From Bad to Good – How You Can Improve Your Posture

If you’re wondering about how to improve posture, you’re not alone; many people are guilty of slumping and slouching when sitting and standing. Posture is your body’s alignment, and good posture exerts the least amount of pressure while supporting your spine, muscles, joints, and ligaments.

Although bad posture can result in a lot of pain and lead to serious health issues, it’s never too late to make postural improvements. 

Changing your day-to-day activities, strengthening your muscles, and having an assessment done by a chiropractor who can do spinal corrections, are all ways to increase mobility and improve your range of motion.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the causes of bad posture and how a chiropractor can help improve your posture.

Harmful Effects of Bad Posture

Your mother knew what she was talking about when she told you to stand up straight. Bad posture affects not only your appearance but can also lead to a multitude of health problems that worsen as you get older.

Slouching puts extra pressure on the spine and causes some muscles to shorten, tighten, and weaken. This can lead to sore muscles, aching joints, and back and shoulder pain. 

Poor posture also compresses the digestive organs, which disturbs the metabolism. Adding tension and compression to bones, joints, and ligaments can negatively affect your energy level, leaving you feeling tired or exhausted and can even affect your mood.

Sitting slumped over pushes the ribcage against the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, reducing lung capacity, putting you at risk of developing poor circulation. Forward head posture results in tightened neck muscles and can lead to headaches.

Causes of Bad Posture

There are many reasons for bad posture, the most obvious being slouching when we sit or stand or sleeping in the wrong position. 

Our devices are also causing big problems for proper posture. Constantly using your phone or tablet means bending forward and putting your neck out of alignment for hours every day. This condition is now so common that the term “text neck” was coined to describe it.

Fashion also plays a role in wreaking havoc with our bodies’ natural posture. High heels push the body forward, putting additional strain on the back and knees. Flip flops and shoes with worn-out soles can also throw off your body’s alignment.

Lugging around a heavy purse or backpack over one shoulder can put added strain on your back and even cause one shoulder to become lower than the other.

Being overweight also plays a role in contributing to bad posture, especially if you carry extra pounds around the midsection. This added weight pulls the pelvis forward, increasing stress on the lower back.

How Chiropractors Can Help Fix Bad Posture

Your visit to the chiropractor starts with some questions to assess how your lifestyle affects your posture and the areas where you feel discomfort or pain. They’ll take a medical history, test your flexibility and mobility, and observe how you sit, walk, and bend to check for postural imbalances and issues such as uneven shoulders.

When a chiropractor identifies problems with your posture, they can do adjustments. This is the gentle practice of manipulating specific areas to encourage joint movement and reduce muscle tension to ease into good posture with minimal discomfort.

Chiropractic adjustments work well for numerous postural problems including forward head, scoliosis, improper curvature of the neck and back, and kyphosis.

Improve Your Posture Today

Don’t wait until you begin to feel discomfort and pain from years of poor posture. Take charge of your health and seek help today. 

At Atlantic Chiropractic in Bedford, we will customize your treatment to help you correct and maintain good posture. Connect with us by calling 902-407-6070 or book an appointment online .