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Your Posture; Your Health

The key to a healthy spine and, therefore, a healthy you is your posture!

Research is raising awareness of the importance of posture and people are now beginning to realise that good posture is more than about how you look; it’s important for your health as well.

This year’s Spinal Awareness Week in May, highlighted the dangers of poor posture: ‘…How and why might texting and using mobile devices for long periods of time be lowering our life expectancy?’

Studies have linked a forward-leaning posture with an increasing risk of early death in elderly people, as well as an association with heart and lung problems. Even a small degree of hyperkyphosis (excessive curvature in your upper spine) has shown to increase your risks.

When someone adopts this forward leaning posture it becomes impossible for them to take a full breath in because of the restriction through the muscles and because the ribs can’t move properly. The result is that the heart and lungs can’t function to their full effectiveness.

At Hungerford Chiropractic & Physiotherapy Healthcare we have noticed an increasing number of young people having problems through the top of their neck and back due to their posture. The habit of dropping heads forward and rounding shoulders, as a result of time spent on mobile devices, if left undetected, can progress to a more permanent change to the curve in their back.

The good news is that this doesn’t have to happen because it’s something we all have a degree of control over. We can change our habits!

Here are some simple tips to help you with your posture:

  • Imagine a balloon tied by a piece of string to your breast bone/sternum drawing you gently upwards. This should help to encourage your shoulders and head into a more upright position.
  • When using your computer or mobile, whenever possible try and move the screen up to eye level rather than moving your head posture forward.
  • Throughout the day, rolling the shoulders backwards in circles a few times can help to gently open up the chest area and encourage a healthier, more upright posture.

For more advice, why not take the opportunity of one of our free spinal screenings and let us see what we can do for you and your posture. A check-up enables potential problems to be corrected before aches and pains begin and before more significant risks are allowed to develop further.

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