Standing tall with balanced relaxed shoulders and proper hip position is not as simple and easy as it once was due our more sedentary lifestyle! Displaying good posture has positive effects on overall health and is an excellent barometer of how well your body systems can coordinate and stabilize all movements.
The twenty-four movable bones of the spine, stack from the hips/pelvis to the head, allowing for a graceful confident posture and a great amount of flexibility and adaptability. Stacked spinal bones protect delicate nerve structures which relay signals between brain and muscles and the complex systems of the entire body. All body systems require nerve signals for proper function which can be reflected in good posture, coordination, and balance. For over one hundred years, families have utilized the chiropractic approach to maintain proper posture and mobility for expression of health.
Early spine and nerve system stress can be observed in postural changes. Side-viewed, postural stress (such as forward head placement) is observed when the center of the earlobe falls too far forward in relation to the shoulders, which stack directly over hips. Forward head posture adds stress to the body, as does excessive forward hip stacking present in forward hip posture. Changes in posture reveal greater stress to the spine, nerves, and body systems, which can decrease the ability for stabilization and coordination and overall function of the entire body as a complex system.
Prolonged spinal stress leads to permanent changes such as ‘hunching or humping’ of the upper back and increased swaying, also known as ‘sway-back’ in lower back.
Proper rest, exercise, and diet are all essential to maintaining spinal posture. Occasional injuries to the body, however, can prevent optimal posture and movement. Sports injuries, such as sprains or strains, frequent slips and falls, auto accidents, and trauma alter spinal health. This increased stress on the nerve system, spine, and body systems further weakens upright posture, and affects overall wellness and mobility.
Postural spinal stabilization is essential for maintenance of muscles of the core, tone of the upper back, gluteal (buttocks) and hip muscles. Long term healthy mobility and balance require postural tone and coordination. Maintaining proper spinal posture over a lifetime helps to prevent headaches, arthritis, clicking of the shoulders, clicking jaw, fatigue, low back pain, clicking/pain of the hips, knee pain, instability, and risk of injury. Stress caused by poor posture is an important indicator of spine and nerve health and loss of coordinated nerve tone and muscle action. Chiropractic care utilizes gentle adjustments to correct injuries and restore body function over time, correcting spinal stress, and preventing prolonged spinal postural changes.
Observation of posture as a window to spine and nerve system function can reveal subtle, long-standing loss of coordination and stabilization. Specific chiropractic adjustments restore nerve system tone, enhancing communication between the brain and body, relieving persistent postural problems and restoring greater stability. Good posture is a welcome byproduct of maintaining spine and nerve system health.