What is Posture?

Posture is one of the most important things in regard to our bodies. Our bodies have developed to operate in a particular way. Our bones provide the support that is needed while the muscles allow our bones to move. When we have great posture, our bodies work more efficiently and effectively. When our posture is out of sync, such as described below, our muscles have to work harder to do the same amount of work. This can cause, fatigue, pain, and inflammation.

Posture is often considered as a whole body mechanic but there are multiple components of posture that we should be looking at. Each major component of posture is discussed further below.

Head and neck

Our ears should be in line with our shoulders when looking at us from the side. A common problem is forward head posture. This can result from computer work, phone use, or other activities that force us to look down for long periods of time. Common symptoms that can occur with forward head posture include headaches, neck stiffness/pain, shoulder tension, and fatigue.

Torso

Our parents always told us to stand up straight (or at least mine did). They always know what is best. When we stand, our shoulders should be in-line with our hips. This again can be caused by working at a computer or viewing our phones. Over extended periods, our shoulders can start to round forward causing increased stress on out neck and upper back. This can lead to tightness in our shoulders and neck, headaches, shoulder problems, and more.

Pelvis

The final component of our discussion on posture is the pelvis. The outside of our pelvis, our hips, should be in line with our ankles. There is a pattern here that should be noted. When looking from the side, our ears, shoulder, hips, and ankles should all line up in a straight line. A pelvis this is either forward or back from this line can result in low back pain, sciatica, hip problems, and more.

When we are looking at our posture, nobody’s perfect. Though we strive to have everything line up, it is an unrealistic expectation to think that we can reach that but that is not a reason not to try.

During the process of correcting posture, certain exercises and stretches can cause muscles to get sore that have not worked in a particular way for some time and this is completely normal.

Check out our Facebook page HERE or our YouTube channel HERE  for some great videos on exercises that can help correct your posture and get you back in line. (pun intended)

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