Accidents, injuries and falls can all throw your body out of alignment and negatively affect your posture. Being overweight affects your posture, as well as sleeping on the wrong type of mattress, wearing uncomfortable shoes, long commutes, and working in poorly designed work places. If you have bad posture, this can lead to several adverse health reactions in the future.
The Facts
Bad posture does more than just give you a backache. If your bones are out of alignment, your internal organs are too. This makes it harder for your heart and digestive systems to perform their functions. Poor posture also contributes to arthritis and other body aches, and good posture helps to relieve those conditions, according to the Kansas Chiropractic Foundation.
Headaches
According to NeckSolutions.com, for every inch that your head is held forward from perfect alignment, its weight on the neck increases ten pounds. That puts a lot of stress on your neck and facial muscles, which is transferred back to your head in the form of a headache or migraine as these muscles grow fatigued.
Stress
Poor posture contributes to stress, and stress contributes to poor posture. Relaxation techniques have many benefits in aiding with reducing stress levels---your body will naturally want to straighten up and relax when you use them for this purpose. Try getting comfortable and meditating or using positive visualization for at least 15 minutes twice a day.
Exhaustion
Bad posture ends up making you feel more tired than sitting up straight, standing properly, and walking with a balanced gait. You might feel that you're relaxing when your shoulders are slumped at the computer or you snuggle down into the couch to watch TV, but this bad posture is actually making you tired as your body fights being out of alignment.
Check Your Posture
Stand with your back against the wall and your heels six inches away from the wall. Place your hand in your lower back. More than two inches of space means you have bad posture. In addition, give yourself a quick self-massage of the neck, shoulders and hips. If you have sensitive or tender areas, your muscles are working harder than they need to be to overcome bad posture and should be released by a professional practitioner.
