Posture: A Window to Health

As a Walnut Creek Chiropractor I know a good deal about posture. Posture is a window to spinal alignment and body balance. Our body functions at full capacity when we are in balance.  Therefore, structural integrity dictates how our body functions on every level.

Benefits of Good Posture:

• Improves breathing capacity
• Improves brain function
• Improves blood circulation
• Improves digestion
• Decreases stress on spine
• Decreases stress on other joints
• Prevents back pain
• Improves self-image

Posture Tips:

• Move your spine every day – walking, yoga, pilates, etc.
• Strengthen core muscles
• When sitting:  Keep knees, hips, and elbows at 90 degrees and use a low back support.
• When sleeping:  Use proper pillows to keep spine neutral
• Take breaks (change positions)
• Chest opening stretches
• Foam rolling for mid-back extension (foam roller is perpendicular to spine)
• Superman exercise (either on hands and knees or supine on ground)
• Seated row exercise with light-moderate weight

Here is why posture is so important to how our body functions: our central nervous system is the ‘superhighway’ to how our brain and body communicate with each other.  This ‘superhighway’ is protected by the vertebra of our spine.  When we have postural distortions as a result of misalignments in the spine, the nervous system function is compromised and health can often deteriorate.   This can lead to structural problems like neck pain, back pain, hip/leg pain, arthritis, inflammation and spinal degeneration.  It can also lead to neurological problems like Migraines, tension headaches, fibromyalgia, jaw clicking/pain (TMD), tingling/numbness, ringing in ears, vertigo, etc.

For example, a common postural problem in our computer society today is Forward head posture.  This position dramatically increases stress on cervical spine and over time leads to degenerative discs, pain, & inflammation.  Rounded shoulders can decrease lung capacity.   Rotation or tilting of the head can decrease blood flow to the brain.

Postural distortions are often the result of a misalignment at the keystone level of the spine: the Upper Cervical area at the top of the neck.  If this keystone is misaligned, even by a millimeter, it can create a compensation pattern below it.

An Upper Cervical Chiropractor is the only one who can properly evaluate this and correct it.

~Noah Kaplan, D.C.