Spine and Health

Tag: Experts

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What can poor posture do?

A landmark study has shown that spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse rate and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture. [1]

Posture 1 Posture 2

DID YOU KNOW?

The degree of forward head posture directly correlates with headache duration, headache frequency and presence of trigger points in the muscles at the base of your skull. So every inch that your head comes back will be less headaches. That’s a weight off my mind!! (Pun completely intended)[2]

heachache

HOW DOES POOR POSTURE EFFECT SO MUCH IN YOUR BODY?

Poor posture effects the nerve endings in the muscles of your neck which fire up and can stimulate the part of your nervous system that controls the heart and lungs. Not to mention that poor posture can dramatically reduce your lung capacity! [3]

Before Ben After Ben

Our Posture Experts at Spine and Health in North Sydney or Crows Nest can fix your posture so you experience less pain, improved health, better breathing and increased energy.  When your spine is in proper alignment, your entire body can benefit from better overall health and allow you to be the best you can be!

Contact our Chiropractors at Spine and Health, they are the experts in pain and posture. The chiro’s will conduct a thorough examination including a digital postural analysis and create an individual plan of action for you should they feel chiropractic care can help you and your posture.

 

References

[1] Postural and Respiratory Modulation of Autonomic Function, Pain, and Health. Lennon J, Shealy C, Cady R, Matta W, Cox R, Simpson W. AJPM (American Journal of Pain Management) 1994; 4:36-39.

[2] Trigger points in the suboccipital muscles and forward head posture in tension-type headache. Headache. 2006 Mar; 46 (3): 454-60. Fernandez-de-las-Penas C, Alonso-Blanco C, Cuadrado ML, Gerwin RD, ParejaJA.Department of Physical Therapy, University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain

[3] The Neurochemically Diverse Intermedius Nucleus of the Medulla as a Source of Excitatory and Inhibitory Synaptic Input to the Nucleus TractusSolitarii.  Ian J. Edwards, Mark L. Dallas, Sarah L. Poole, Carol J. Milligan, YuchioYanagawa, GáborSzabó, FerencErdélyi, Susan A. Deuchars, and Jim Deuchars. The Journal of Neuroscience, August 1, 2007, 27 (31): 8324-8333.

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Setting Up Your Office Space for Improved Posture

Improve your posture while you work! An ergonomically set up work station can dramatically help improve your posture so that you can work effectively and pain free.

If you work in an office setting, you probably spend a lot of time sitting behind a desk in front of your computer. This constant sitting can often result in slouching and poor posture. While it may not appear to be unhealthy, this can actually lead to several problems including tense muscles, pinched nerves and even carpel tunnel syndrome.

To prevent these injuries and problems, it is very important to make sure that your office space is set up to help improve your posture and keep you injury free. Here are a few ergonomic tips and suggestions that will help you set up your office space for improved posture.

Along with the following ergonomic tips and suggestions, consider contacting the Posture Experts at Spine and Health in North Sydney or Crows Nest for a posture assessment. We can fix your posture so that you can work effectively and without pain.

  1. Be Aware of How You Sit

Pull your chair in so you can sit as close to your desk as possible, and make sure your upper arms are parallel to your spine. Also, when your hands are placed on your work surface, your elbows should be at a 90-degree angle. Your legs should be bent at the knees and your feet should sit flat on the floor. If possible, try to get up and stretch often. Avoid sitting at the edge of your seat, as this can place unnecessary stress on the lumbar discs. Sit as far back in your chair as possible.

  1. Mouse and Keyboard Placement

It may sound very simple, but the placement of your mouse and keyboard is very crucial in giving you a healthy working environment. The alphanumeric area of your keyboard should be kept centered on your desk so that the “B” key is directly in front of you. Also, the mouse should be kept at the same height and as close to the keyboard as possible so that you do not need to bend your wrists when typing. If your desk has a keyboard tray, make sure your mouse is on the tray with your keyboard.

  1. Monitor Placement

The placement of your monitor is another important factor in setting up a posture friendly workspace. Your eye level should be about three inches down from the top of the monitor casing. Most monitors allow for only minimal adjusting, so you may want to invest in or make your own monitor stand. Your monitor should be about an arm’s length away from you while you are working with no glare. You may need to adjust your lighting to minimize glare or tilt your computer slightly up or down.

A few of these ergonomic changes in and around your workspace can go a long way in improving your posture and preventing muscle strain or injury. It is very important to always be mindful of your posture so that you will be able to benefit from your properly set-up workspace. Avoid slouching, keep your elbows close to your body, and try to take breaks when possible. This is incredibly important if you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk during the day.

As well as this, consider posture therapy with one of our chiropractors at North Sydney and Crows Nest Spine and Health to greatly reduce your chances of muscle strain and injury and more serious conditions such as arthritis and disc degeneration.

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Is poor posture making you feel bad?

Everybody knows that poor posture can contribute to physical pain. It can also negatively affect your appearance – it can make you look older, less fit and less attractive.

As we discussed in a recent blog post, posture also plays an important role in how people make assessments about you and your personality. Posture can be the difference between being seen as weak or powerful, timid or confident, and desirable or not.

But aside from the messages your posture sends to other people, have you ever stopped to think about what messages your posture is sending to you? Yes, your posture can have a direct impact on how you feel about yourself and your internal dialogue. It can literally make you feel bad.

 

Power posture

Research over the past ten or so years is consistently demonstrating that tweaking your posture can actually change your emotions. In her TED talk, Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy, explains how if you adopt the body language of looking powerful and confident, you will actually feel more powerful and confident – and it even influences your hormones.

When investigating the question of whether or not our bodies influence our minds, Cuddy discovered that changing posture has an impact on two key hormones: testosterone, which is the dominance hormone, and cortisol, which is the stress hormone. So by changing our posture, Cuddy found that is possible both to make ourselves feel more powerful as testosterone levels increased, AND so called ‘power postures’ also reduced cortisol levels, meaning that people were better able to react and respond to stress.

 

Straighten up and lift that self-belief

These findings are supported by other research also. A study at Ohio State University found that people who were told to sit up straight were more likely to believe thoughts that they wrote down while in that posture concerning whether they were qualified for a job. Study co-author Richard Petty, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University, said that, “People assume their confidence is coming from their own thoughts. They don’t realise their posture is affecting how much they believe in what they are thinking.”

 

Another study suggested that an upright posture can also boost your ability to recall positive thoughts and have a stronger self-image.

 

 

See what not slumping can do for your mood

 

Researchers in New Zealand strapped 74 people into assigned postures with tape, and measured blood pressure and heart rates as they completed a series of tasks designed to assess their mood, self-esteem and stress levels. According to the study authors, upright participants reported feeling more enthusiastic, excited and strong, while slumped participants reported feeling fearful, hostile, nervous, quiet, passive, dull, sleepy and sluggish.

At Spine and Health, we see the evidence every day of the difference good posture can make to quality of life. Improving your posture reduces pain and helps to prevent unnecessary injuries. It helps you to look, move and live better. And now, a growing body of evidence is demonstrating that good posture can help you to be happier and more confident too.

We’d love to chat about how we can help you to improve your posture and see how much better your life can be. Give us a call today to book an appointment with a chiroprator in our North Sydney or Crows Nest clinics.