A healthy balanced posture is more than just looking good. Most people think that poor posture is simply a state of not looking your best. But posture is a reflection of the health of your spine. It is the shifting of the spine on the inside that creates our outward posture appearance.

A normal, neutral posture can be defined as…

From the front

• Head level
• Shoulders level
• Hips level

And from the side

A plumb line should pass through the centre of the

• Ear
• Shoulder
• Hip
• And end just in front of the ankle.

The most common posture profile is the slouched posture. This is where the shoulders are rounded, the head cranes forward and the body stoops. It’s estimated that 90% of the population has this posture profile to some degree. This does not make it ‘normal’ just prevalent.

If a person maintains a poor posture for a long period, months or years, the following can occur

• Head moves forwards
• Shoulders become rounded
• Arms rotate inwards
• Chest cavity compresses
• A Dowagers Hump can develop

The effects of poor posture are many and varied. Our head is about the size and weight of a bowling bowl and should sit directly above our shoulders. When it moves forwards however, additional external forces are transmitted to the spine, muscles and ligaments of the neck and upper back. It is estimated that for every two and a half centimeters the head moves forwards an additional eight – fifteen kilograms of tension is placed on the neck. Due to the compensatory nature of the spine, a chain reaction can occur causing additional distortions down the spine and into the pelvis.

Poor posture also places extra stress and strain on the joints of the spine. This can lead to

• Decreased joint range of motion
• Accelerated arthritic changes to the joints
• Additional stress on the spinal discs

Poor posture also causes muscle weakness in the body. This is due to a change in the length of the muscles caused by the asymmetry associated with poor posture. No matter how you work or play, a healthy balanced posture is essential for you to perform at your peak. Detection of your posture early means a greater chance of correction.

At Queen Street Chiropractic we are trained in the use of POSTURE PRO, a new high tech posture analysis tool that can detect these postural distortions. (Click here for more info)

With detection and correction of your poor posture it does not have to become a lifetime curse.