Most people think of posture as it relates to standing tall. However, all static positions like sitting, lounging, as well as standing, have key postural alignment issues that can strain muscles, over burden tendons and ligaments and even damage your discs and the joints themselves. It is an understatement to say bad posture has serious negative effects on our health. Poor alignment of your body parts when you are still can also cause digestive issues, headaches and circulation problems.
In the short term, poor posture causes muscle to shorten and tighten resulting in pain, stiffness and distress. In the long term, what starts as poor postural habits leads to fixed bad posture over time and a restricted range of motion of the joints which eventually damages the joint structures. For example, slouching in a hunched over posture will cause tightness in your pecs which repositions your shoulder blade and creates a rotator cuff impingement syndrome leading to rotator cuff tendon damage.
Poor sitting posture increases the pressure within your intervertebral discs and is the most common cause of spinal degeneration and subsequent surgery. Likewise, with a forward head posture comes tightness in the muscles in front of the neck your neck muscles become tight leading to headaches, dizziness, and cervical disc injury.
If sitting and standing for long hours have created a problem for you, please give Forster Physical Therapy a call today, and schedule a Structural Examination. You do not need a doctor’s prescription to see a physical therapist. 310-656-8600
