Correct posture will help prevent injuries to your entire body. When you are standing, your ears should be directly over your shoulders, your chin must be parallel to the floor and your knee caps facing forward. Paul Chek of the Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology Institute encourages proper posture by strengthening muscles with free weights, using proper form while exercising and avoiding high-heeled shoes as much as possible.
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Rounded, drooping shoulders strain the muscles of your neck, shoulders and upper back. This forward head posture can compress the nerves and blood vessels in your neck. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is a condition in which the nerves and blood vessels of your arm are compressed as they come out from between the muscles in your neck. Common symptoms include pain extending from between your neck and face to your chest, shoulders and arms. You may also experience weakness, fatigue or a sense of heaviness through your arms. Prevent forward head posture by strengthening the muscles of your back and ensuring your ears stay over your shoulders. Additionally, do not wear high-heeled shoes as this forces you to lean your head forward.
Increased Curvatures
From a posterior view of your body, there is a slight inward curve behind your neck, a slight outward curve between your shoulder blades and a slight inward curve at your lower back. Correct posture means you have this normal curvature throughout your spine and your knees are slightly bent while you are standing. Wearing high-heeled shoes forces you to tilt your pelvis forward and lean your trunk backward, increasing the curves throughout your spine. You are also forced to stand with your knees completely extended and locked to maintain balance and keep your eyes leveled with the horizon in front of you. As the height of your heel increases, the curvatures of your spine become more exaggerated and your knees are even more hyper-extended.
Knock-Knees
Pushing your hips forward causes your pelvis to tilt toward the front, a condition commonly referred to as anterior pelvic tilt. Anterior pelvic tilt can be caused by wearing high-heeled shoes, having week hip stabilizer muscles or bearing children. This unnatural tilt of your pelvis forces your knees to bend toward each other, typically referred to as knock-knees. With your knees at an extreme angle, your feet excessively turn outward, or over-pronate. Knock-knees irritate your iliotibial band, and runs down each side of your hips and thighs before inserting at your knee joint. A painful IT band makes it difficult for you to walk or run.
References
- "Equal But Not The Same, Considerations for Training Females"; C.H.E.K. Institute; 1997
- "Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Sandra Shultz, Peggy Houglum and David Perrin; 2005
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