Posture is the alignment of your body parts to one another at any given moment. The function is dynamic and must be controlled through appropriate arrangement when sitting, standing, walking, and other activities.
Making sure you have the correct posture during various stances is key to keeping your alignment healthy and in check.
What Constitutes Good Posture?
Good posture occurs with the appropriate activation and timing of one’s muscles and nervous system, allowing your joints to articulate or glide and slide on one another. Muscles must remain in balance to support an aligned spine.
Keeping your spine’s position neutral is a dynamic process meant to transition from one state to another. If one side of the body is too tight or extended, the increased joint uniformity will cause misalignment. Your body will overwork specific muscles or joints to cope with the restriction in another area and compensate for this misalignment, which may result in pain. When in a neutral posture, however, the body is in its most active and balanced position, allowing optimal efficiency and minimizing joint stress.
Why Good Posture Matters
A contributor to wellness, good posture prevents excessive joint and muscle strain from misalignment. Dysfunctional alignment often leads to a significant amount of pain and discomfort, while poor positioning can lead to muscular imbalances that cause muscles to overstretch and shorten. When such imbalance is left alone, the muscles adapt and take on a new length. This distortion results in muscle pain and decreased range of motion.
Improper posture may even lead to disease, as physiological and organ function depends significantly on a neutral posture. When the diaphragm moves efficiently, and the spine is neutral, the internal organs are in their optimal location, allowing for proper function.
However, weakness in the trunk muscles causes faulty posture, making inhaling and exhaling difficult. When your posture is out of balance, it creates distortions of the spine. These distortions can change the position of the internal organs, cramping the lungs, stomach, and intestines, which can cause shallow breathing, faulty digestion, poor elimination, and constipation.
Note that each person’s body is unique with anatomical variations. It is essential for everyone to optimize their body’s mechanics for it to function well. If you’re interested in improving your posture and overall health, the experienced physical therapists at SetPT can help guide you. Contact us today to schedule an appointment!
