Poor posture has disadvantages other than that of not making you look good. While bad posture habits and inactivity can cause muscle tension and fatigue, poor posture often causes back pain, headache, joint degeneration and problems with the spine. Poor body mechanics also increase the risk for injury. Although you can work on improving flexibility and muscle strength and tone, you need to know which muscles to target for better posture.
Hip Flexors
Posture problems often occur when hip flexors shorten and become tight. The National Scholastic Sports Foundation reports that tight hip flexors are responsible for many posture problems. These muscles tend to tighten when a person is seated for many hours during the day. Hip flexors, or the large muscle known as the gluteus maximus, become weak, putting more work on the hamstrings, which are not designed to handle the load. Contracted and tight hip flexors bring the lower back forward, moving the body into an anterior pelvic tilt that pulls the pelvis forward. This excessive inward curve in the lumbar spine stretches the abdominal muscles making them weak. This causes lower back pain. Since both the abdominal and lower back muscles are needed to support the upper body, problems with posture may occur. Tight hip flexors can also lead to forward head posture caused by a hump back curve of the thoracic spine.
Hamstrings
Hamstrings are another muscle group that becomes tight when you sit for a long time. The hamstrings are the muscles located at the back of the thigh that extend from the hip to the knee. Although these normally shorten when you sit, being in a seated position for long periods causes the muscles to tighten and lose flexibility. This affects the opposing muscles. When a muscle on one side of a joint tightens, the muscle on the other side of the joint weakens. Tight hamstrings and decreased hip flexibility and range of motion can cause posterior pelvic tilt and bad posture by flattening the lower back. Drawing your abdomen inward generally helps brace the spine, but the combination of tight hamstrings and tight abdominal muscles can contribute to posterior pelvic tilt. Forward slumping posture is another problem that can strain the lower back muscles and discs in the back.
Shoulder Muscles
People who lead inactive lifestyles, or those whose jobs require that they spend most of the day sitting at a desk can develop what is known as forward shoulder posture. This can occur when the lower and middle trapezius and rhomboid muscles located in the upper back become weak. As a result, the pectoral and anterior deltoid muscles in the chest and front of the shoulder also become tight. Forward head posture puts strain on the muscles in the upper back and neck causing stiffness and stooped posture. Not only does this position put stress on the cervical spine, the posture can lead to upper thoracic hump. This may cause compression fractures on the upper thoracic vertebra and result in neck and shoulder pain. According to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, proper posture requires that the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spines all have normal curves. Weak and shortened muscles contribute to poor posture by placing the muscles, ligaments and joints along the spine under added stress. When the muscles that support the spine become weak, abnormal spinal curves, poor posture and pain can all occur.
