6 Problems Caused By Poor Posture

Don’t Slouch! Poor Posture Is Bad For Your Health!

Poor Posture is becoming a serious problem in many countries. This is largely due to the increasingly sedentary, computer focused lifestyle of modern living. We sit hunched over our computers all day and our posture suffers for it. Poor posture is a contributing factor to a large number of health problems. Some of them are obvious, some of them might surprise you. Let’s take a look at a few.

1. Pain

The most common problem with poor posture is pain. Your spine manages the alignment of your entire body, so when you allow yourself to have poor posture, it throws everything off. You’ll notice a lot of pain in your back and neck at first as the poor posture stresses and weakens your muscles. As poor posture continues, the poor alignment puts more weight on your hips, knees, and ankles. The stress weakens the muscles keeping them straight, and the misalignment causes bone to grind against bone in ways they aren’t meant to. It is also a possible contributing factor to arthritis if you don’t get it fixed.

2. Fatigue

When your body isn’t aligned properly, it can put extra stress on many different parts of your body. Your lungs get a bit squished, restricting your breathing. Your organs push against each other, interfering with their functions. Your heart gets compressed, forcing it to beat harder to pump blood. All of these things combine to force your body to work extra hard just to its basic functions. Your body burns up all its energy just doing its job. This can be exacerbated by sleeping problems due to your poor posture making it difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

3. Headaches

Bad posture causes your head to lean forward, stressing all the nerves and joints in your neck. Pain radiates upward from there, leading to headaches. Lack of oxygen caused by compressed lungs also contributes to headaches. It can become a chronic problem, leading to anxiety, irritability, and even more difficulty sleeping, which makes all the problems even worse.

4. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

This complicated health issue is caused by the compression of the nerves and blood vessels in between your collarbone and first pair of ribs. The restriction of the nerves and blood flow causes a number of problems, including pain, tingling, and numbness in the upper back and shoulders. If left untreated, it can cause even worse problems, like swelling and stroke-causing blood clots.

5. Digestive Problems

Poor posture causes a whole host of digestive troubles. Poor posture while eating can trigger acid reflux by squeezing your stomach and forcing acid up your throat. Poor posture on the toilet can cause constipation by squeezing your colon shut. Poor posture in general can put pressure on the bladder, causing incontinence. When it puts pressure on the intestinal tract and colon, it can cause bloating and gas. Each of these problems is inconvenient on their own, but many of them can also lead to other issues, such as urinary tract infections, poor nutrition, and more.

6. Stress

    We all experience a significant amount of stress, but poor posture can make it worse. When all the pain and discomfort starts to compound, it makes you feel less inclined to be physically active. Physical activity is one of the body’s natural ways of alleviating stress, so when we become more stressed out the less motivated we feel. It becomes a vicious cycle, feeding itself in an inescapable loop. Maybe that’s why Youtube comments tend to be so mean-spirited!

Poor Posture Can Be Fixed

Poor posture is the end result of a number of behaviors that weaken the muscles that keep your body upright. Proper behavior can help avoid posture problems in the first place. Standing up straight, not sitting too much, not slouching when you do sit, and regular exercise will all keep your muscles from getting weak.

If poor posture is causing you any of these problems, you can recover from it with special exercises that strengthen the muscles that keep your spine and shoulders straight. In more extreme cases, such as those caused by injury, scoliosis (a curvature of the spine caused by one leg being shorter than the other), or long-term poor posture, physical therapy may be needed to help you target the problem areas for improvement.


How We Fix Poor Posture - Chiropractic Biophysics

 Here at Integrity Chiropractic, we use a special method known as “chiropractic biophysics.” We don’t just perform a few simple adjustments and send you out the door. Instead, we use x-rays, radiographic imaging, and physical examinations to locate the exact spots where your posture is weakening your joints and muscle groups. Armed with this knowledge, we develop proper treatments for the specific problems causing your poor posture.

 With these tools and treatments, we can help you recover and maintain good posture in order to reduce all of the problems poor posture causes. Healthy living is about more than just not getting sick. The whole body is an interconnected system and issues in one area will influence the others. As the literal backbone of our body, the spine is central to our physical health. Poor posture creates a host of problems that in turn put you at risk of even more health concerns. We aim to make use of modern medical technology to aid in managing the spine and maintaining proper posture for better overall health.

If you’re suffering from any of the above problems, you can get in touch with us for an examination. We’ll find where your back is out of wack and help you get it back on track!



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Testimonial

  • "I have benefited tremendously from the chiropractic care I received from Dr. Wade."
    - Jeffrey L. Providence, UT