, improper sleeping position, improper shoes and increased use of handheld technology set up a lot of people for bad posture.
How Bad Posture Impacts You
If you practice poor posture over your lifetime you may experience:
- Muscle fatigue
- Muscle pain in the back, neck, shoulders, arms, and legs
- Joint pain and stiffness
Do You Need a Chiropractor?
Your chiropractor is here to help you attain and maintain good posture as a way to improve your overall health. Chiropractors help you to achieve this through:
- Repairing muscle imbalances
- Helping you to heal from injury
- Increasing the range of motion of your joints, including your spine
They can also give you practical advice about the type of mattress and pillows you should be sleeping on, a diet that may help you to maintain a healthy weight, how to lift properly, how to sit at your workstation correctly, and even exercises you can do to strengthen your body to help keep you on the straight and narrow.
