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The effects of poor posture: Beware!
The effects of poor posture on the body are not severe and are not to be taken lightly. In today’s technological age, it looks like it is almost impossible to escape poor posture. However, poor posture is not just a small daily issue.
There’s no doubt about it! A good posture definitely looks much better than slouching with shoulders slumped over. However, you may fail to realize that poor posture does not only looks bad but can have adverse effects on your body.
These adverse effects affect both the body and the mind.
Having poor posture puts more stress on certain joints and muscles. This forces the muscles to overwork, thereby causing fatigue.
The emphasis on good posture can never be too little. It may be tedious for you currently, but good posture will be of benefit in the long run!
The effects of bad posture can have serious negative effects on your body. There are more than you know, and some of them are likely to surprise you.
Here the ways poor posture could be sabotaging your body.
The effects of poor posture
1. Distorted Curves in Spine
An upright spine isn’t totally straight. There are three vital spinal curves. One is in your neck, one in your upper-to-mid-back, and the other in your lower back.
Poor posture brings distortion to these curves. This is seen when you jut your head forward, thus straightening out the curve in your neck.
These changes to your spine’s natural curves have an effect on the entire body. It causes a cascade of problems. With the help of a chiropractor, you can get a posture correction through spinal adjustment.
2. Forward Head Posture
This is one of the most common effects of poor posture. Forward head posture is a common condition that happens when your head is aligned forward in relation to your spine’s position.
Ideally, a healthy head and neck relationship is such that your ear and shoulder are in alignment when looked at from the side. When your head starts lurching forward over time, you may succumb to a myriad of musculoskeletal dysfunctions that affect various systems of the body.
Consequently, this condition can cause some muscles to get weak, and tighten some muscles as well. This, in turn, leads to neck pain caused by muscle strain as well as tension headaches.
3. Body Fatigue
Poor posture affects your body’s energy level. When you have poor posture, you add tension and compression to structures that should not bear that much weight. This causes stresses and strains to build up over time. Furthermore, it causes bones, ligaments, and joints to wear down, thereby changing the way our muscles fire.
The effects of poor posture do not only add stress and strain, but it can also make you become fatigued quickly. This happens because poor posture and gait require much more energy and therefore work to keep the level of energy normal.
The better you are in keeping your posture, movement and gait good, the more you can improve your energy efficiency.
4. Back Pain
Another common effect of poor posture is an unwanted strain on your upper and lower back. This comes from slouching forward, thereby mounting pressure between your shoulder blades, leading to a flattening of your back muscles.
Women tend to have more of this problem than men. However, everyone will feel the pain eventually if their posture remains bad.
If you notice pain below the neck and around your tailbone after a long day’s work, the chance are you were not sitting up straight.
Back pain is not the only problem. Over time, poor posture causes a loss of function and even deformity in the spine.
5. Sexual Performance
Having a poor sitting posture can adversely affect your sexual function. Sacral sitting, or rounded lower back sitting/slopping sitting, can be even worse than other terrible postures.
The sacral sitting posture can have profound effects on men’s and women’s sexual performance. This happens because this posture shortens and tightens the pelvic floor muscles (being your primary sexual muscles).
Tight and weak pelvic floor muscles prevent you from exerting power and strength as you should. This, in turn, results in weak or nonexistent orgasms.
There are different ways weak pelvic floor muscles affect the sexual function of men and women. For instance, men with a shortened and tightened pelvic floor that comes from poor sitting posture may have less stamina, thereby experiencing weak ejaculations. Also, women with pelvic floor issues are likely to experience reduced sexual arousal and infrequent orgasms.
Know more about your pelvic floor muscles.
6. Poor Digestion
Poor sitting posture can be harmful to your body, especially after you have eaten. It can trigger heartburn and acid reflux. When you slouch, you put undue pressure on your back and subsequently your stomach.
This pressure on your stomach is not very healthy, especially while your stomach is trying to digest some food. Digestion can be impeded with bad posture.
When you have a good posture, you save yourself the other effects of poor digestion such as bowel movement issues and heart issues.
7. Your Mood
The effects of poor posture on the body cuts across the way you feel as well. Research has shown that there is a close connection between posture and emotions.
People who are depressed often have a slouching posture. However, your mood does not just affect posture.
It is surprising that posture can affect your emotions right? Having a good posture eases you of the symptoms of depression and helps you feel better in or after difficult events.
Having an upright posture can even help you feel less fatigued and have more positive emotions. Considering all the information that travels between your brain and the rest of your body through the spine, it makes good sense that a healthy spine makes you feel good all over.
8. Poor Circulation
Poor posture can cause poor circulation in the body. This often occurs when bad posture is combined with sitting down for a long period of time. When you are sitting, you restrict your body from proper blood flow. This can be detrimental to your health.
You are to be active when you are sitting down, especially when you are at work. Remember to make gradual posture changes throughout the day. Endeavor to stand up, stretch, and sit with your shoulders back. If you are slouched over a desk, you are likely to have poor circulation and could even develop what is called varicose veins.
9. Poor Breathing
Poor posture has a way of affecting the amount of air you take into your lungs when you breathing. When you lean or hunch forward when you breathe, your lung function is affected negatively.
To breathe appropriately, there has to be enough space in the thoracic cavity for the diaphragm to properly release and contract with each breath
Your ability to breathe very well is boosted when your body is in proper alignment and lengthened. Your breath quality is vital. This is because the body needs to have enough oxygen in order to rejuvenate and restore the cells.
Taking full and deep breaths promotes your brain health, heart, and other vital organs.
10. Headaches
Poor posture contributes to tight neck muscles. This, in turn, compromises the natural curvature of your spine and leads to headaches.
Tight neck muscles have a way of sending pain radiating up to the head.
In Conclusion
You have seen all the effects of poor posture above, and that tells you how important having a good posture is.
Learn, practice and adopt proper postures to give your body the health it needs.
