Posture
“90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine,
” Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize recipient for brain research.
Throughout our lives we have been told to stop slouching and sit up straight. It is no secret that a straight, tall posture affects how people perceive us and affects how we feel about ourselves.
However, a good posture is more than looking and feeling good, it’s beneficial for your overall health. Your posture has an affect on your joints, muscular control, sensory motor control (how we respond to our environment) and our autonomic nervous system functions which include the digestive system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, reproductive system, immune system and brain function.
Good posture is not consciously forcing your body to sit up straight using muscles to hold itself in position. It’s making sure your bones are stacked in a way (aligned) that that gives you a good natural form; a good posture without having to actively force it with muscular support.
Good posture is achieved by correcting bony leverage, resulting in an unconscious, upright, and relaxed posture.
A good alignment means your body can function at its best. As mentioned above your posture affects an astounding number of functions within your body. When your body is properly aligned there is a reduction of stretching to your nervous system and its ability to send messages to the brain is uninterrupted. Consequentially joints do not have uneven pressure placed on them, causing uneven wear and tear and inflammation meaning your body is able to move and function at its best.
Poor posture occurs when bones get stuck in a direction that the body cannot self-correct, this means your body has to compensate to address. Bones move from a variety of causes from injuries and accidents to your seated position when you work. As such over time, as bones move
your body gets more twisted up and compensations occur over compensations and your posture gets affected. Here at Spine we use the ABC technique to address any bones that have moved in a position whereby the body cannot self-correct, addressing the underlying cause of
poor posture. We undertake digital postural analysis so we can track your progress under our care and you can see the changes externally
as well as experience the changes internally.
References
Moustafa IM, Youssef A, Ahbouch A, Tamim M, Harrison DE. Is forward head posture relevant to autonomic nervous system function and cervical sensorimotor control? Cross sectional study. Gait Posture. 2020 Mar;77:29-35. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2020.01.004. Epub 2020 Jan 7. PMID: 31955048.
Szczygieł, E., et al., The impact of the position of the head on the functioning of the human body: a systematic review. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 2020. 33(5): p. 1-10 DOI: 10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01585. URL http:// dx.doi.org/
Forrester-Brown MF. Posture as a Factor in Health and Disease. Br Med J. 1926 Apr 17;1(3407):690-3. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.3407.690. PMID: 20772490; PMCID: PMC2524071.
Kang, J.I., D.K. Jeong, and H. Choi, Correlation between pulmonary functions and respiratory muscle activity in patients with forward head posture. J Phys Ther Sci, 2018. 30(1): p. 132-135 DOI: 10.1589/jpts.30.132 URL https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29410583.
Wang H, Gao X, Shi Y, Wu D, Li C, Wang W. Effects of trunk posture on cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems: A pilot study. Front Physiol. 2022 Oct 18;13:1009806. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1009806. PMID: 36330208; PMCID: PMC9623330.
