Having good posture is more important than one might initially think. Putting in the effort towards having a good posture has a plethora of benefits. First and most importantly, good posture contributes to the health of the nervous system. The effects of poor posture are far reaching. Poor posture and body alignment lead to imbalances including but not limited to; our breath, joints, muscles and nervous system. On the contrary, having good posture means that our bones are aligned with our joints and our muscles and ligaments are working at peak efficiency. Research also suggests that having good posture has implications on good mental health. A recent study was conducted to see the effects that posture has on mental wellbeing. The study showed that the people who sat or stood upright self reported that they feel powerful and competent when facing a number of challenging tasks. Alignment can significantly impact both cognitive and emotional states.
There is more to it than sitting or standing upright and forcing your shoulders back. If you have the tendency to slouch there is a high possibility that there is a misalignment causing this tendency. Poor posture such as the shoulder slouching, and head forward has shown to activate the sympathetic nervous system putting you into fight or flight mode. While there may not be any real threat the body responds as if there is. This tendency to slouch could be because of the perpetual fight or flight response.
Recent studies have also shown that children’s backpacks are weighing them down. Literally. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) recommends that your child’s backpack weigh no more than 10-15 percent of their body weight. If their backpacks weigh more or if worn incorrectly it significantly increases the risk of injury and misalignment. Improper use has shown to cause chronic back, joint and muscle pains as well as cause posture problems as they age. There is no way to control the school work load of your child but you can lighten their load by getting them in to see a chiropractor regularly to prevent these ailments from occurring down the line.
It is clinically shown that having good posture is critical in alleviating chronic pain issues such as that of the back, shoulders and neck. Posture and alignment are critical to our physical and psychological well-being. Now, while you are reading this blog post I encourage you to check your posture. Where are your head, eyes, neck and shoulders? How are they positioned? Consistent chiropractic work is crucial when dealing with chronic pain, to get the body back into alignment, and getting the nervous system back into a parasympathetic response (rest and digest) among many others. Call and book an appointment with us today to get you and your child’s body working at its peak efficiency while preventing these issues from occurring.
