Do you have bad posture? Would you know if you did?

Bad posture can have a HUGE effect on your future health as well as your current health.

The reality is that bad posture can actually create a domino effect on your entire health. By having correct posture, we can ensure that our bodies actually function properly.

Why is it so important to correct bad posture?

Bad posture can affect many areas of the body. Poor posture can specifically cause:

• Poor blood circulation
• Chronic pain
• Muscle fatigue
• Herniated discs
• Misalignment in your spine
• Limitations in your flexibility and range of motion
• Obesity due to a sedentary lifestyle and limited mobility

What causes poor posture?

Poor posture can be caused by developing bad habits when sitting, standing, or moving. Examples of these bad habits include the following:

• Slouching when sitting.
• Sticking your bottom out when standing. (Like Donald Duck).
• Standing with a flat back and slouched shoulders.
• Leaning on one leg for long periods when standing still.
• Looking down or looking at a phone, device, or computer for long periods.
• Poking your chin out when looking ahead.
• Cradling a phone for long periods.
• A traumatic injury.
• Extreme pain.

Bad posture can also be a result of having your spine out of alignment. If you have not received any chiropractic adjustments, your spine could be out of balance. A spine out of balance will pull on other muscles to over-compensate in an attempt to re-correct an unbalanced spine.

How to check if you have bad posture

There are two ways to check your posture. You can use the directions below at home. Or, you can ask a medical professional or Tulsa chiropractor to help you.

How you check yourself:

1. Stand up and put the back of your head and back against a wall.
2. Place your heels about 6 inches from the wall.
3. Your shoulder blades and buttocks should be touching the wall.
4. Now it’s time to perform the poor posture test:  there should be less than 2 inches between your neck or the small of the back and the wall. A good way to measure is by taking two fingers and placing horizontally between your neck and the wall.
5. If there is a larger gap, it may indicate poor posture and a curving spine.

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What you should do if you have poor posture?

If you performed the test above or you have been experiencing back or neck pain, then you probably have bad posture. The danger of waiting to correct your spine could lead to muscle fatigue and other serious health issues. Consider the help of an experienced Tulsa Chiropractor to help you get back to healthy posture and give you the chiropractic treatments that you need.