Can posture affect health? It most certainly can. As chiropractor, I see the effects of altered posture almost every day. In this post I will discuss what a “normal” posture should look like, what happens to the body when you change that posture, how this can in turn affect your health, and just a few things to improve posture.

First off, what is a “normal” posture? Now I use “normal” because every person is different and there is not necessarily one “normal” posture. However, the body was designed to stand upright and distribute the forces of gravity through the bony structures being stabilized by the muscles. The force of gravity is most efficiently distributed through the body when–from a side view–the earlobe, tip of the shoulder, just behind the hip joint, about the middle of the knee joint, and just in front of the lateral malleolus (bump on the outside of the ankle) all line up. Of course, part of the posture is having the correct spinal curves also. This position puts the least amount of stress on each joint while standing and requires minimal muscle activity to maintain. Sounds pretty good and it is, but unfortunately for one reason or another many of us don’t have this kind of posture.

So what happens when we do not maintain this ideal posture? Well, specifically what happens depends on how the posture is altered, but in general we put more stress on the joints of the body and some muscles have to work harder while others become weak. You can think about it this way; the bones, especially of the spine, are meant to be in a certain position to take most of the force of gravity and when you alter that position you now have to use some muscles to help “hold” yourself up. The muscles opposite those “holding” you up get used even less. This over time leads to muscle imbalances which in turn leads to a whole list of health problems. These include the typical problems such as back pain, neck pain, tension headaches, but can even lead to arthritis.

The health problems don’t end there either. Over a long period of time the altered stresses on the body can also lead to degenerative changes in the joints throughout the body. Some examples of degenerative changes would be getting bony spurs around a joint or wearing out the cartilage in a joint until bone is rubbing on bone. Doesn’t sound too good does it? Also altered posture can effect other bodily functions. To illustrate this point you are going to have to play along. Okay I need you to stick your head forward (don’t worry I won’t laugh)…. a little farther …. good! Now take as deep of a breath as you can. Didn’t feel very good did it? Put the head back over the shoulders where it belongs and take another deep breath. Feels much better, doesn’t it? Posture can affect breathing and inadequate breathing can have a negative effect on many other body functions.

Poor posture and the resulting muscle imbalances can have a big effect on the spine leading to improper positions or movement. When the bones of the spine are misaligned or not moving properly it effects the many nerves that travel between the bones of the spine. This causes irritation to the nerves which distorts the information that is sent through the nerves. This is what we call a subluxation in chiropractic. This is a big deal because everything in the body is controlled by the nervous system and without clear signals being sent from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain, the body does not function properly. This can lead to pain and discomfort but more importantly dysfunction in the organs even without any outward symptoms at first.

Now there are several things that can be done to improve posture. Most important is just to be more aware of how you sit and stand. The easiest way to improve posture is, when standing, imagine that a string is attached to the top of your head and is being pulled up and elongating your spine. If you try to stand that way, it helps to get into that ideal posture. But for problems with pronounced muscle imbalances, exercises and stretching are needed to help balance the muscles again so they can work properly. And though poor posture can lead to subluxation, when the bones of the spine are not moving properly it can in turn affect posture. As a chiropractor I look for these areas of subluxation and use adjustments to help the body correct them allowing for better movement. I also use exercises, stretching and other techniques to help balance muscles to correct posture and prevent further problems.

​Posture may seem like a little thing but poor posture in the long term can have a big impact on health. One of the biggest being leading to subluxation. The body is an amazing creation and will perform the many many functions that it does perfectly when there is not interference in the lines of communication. The body can heal itself from the inside out when it does not have nerve interference and that is the beauty of chiropractic–a natural, drug free, surgery free approach to health.