Correct Posture & Awareness

The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, along with many other advocacy groups and organizations have selected May as National Correct Posture Month.

Generally, when awareness efforts are carried out for other health conditions, they are not necessarily concentrated on interventions needed to improve the condition. They just want you to be aware of them and possibly donate to the cause.  With posture it’s different. You can achieve better posture right now, simply by becoming aware of how you hold your body.

Try this

Visualize someone attached a string to the top of your head and is pulling up on it. Bring your body up as if following the pull of the string.  When you are as tall as you can get yourself, tighten up your abdominal muscles and lock yourself into that position.  There, you’ve just created postural awareness with one simple and quick exercise.

Your Posture Affects Everything

According to the American Journal of Pain Management, posture affects every physiological function in the body including breathing.  Many factors can attribute to poor posture, including stress, obesity, pregnancy, weak muscles, decreased flexibility and improper body positioning.  The key is finding what muscles are weak by looking at your body positioning through proper analysis.

Causes of Bad Posture

Musculoskeletal health conditions and posture are intertwined.  If you do not focus on correct posture, then the propensity to develop musculoskeletal injuries and/or chronic health conditions increases significantly.

Repetitive activities at work or home, such as sitting at a computer or lifting and carrying, may produce tension and muscle tightness that result in a backache. Fortunately, there’s a lot we can do to prevent this sort of problem. General physical fitness and a healthy weight are important. But one surprisingly simple strategy can go a long way: Paying attention to your posture.

Benefits of Good Posture

Good posture not only protects you against back pain, it also improves your overall health and appearance. Poor posture promotes back pain, inhibits breathing and oxygen intake, and cause headaches. It may also affect your mood.

How to get Good Posture

Good posture means keeping the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar curves in balance.  Your weight should be distributed evenly over the feet. On a side-view,  your ear, shoulder, hip, and ankle should line up vertically when you’re standing.

Chiropractors are specifically trained to provide hands-on care called chiropractic adjustments that helps to naturally align and strengthen the spine, as well as counsel patients about healthy posture and lifestyle habits.

Posture Reset Program

With proper training and education, you can improve your posture quickly and efficiently. If you would like one-on-one instruction and coaching on achieving a better posture please contact our office for information about our Posture Reset Program.  This is a 3-Week program involving a before and after analysis of your posture, one-on-one health coaching focusing on specific exercises and lifestyle changes to help you maintain great posture for life.

Ask to speak with Dr. Picard to see if this is right for you.

Our patients are always our highest priority and we are happy to assist you in whatever way we can.