Talks about posture might conjure images of belles balancing books on their heads, and boys being scolded by the headmaster. And while most of us have undergone at least one stern talk about sitting up straight, we still forget the importance of having a good posture.
The screens certainly have not helped. Whether it be perpetually looking down at our phones, or gazing at our computer at work, our backs inadvertently become slouched and necks bent. Our habit of hunching over then follows in our gait as well.
Ideally, our back should be in a neutral position, so that our muscles, tissues and joints have to undergo minimal stress. When the posture is not right however, our connective tissue, known as fascia, undergoes stress response, which then exerts pressure on our nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and even certain organs.
Issues associated with poor posture
Naturally, what follows is pain and extreme physical discomfort that then has us rushing to our Chiropractor in Lahore. Issues associated with poor posture include:
Spine curvature
Our spine is naturally curved at three points; mid, neck and lower back. Since poor posture exerts pressure at the wrong points, it can then overtime cause excess tension on the spine and distort the curves.
This curvature also impairs the spine’s ability to absorb shock, which increases the probability of injury.
Backache
Our skeletal muscles are made of two types of fibers; the deep static muscles fibers that can maintain posture without much effort. The other type, phasic muscle fibers, are utilized for movement, and they thus use energy much more rapidly.
When the posture is poor, rather than making use of static fibers, phasic muscle fibers are used. This then leads to muscular fatigue and thus, ache.
When static muscle fibers are not used, spatial perception of the brain is not entirely correct, either. It wrongly perceives the need for muscular contraction, thereby exacerbating the ache.
Digestion Issues
A rather surprising effect of poor posture is impaired gastric health. Slouching causes the organs to squish together, and interfere with the process of digestion. When especially done after a meal, it can put pressure on the stomach, causing the gastric juice to flow back into the esophagus, causing heartburn.
Incontinence
Incontinence refers to the state where people are unable to control their bladder or bowels. It is a grave problem that is perpetuated by poor posture.
When you slouch, you increase pressure on your abdominal muscles. These in turn put pressure on the muscles of the bladder, causing leakage of urine. It is more common when you are laughing or coughing, as the pressure from these expressions is higher already.
Lung functionality
When you do not sit upright, you also compromise your lung’s capacity, as the surface area of lungs is not fully utilized.
When you are unable to breathe properly, your organs get insufficient oxygen. This has implications for health and causes problems like heart disease, reduced cognitive abilities etc. It can also lead to fatigue as well.
Pinches Nerves
Perpetually poor posture leads to shift in the bones in the spine. It then causes them to pinch at the nerves, and then causes back and neck ache.
Neckache
When you slouch, you strain muscles in the back, especially the one in the upper back and neck. Moreover, people working over screens do not keep the screens in the line of sight, but rather, place them below their sight range, due to which they have to then hunch their backs.
The added pressure from bowing the head also then leads to neckaches, especially right between the shoulder bladders. It is also referred to as tech-neck, that is then treated with the help of a Chiropractor in Karachi.
