Once I learned how to do posture assessments, people watching became much more interesting! I am constantly looking at the way people walk and trying to assess where they feel pain in their body - and is there a pain causing their postural problem or is their postural problem creating unnecessary pain?
Based on the posture assessments I have done in the last three years, 100 % of my clients have forward head posture so I honestly don't think there are many people escaping the issue. Poor posture may only seem to be an aesthetic issue but these are the health issues that can be caused by having forward head posture:
Muscle ischemia
Pain and fatigue
Decreased range of motion of cervical spine
Early disc degeneration and osteophyte formation
Temporo-mandibular joint pain (TMJ) and inflammation
Tension Headache
Increase in dorsal kyphosis and decrease in height
Decrease in vital capacity and range of motion of shoulder and arm
Possible protrusion of nucleus pulposus and nerve compression
Numbness and tingling in the fingers
Now to reverse forward head posture, all you need to do is a couple of simple body weight exercises and a couple of stretches. No more pain, no fatigue, no TMJ, no tension headaches, no limited range of motion in your head, neck, shoulder and arm...all this can be fixed or prevented with a simple little routine and more awareness of how you are moving through the world. There are a multitude of postural issues aside from forward head posture, but the solution is always to stretch the tight muscles and strengthen the elongated weak muscles until the body comes back into proper alignment and balance. This is the magical formula behind improving your posture.
It seems like many aspects of the wellness world like posture go overlooked, it's kind of like eating organic or recycling. We know what we should do, we know why we should do it, we know how to do it, yet we don't do it. I struggle to understand the disconnect yet I also get it, so this is why I thought I would take a little time to explain why I think posture is important. Visually, we all know poor posture is not the most sexy or beautiful thing. In fact you can look thinner and in better shape if you have better posture. We know on aesthetics alone we should sit up right yet we can't seem to do it for more than five minutes. Upon reading this, you now also know that there is not only pain but health repercussions of not setting pretty. Okay, so we now know that it is both ugly and painful to have bad posture and that it is fairly simple and easy to fix...so? Do you feel any more curious or motivated to work on your posture? Probably not, but I sure hope so!
Posture is important, especially as you get older. The old man you see taking little tiny steps, bent over his walker got that way little by little - he did not wake up one morning stuck in that position! The biggest obstacles I see that prevent people from having full lives as they age is poor balance, poor posture, and limited mobility. All of these things are fairly simple to work on and require no equipment so you can do it from the comfort of your home! Don't delay, start working on your posture today!! We offer remote Posture Assessments and Posture Correction Routines. We can also do a posture assessment to check the ideal position for a child's back pack and assess your sitting position at your desk!