Why is Posture Important?

We all know what our mother used to nag us about. But guess what? She was right. Bad posture causes many aspects of the spinal problems I see in my office all day long. One of the worst problems is forward head posture. Holding your head out in front of your body puts substantial stress on the neck and upper back as well as your jaw, your heart, and your lungs.

The spinal adjustments we perform are very effective at restoring function. But if you continue to move through life with poor posture, you will be undoing the corrections that I can make. This means more neck pain, headaches, arm pain, upper back pain and tension and eventually arthritic changes in the spine.

What does it mean to have "good posture?" The best way to tell if your posture is optimum is to be check by a chiropractor. We can do an analysis that is very hard to do on yourself. But there are a couple of things you can check at home to get an idea of your postural status.

First, look in the mirror. Your ears, shoulders, and hips should all be level.

Next stand against a wall with your back and buttocks touching it. Have your feet no more than 6 inches out from the wall. Is your head resting on the wall too? If it is not, your head posture in too far forward.

Finally, lie down on your back on the floor. Can you easily lie your head on the floor too? With your head on the floor are you looking straight up to the ceiling? If it feels uncomfortable to put your head on the floor or if you are looking anywhere but straight up, your head posture may be off.

If you find a problem with any of these tests, contact us for further evaluation. In the meantime, take some common sense steps to improve your posture. Sit up straight at your desk. Adjust your monitor so that you are looking straight ahead into it. Take breaks from your work and move around or stretch. Check your pillow to see if it is contributing to the problem. Does your neck hurt in the morning or feel tight? You may need a new or different type of pillow.

Also, it's almost Valentine's Day. Call your mom and let her know that she was right after all!