EverybodiesChiropractor.com | Chiropractor | Chiropractic | Chiropractic Directory

Posture Assessment

WOMAN WITH
POOR POSTURE

The quality of your posture can make a big difference in your life. Good posture can make you look and feel younger, stronger and more confident. It can also help improve your breathing, advance your sports performance, decrease your risk of injury, improve your balance and increase your mobility. It is hard to believe that such a simple practice could have so much power; and yet be so misunderstood. This is a shame, because maintaining proper balance and positioning are extremely good for you. Our parents and grandparents were right to tell us to sit up straight and to stand tall as there are wonderful, healthy benefits to maintaining good posture, not only for your body, but for your whole self.

Most people are not aware of the damaging effects poor posture can have on their long term health or how to establish and maintain healthy postural habits. If your body has proper posture, there is a perfect balance to your physical structures and you are able to hold your body in a healthy position with little effort. The opposite is true when you have poor posture; your body has to work harder to perform everyday tasks due to imbalance and improper movement. Over time, poor posture can lead to spinal degeneration, bulging and herniated discs, sleeping disorders, headaches, breathing problems, digestive problems and the abnormal hunch back that is commonly seen in elderly people. Habitual, prolonged, unequal alignment results in excessive wear and tear on your body as you age. As you can see, without good posture, your overall health may be compromised.

Over the course of your life, the symmetry of good posture can prevent painful physical strain in your joints. Your body should be aligned equally side-to-side and back-to-front. Proper posture is a state where an individual is able to adopt a position of easy balance. It should require the minimum of effort to maintain, but provide maximum mobility and function. Whether we are standing, sitting or lying down, gravity exerts a force on our joints, ligaments and muscles. Good posture entails distributing the force of gravity through our body so none of its structures are overstressed individually. An architect has to take these same laws of gravity and weight distribution into account when he or she designs a building. Like a building with a poor foundation, a body with poor posture is less resistant to the strains and stresses we experience over the months, years and decades of life.

To have good posture, you must be proactive in pursuing it. It is a very simple thing to change the way you sit and move and it can make a surprisingly big difference in the way you feel. Becoming aware of good posture is the first step to breaking poor postural habits that put extra stress and strain on your spine. By taking actions to identify and correct your posture, you can prevent structural anatomical changes that can develop if poor posture is left uncorrected for many years. Assess yourself by performing the mirror test and side photograph test in order to evaluate your posture for imbalances.

Mirror Posture Test

Stand in front of a large, full length mirror, facing forward in a normal relaxed posture and evaluate and take notes about the following:

• Facing forward, your head should be straight and level. The head should not lean to one side or the other. If you are

having difficulty with this, look at your ears and see if one is higher than the other.

• Now take a look at your shoulders in relation to each other. They should be level if you have proper posture.

• Next, place your hands on top of your hips. Your hands should be at the same height and level. If there is an

imbalance, you will notice that your belt is crooked or one pant leg hangs lower than the other.

• Move down to the knees. Your knees should face the front and not veer to one side or the other. They should not be

"knocked" or "bowed".

• Now, look down in the mirror at your feet. The feet should extend straight forward and not go off to the right or left.

Side Photograph Posture Test*

Stand with a relaxed normal posture and have someone take a photograph of you from the side. If you have long hair, pull it back behind your ears. Wearing tighter fitting clothing will make the assessment easier to perform. Have the photo include your feet to the top of your head. While looking at the photograph evaluate and take notes on the following:

• If you have proper posture, you should be able to draw an imaginary line up from the center of your arch, through your

knee, through your hip, through your shoulder and up through the ear canal. You can use a ruler to create the line if

you are having a hard time visualizing this.

Common negative findings while performing the side photograph test include:

• Many people find they have forward head posture. This forward head position creates strain and imbalance all the way

down to your feet.

• The chin is often facing at an angle toward the floor with forward head positioning. With proper posture the chin should

be parallel to the floor.

• Body twisting is evident and one shoulder, hand and/or foot is positioned in front of the other.

• The buttock protrudes further than the most posterior part of your upper body.

• The slight forward curve is not evident in the lower back.

• The belly extends much further than simply having extra weight would explain.

*THE PHOTOGRAPH TEST CAN ALSO BE PERFORMED FROM A STRAIGHT ON VIEW, IN PLACE OF THE MIRROR TEST.

The earlier postural distortions are detected, the better the chance of correcting your problem. Now that you have identified your postural problems, the next step is to determine what you can do in order to improve your posture. The main solution to correcting bad posture is constant practice. We all pay special attention to our appearance and how we present ourselves. You need to be conscious of your physical movements at all times. Good posture is a life-long habit worth developing. It is simple, good for you and easy to do whether you're working at your desk, driving your car, shopping for groceries or lying in your bed. If you want to feel and look better years ahead, it would be a good idea to look at your posture today. Developing proactive postural habits should be considered as the foundation to building a fit body that functions effectively. Do not underestimate the importance of correct posture. Great posture passes along many health benefits to you. If you feel your posture is beyond simple corrections seek the advice and care of a postural specialist such as a chiropractic doctor. He or she just may have a solution for you postural success.

POSTED PROVISIONS

PARENT COMPANY

EVERYBODIES DIRECTORIES™

FAX NO: 1-314-480-7068

TOLL FREE: 1-866-515-9991