We are all told when we are young to stand up tall and sit up straight but why? Why is posture so important to our overall health? Im glad you asked! First lets talk about what picture perfect posture looks like. If we are to look at anyone from a side standing position we want to see one straight line that starts at the ear. We connect dots from the ear to the shoulder, hip, knee and finally ankle. If you look at the picture on the side you can see the dots that are connected.We want all those dots to be in one straight line because this is the gravity line.

Any deviation forward or backwards as a result of this alignment can start to put a large amount of pressure on your spine. Looking from the front of your body we start up at the nose. Draw a line down to connect the dots at the sternum, belly button and pubic symphsis. This again is proper spinal alignment and posture.

What happens if you deviate from this alignment? Altogether your head weighs about 12 lbs. (on average) and for every inch that your head moves forward off this line, the weight of your head goes up by 10 lbs. So for 2 inches forward the weight of your head is 32 lbs. Your spine is not designed for all this extra weight and it begins to change and become painful. Proper spinal alignment is important because it offsets all the forces and stress we put on our bodies. An increase in weight around your mid section throws off your center of gravity because it pulls your spine forward and down placing an abnormal amount of stress on your lumbar spine.

Your spine acts like a shock absorber. When looking from the side your spine is not straight but curved. These curves help offset the stress that we put on our bodies just like a spring or a shock for your car by dispersing the forces. We begin to get degeneration and arthritis building up when your body can no longer deal with the stresses placed on it. The misconception is that degeneration and arthritis are synonymous with old age. This could not be further from the truth. How well you take care of yourself directly represents the damage to our spine.

How does posture affect your overall function? An easy way for you to see how important posture is to your overall function is the “Breathing Test”. Before that we need to ask the question “how important is breathing?” Silly question right?! We rely on oxygen for every aspect of our life so its kind of important. With that in mind lets do this test.

First off  all slouch forward and round your shoulders forward. You are basically putting yourself into a horrible postural position. From this position and without changing anything, I want you to try and take a deep breath in. Not easy to do right? In contrast, sit up straight with your shoulders down and back. From this position try and take a deep breath. What a difference that makes. How much more oxygen can you be taking in on a daily basis with proper posture? Comparatively this gives you an easy way to see the importance of posture and the affect it can have on your function. Your oxygen intake is directly affected because of your posture.

In conclusion, its important to get your spine checked to make sure you don’t have some of the underlying problems that occur from bad posture. Through chiropractic care we can help correct some postural changes you have undergone. So much more can be said but if you have questions regarding this topic please email me. I also offer free consultations to anyone that has questions about chiropractic and if it can help you.

Michael Barnard D.C.

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