STRAIGHTEN UP!

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Straighten Up
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Posturesomething that we simply take for
granted. Yet, we notice when one exhibits good
posture and automatically associate regality,
confidence, strength, and character. We use the
word spineless to describe someone of weak
character and describe one of strong character as
having a backbone. Posture affects our mood,
energy level, bones, muscles, joints, lung
capacity, digestive system, circulation, stress
levels, voice volume/resonance, and our overall
health. A research study done by Harvard
Business School found that exhibiting a powerful
posture (chest elevated), demonstrated a 20
increase in testosterone and 25 decrease in
cortisol. Conversely, those that slouched, had a
10 decrease in testosterone and 15 increase in
cortisol, which translates to low self-confidence
and high stress.
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Another study done by San Francisco State
University found that walking with a slouched or
despondent body posture lead to feelings of
depression and decreased energy, but those
feelings were reversed by walking in a more
upright position. Students were instructed to
walk down the hallway in a slouched position and
then skip down the hallway. The students were
asked to rate their subjective mood and energy
levels slouched walking decreased, while
skipping increased both their mood and
energy. Poor posture is the root cause of many
aches and pains, and we are simply unaware of the
connection. We sit for hours in slouched
positions looking at our smart devices and have
no idea why we have tension headaches (occipital
neuralgia), knots in our upper traps, neck
stiffness and low back pain.
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Mechanical pain is caused by abnormal stress on
tissue, such as when you bend your finger all the
way back to end range. The pain lets you know to
move out of that position. But poor posture
gradually brings you to end range, so the
symptoms do not start immediately. That headache
that you get when working at your computer,
stiffness getting out of your chair after you
have been sitting for a prolonged time period,
knots in your upper trap that you have been
blaming on stressmay be caused by poor posture!
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What is good posture?

• Proper alignment is when your ear is over your
  shoulder, and you can visualize a plumb line
  going through the tip of the shoulder, to the
  center of the hip and ankle joint and slightly
  behind the knee joint.

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With this ideal alignment, the body weight is
balanced over the spine and lower extremity
joints requiring minimum muscular effort. This
position evenly distributes pressure on the
discs, creating an inward curve in your neck,
known as a lordosis, followed by an outward curve
in your upper back kyphosis and an inward curve
again in your low back lordosis. In sitting you
want to assure that you maintain an inner curve
in your lower back. You can do this by using a
lumbar roll. Proper alignment is when your ear
is over your shoulder, and you can visualize a
plumb line going through the tip of the shoulder,
to the center of the hip and ankle joint and
slightly behind the knee joint. With this ideal
alignment, the body weight is balanced over the
spine and lower extremity joints requiring
minimum muscular effort. This position evenly
distributes pressure on the discs, creating an
inward curve in your neck, known as a lordosis,
followed by an outward curve in your upper back
kyphosis and an inward curve again in your low
back lordosis. In sitting you want to assure
that you maintain an inner curve in your lower
back. You can do this by using a lumbar roll.
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Occipital Neuralgia When performing visual
tasks, such as using a computer, smart device or
reading a book, you move our head forward
(protraction) to see better. This forward head
position puts undue stress on your upper cervical
spine, that can result in headaches, stiffness
and muscles spasms around your neck, especially
if you have had any previous trauma to your neck.
Suboccipital headaches or occipital neuralgia,
located in the back of your head (suboccipital
region) and radiate up and around, like a
Ramshorn to your temples. To eliminate the
suboccipital headache and muscle spasms, the
cause or faulty posture must be corrected.
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Stiffness Getting Out of a Chair Do you ever
have trouble straightening up or getting out of a
chair, after you have been sitting for prolonged
period? This stiffness is your body giving you a
warning sign. Poor sitting posture has stressed
soft tissue beyond its normal resting place. Once
you take a few steps you will be able to correct,
but if you continue to stress this same tissue it
will become damaged. Slouched posture by itself
is not a bad thing. The body is supposed to move
and be in different positions. The problem is in
the length of time that you are in that position.
One analysis of 18 studies found that those who
sat for the longest periods of time were twice as
likely to have diabetes or heart disease,
compared to those who sat the least. An earlier
study, published in 2009, also highlighted
evidence that linked sitting with biomarkers of
poor metabolic health, correlates with an
increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease,
and other prevalent chronic health problemseven
if you exercise regularly. Walking more, using a
lumbar roll whenever you sit, and intermittent
movements have been found to have the greatest
benefit in counteracting the ill effects of
prolonged sitting.
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