Maintain Good Posture
Healthy spine = healthy body, healthy mind.
Poor posture doesn’t just look frumpy, it takes a serious toll on health. Here are just a few of the negative results:
- Muscle soreness
- Subluxations
- Blood vessel constriction
- Nerve constriction
As the years pile up, so do the problems, resulting in pain, restricted motion, and making the body more and more susceptible to injury and disease.
Your spine does more than keep your body upright: it’s the way that Command Central (the brain) “talks” to everything else.
That’s right: posture can even affect your emotional well-being, including self-confidence! For a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, participants were asked to complete a mock job application while holding one of two positions: with shoulders slumped or sitting up straight. They also rated their own job-related strengths, how likely they were to land a position, and how well they’d perform, among other things.
Posture had a dramatic affect on responses: sitting up straight, the interviewees rated themselves far better.
Treatment
Chiropractic care can help you maintain healthy posture by keeping the body balanced. Additionally, custom-made orthotics are designed to help the benefits of that care last longer and better.
According to the American Chiropractic Association, maintaining good posture involves sitting, standing, and lying down properly. Here is an excerpt from the ACA website on each of these important areas:
How to sit properly
- Keep your feet on the floor or on a footrest, if they don't reach the floor.
- Don't cross your legs. Your ankles should be in front of your knees.
- Keep a small gap between the back of your knees and the front of your seat.
- Your knees should be at or below the level of your hips.
- Read more on the ACA website.
How to stand properly
- Bear your weight primarily on the balls of your feet.
- Keep your knees slightly bent.
- Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Let your arms hang naturally down the sides of the body.
- Read more on the ACA website.
How to lie down properly
- Find the mattress that is right for you. While a firm mattress is generally recommended, some people find that softer mattresses reduce their back pain. Your comfort is important.
- Sleep with a pillow. Special pillows are available to help with postural problems resulting from a poor sleeping position.
- Avoid sleeping on your stomach.
- Read more on the ACA website.
