Your posture is a window to your spine. It is a reflection of your
health. In other words, the structure of your spine dictates the function
of your body.
It is estimated that 90% of the population has a posture profile of the
head being in front of the shoulders. This does not make it "normal"
just prevelant. The head, about the weight of a bowling
ball, 12-15lbs, rests atop a movable support column, the NECK (cervical
spine). In this normal position, no additional external forces are
transmitted to the spine, muscles or ligamnets. However, when the head
moves forward of the shoulders, additional
lever and compressive forces are transferred to the cervical spine and
muscles.
With the creation of this lever, gravity wants to pull the head down,
causing the muscles attached to the head and neck to resist this force of
Nature.
If a person maintains this posture for a long period; months or years,
the following can occur:
Head moves foward
Shoulders become rounded
Arms rotate inward
Chest cavity compresses
A "Dowager's Hump can develop
Spinal immobility and decreased range of motion
Joint pain
Muscle spams/hypertonicity
Muscle weakness
Tension headaches
Degenerative Joint Disease (arthritis)
Degenerative Disc Disease (stress and injury to the spinal discs)
It is estimated that for every one inch the head moves forward, and
additional 15-30 pounds of tension is placed on the cervical muscles.
This poor posture can affect numerous joints in the body, such as:
Neck (cervical spine)
TMJ (Tempromandibular Joint)
Midback (thorcic spine)
Shoulders
Low back (lumbar spine)
Hip joints
There are many causes of poor posture including car accidents, sports
injuries, working with computers and loss of bone density.
When an individual suffers from an injury the normal spinal curvature
of the neck is often reduced. This further leads to
muscle strain in order to balance the weight of the head (as previously
mentioned) and the uneven wearing of the joints and discs of the
cervical spine.
This loss of curvature and forward head posture causes the lower back
and pelvis to compensate and shift in order for us to maintain our
center of gravity.
This can lead to chronic lower back pain, muscle tightness, weakness of
the lower extremity, sciatica, and early arthritis.
Early Detection and Correction
A health care practitioner trained in the use of new, high-tech posture
analysis tools, can detect small posture deviations which are
indicative of spinal misalignments.
Finding poor posture results early means a greater chance of
correction.
Poor posture does not have to be a lifetime curse. Through
Chiropractic care we can help the patient "turn back time," and actually reverse
physiological changes and get you back to optimal performance and
health.
The patient willl look better, feel better and project a more powerful
and healthy image to the world!
