How to evaluate A posture?

While posture is referred to a habitual manner to bear a body while sitting and standing, it’s best to evaluate when standing. Stand sideways in front of a large mirror while maintaining usual posture. Ask someone to put dots on mirror where they see the middle of ear, shoulder, hips, knee and ankles. Connect the dots. If the line is straight, a correct body posture can be assumed.

Benefits of good posture

1. Increases Confidence

Proper posture maintained an upright posture seemed more confident in their self-evaluation, whether the evaluation was positive or negative.

2. Good Posture Helps Reduce Back Pain

Good posture is necessary to keep the structures of the back and spine in proper alignment and maintain a healthy curvature to the vertebral column.

While more research is needed to clarify the association between posture and lower back pain, experts believe that sitting in a slumped position over a long period of time causes distortions to the spine and increases the likelihood that an individual will experience lower back pain.

3. Increases Flexibility and Range of Motion

Poor posture promotes muscle imbalances that can lead to the excessive tightening or over-stretching of the muscles. When this happens, range of motion is affected.

Similarly, overly tight pectoral muscles cause the shoulders to become rounded, resulting in a slumped posture and decreased range of motion of the neck.

4. Improves Natural Balance

Good posture helps you maintain your balance as a person walks.

This ability to maintain proper balance and gait (asking) mechanics is the key to preventing falls in elderly people.

5. Increases Lung Capacity

Feeling short of breath? Maintaining good posture can help increase your lung capacity. The expansion of the ribcage is necessary in order for the lungs to fully inflate.

If the lungs don’t have enough room to inflate fully, the diaphragm and other respiratory muscles will need to work harder to maintain breathing.

According to researchers at Northwestern University’s Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, good posture has a direct positive effect on lung capacity.

6. Improves Digestive Function

Good posture is thought to play an important role in the proper functioning of the digestive system.

Proper posture also helps alleviate bloating and gas by strengthening the diaphragm and other core muscle.

7. Improves Your Mood

According to Erik Peper, Ph.D., professor of Health Education at San Francisco State University, maintaining proper posture can help improve your energy levels and mood concluded that the depression and energy levels are affected not only by our thoughts and experiences, but also by our body movement and posture.

8. Improves Focus

It is estimated that 25 per cent of all of the oxygen in the body is utilized by the brain.

As we have seen already, good posture encourages proper breathing, which is essential to deliver vital oxygen, blood, and nutrients to the brain. What’s more, posture is thought to influence our decision-making and leadership abilities.

9. Reduces Neck Pain

Most incidences of neck pain that are not the result of a trauma are caused by postural problems. This is also because poor posture distorts the natural curve of the spine below the cervical region. Improper Posture also leads to a common condition called forward head posture, in which the neck slants in front of the shoulders.

10. Healthier Joints

Maintaining good posture prevents excessive strain on the bones and joints. Poor posture, on the other hand, places excessive stress on the joints, which can lead to increased knee, hip, foot and shoulder pain. It is believed that maintaining poor posture over a long period of time can also accelerate degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis.

Correcting Bad Posture through Physiotherapy

A trained physiotherapist can assess and diagnose your postural habits and help you develop a proper stance. A proper stance means that your back is straight, chest is up and out and your belly is completely tucked in.

The following is a list of strategies used to improve poor posture by physiotherapists:

· Postural education and training

· Manual therapy and soft tissue massage

· Joint mobilization

· Advice regarding ergonomic work states

· Pilates

· Corrective exercises to improve flexibility and strength

Book an Appointment today if you want a postural assessment to be done and want to know if that is the primary driver of your pain or discomfort and the solution to it. Call us now 905 997 4333