Life can be busy and unpredictable, and often your posture is not always high on the priority list. However, the impacts of a poor postural position can be detrimental to your overall health, well-being and function. So how can you tell if your posture is affecting your body? There are other ways your body may be trying to alert you to postural issues – here are 5 ways your body may be telling you that you have bad posture.
- Neck pain
With increased time in front of a desk or computer, and constant looking down at a phone, neck pain is becoming more and more common. This forward and down-tilted neck position can be an important sign of bad posture. Stiffness, soreness and muscle fatigue are all consequences of this incorrect neck position being pulled forward. Without proper correction, this can lead to chronic neck pain, serious forward head carriage or degenerative spinal conditions in the future.
- Cervicogenic headaches
Headaches have negative impacts across several facets of our everyday lives, but they are another way your body could be alerting you to something wrong. Cervicogenic (originating from the neck) headaches can be particularly bothersome and could be a further sign of incorrect postural positions. Poor posture can lead to tightness and stiffness in neck musculature and cervical spine. In severe cases, this can radiate up to the skull musculature, which causes headaches. This type of cervicogenic headache is a poor posture symptom that we commonly see here at Brisbane Posture and Performance Chiropractic.
- Mid back pain
An excessive slump in the mid-back can be a sign of poor posture. An incorrect spinal postural position leads to an increased demand on the mid-back muscles. Tightness and fatigue occur in muscles known. Due to the increased load on these postural muscles, the body is working ineffectively and as a result, this can lead to fatigue, muscle tightness, and even pain.
- Shortness of breath
Aches and pains in muscles and structures, such as your neck and back, can be ways of exposing poor posture, so can your lung capacity or depth of breath. Try sitting in a slumped position and attempt to take a deep, full breath – it is very difficult to do so. Notice that when in this type of position, it is exceptionally hard for your lungs to inflate to their full capacity. Therefore, poor posture can lead to your lungs working inefficiently and causing a reduced depth of breathing. When standing in a proper and correct postural position, your lungs can work to their full capacity and reduce the biomechanical issues related to breathing difficulties.
- Pain in the glutes
Increasingly more often our jobs call for us to sit for long periods of time, then we come home exhausted from a long day of work, and we sit for even longer. If you experience pain in your glutes, it can be sign of bad posture. Pain in glutes, low back pain or sciatica, can be the result of extended periods of being in a poor seated posture. The low back structure often alters to compensate for poor sitting posture.
Would you like to book an appointment with one of our Chiropractors? If so please call Brisbane Posture and Performance.