What is poor posture? It can mean many things, but the common signs are rounded shoulders, a hunched upper back, and an arched lower back. If you’re thinking “Hang on, I see most people with these problems” then you’re right! Poor posture affects your health. It is an epidemic and it’s down to our obsession with sitting.
We sit for hours when we work, and then we sit even more when we drive. After getting home, we sit on the sofa and look down at our phones for hours. This all leads to terrible postural habits that can cause a range of problems. Poor posture affects many aspects of your health, including the three below:
Physical Health Problems
People with bad posture will suffer from a variety of physical health problems. Chronic pain is exceedingly common, and you’ll likely experience the following:
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Pain between your shoulder blades
- Lower back pain
- Hip pain
- Knee pain
None of these issues will go away until you’ve corrected your posture. Working with physical therapists is the only way to tackle the cause of your issue. You’ll be given exercises and stretches to strengthen and elongate certain muscles, pulling your body into the ideal position. Massages may help alleviate some pain, but it will keep coming back unless you’ve corrected your posture. Fix your posture, and you’ll fix the chronic pain.
Mental Health Problems
As well as dealing with physical health issues, you’ve got a plethora of mental health concerns with bad posture. More specifically, stress rears its ugly head. You’re constantly in pain, making it hard to concentrate at work. You fall behind, leading to high-stress levels. No matter what you do, the nagging pain from bad posture is always there, so your mental health worsens.
Similarly, you look in the mirror and hate how you look. Your shoulders look slumped forward and the arch in your back pushes your tummy out. It causes self-esteem issues that affect your confidence. Deal with your postural problems and your mental health can turn a positive corner.
Digestive Health Problems
Yep, poor posture is linked to digestive health problems. It’s all to do with being slouched. Walking or sitting in a slouched position compresses your internal organs – most notably, the ones responsible for digestion. This makes it harder for food to pass through your stomach and intestines, causing things like heartburn or indigestion.
When you sit or stand up straight, you’re elongating your torso and allowing the digestive organs to function properly. Food travels normally and you shouldn’t face any additional problems with digestion.
What can you take from this post? For one, understand the importance of good posture. Get into the habit of sitting up straight and shrugging your shoulders back and down. Avoid sitting for prolonged periods and stretch your hip flexors to avoid lower-back arching. Secondly, take action if you’ve got bad posture. See someone who can help diagnose your postural issues and put you on a recovery plan to get things into alignment. Good posture leads to good health – it’s as simple as that.
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