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Why is Having Good
Posture so Important
If you watch someone that has a proper
posture, you will see someone that looks good. They are straight and tall
and create an overall better picture. However, good posture is not just
something that makes you look better, it makes you feel better! Standing and
sitting correctly is much less demanding on every part of your body.
An upright position, both standing and
sitting, allows “proper stacking” of the joints. This means that all the
major body joints will be maintained with a great deal less effort on the
part of your muscles. It also allows for a correct distribution of all your
weight over the whole of your body structure, instead of putting pressure on
one area to hold a large portion of your weight. Good posture also lowers
the strain level on ligaments.
What happens when your posture
deteriorates? Nothing good! When you deviate from the natural alignment of
your body from that upright position, you will cause stress on many
different areas. This strain will inevitable cause aches, pains and possibly
other health complications down the road.
Modern day life has brought on many of
the posture problems being seen today. Many years ago, human beings lived on
the land. They had a lot of physical activity built into their daily
routines just to live. They were hunting, climbing, walking, swimming and
fending for themselves everyday. Later on, we saw farming and herding
keeping people busy. For most today, this level of activity is not the norm.
Today we are seeing a much different
lifestyle. Children (and adults) sit slumped for long hours in the classroom
at rather uncomfortable desks. Long hours are spent in front of the
television and the computer. This sedentary schedule does nothing to improve
posture, but instead is quite detrimental.
When you sit at a desk slumped or in
front of the computer with your back hunched and your head forward, you are
putting a great deal more stress and strain on your back, neck, shoulders
and other portions of your anatomy. The muscles in your back are stretched
while your neck muscles are extended forward for a long period of time. As
this habit continues, the negative effects accumulate each and every time
you sit in that way. In almost all cases, when this is the lifestyle
followed, you will begin to see aches and pains develop.
Aches and pains will not be your only
problem, though. You will also begin to see a deterioration of your “sense
of balance”. When bad posture becomes your normal posture, you will walk and
sit with a rounded back and your head thrown forward. The body recognizes
this change in its natural posture and does its best to accommodate. This
compounds the problem, since now your “normal” posture is incorrect and
straining your body whenever you sit and stand.
As the problem posture continues into
adulthood, more and more health problems begin to occur. Desk jobs and
continued sedentary habits build up and become a bigger “pain” with
increased age. If bad posture is the “normal” posture, you will find a whole
new group of symptoms begin to show themselves:
Something as easy as proper posture, even
when leading a more sedentary lifestyle, can still help alleviate these
health problems. Proper posture may have to be relearned by many and this
can be accomplished through creating a workout routine that gives all your
major muscle groups adequate exercise. Check with your doctor and get it
“straight”! (Your posture, that is.)
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