Archive: October 2007

Perfect posture

Making sure your body is balanced can help improve quality of life

by Dr. Larry Green

According to a recent study at the University of London, there is a strong correlation between losing height and mortality. Restriction of the lungs and abdominal cavity may significantly increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and respiratory problems.

These findings support a long-standing chiropractic premise that poor posture contributes to diseases which shorten your life. The negative effects of poor posture on important body functions are detectable among young and old. Grandma was right when she said, “Stand up straight—stop slouching!”

Your Posture—Check it Out
Take a moment to stand before a mirror. Look for level eyes, ears, shoulders and hips. From the side, does your belly protrude forward beyond your chest? Are your shoulders rounded or your upper back hunched? If you are overweight, it is all the more important that you shift your body into a better position to relieve unnecessary stress on your low back, lungs and heart.

Ask your health care professional for a postural evaluation to help you focus on areas of weakness.

Give Yourself a Lift
Instead of trying to pull your shoulders back and suck in your gut, here is a simple suggestion that will help you to find your most comfortable and correct position. Sit upright with both feet firmly on the floor while looking straight ahead. Now breathe in slowly until you feel your chest fully elevated. Now maintain this elevated position of your chest as you slowly exhale to the fullest.

This little maneuver can be repeated whenever you sense that you are slouching and wish to look better and to feel better. It can also be practiced while combing your hair, driving your car, pushing a grocery cart, or logging onto your computer.

The Core of Your Problem
For lasting correction to your posture problems it is vital to strengthen both your abdominal muscles and your upper back/erector muscles together. Abdominal exercises are familiar to most everyone, but often back extension exercises are overlooked.

To perform a back extension lie face down with hands behind your neck or arms at your side with palms down, then lift your head and chest a few inches off the floor. Do this slowly and deliberately. Ten repetitions, done twice daily will improve the way you look and feel.