By Dr. Ryan Lee
You’ve probably heard the line, “Stop slouching, and stand up straight!” at least once or twice before.
And though it’s advice we often ignore, or forget almost immediately, the effects of bad posture are not quiet.
While the benefits of good posture are often immediately seen (giving you a look of confidence and attractiveness), the effects of poor posture can create unseen and unnecessary health conditions, like headaches.
Though there are many different causes of headaches, such as dehydration or not eating enough calories during the day, the most common form of headache by far is the, “tension headache,” (or the cervicogenic headache) caused by forward ear posture.
The increased muscle tension on your neck brought on by having your head in a forward posture stresses and strains the muscles and becomes a headache.
That’s one condition brought on by bad posture, but there are a many more.
So, what other conditions can bad posture lead to?
So many things, but we’ll just list 7.
1. Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
In the same way that tension headaches come as a result of over strained muscles, when we have poor posture, it constricts our vessels which decreases the bodies ability to transport nutrients and oxygen to our cells.
Without correction, this can result in deep vein thrombosis and blood clots.
2. Bad Digestion
If you have a chronically upset stomach or wake up with heartburn at night, your spine’s posture could be to blame!
Bad thoracic and lumbar posture compresses our digestive organs, which can slow the digestive process as well as your metabolism.
3. Feeling Tired All the Time
This is something we can all relate to, and something you may not have ever attributed to posture!
The muscles and ligaments are overly stressed when our body is not in its proper alignment, so we use more energy over the day resulting in wanting to go home and crash on the couch!
4. Hip, Knee and Ankle Pain
This is something we commonly attribute to old age. But if your hips, knees and ankles creak and crack, it could be from bad postural alignment.
Altered lower spinal posture has a huge affect on the hips, knees, and feet and can be a common cause for pain in the lower extremity as well.
5. Increases Your Stress and Affects Your Mood
It’s true, when your bodies posture is bad, it creates physical stress that can translate into soreness and pain. This can then translate to mental stress, a decrease in your productivity and ultimately, your mood!
6. Arthritis
One of the biggest reasons to stand up straight is to prevent arthritis!
Arthritis can come in many forms, but the most common form is due to bad posture and misaligned spinal joints. When the joints of our body adopt a bad posture, it wears down the joint until the bones of the joint start to contact one another and eventually fuse together.
7. Spinal Misalignments
When we slouch at home on the couch or are hunched over our computers at work, we are putting stress on our spine.
This can lock up the joints in our spine creating spinal misalignments.
These misalignments create muscle tension and pain, for example neck and back. It can also create headaches and migraines, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, as well as other neurological issues.
Left alone these spinal misalignments can create osteoarthritis in the spinal joints and can put the body in a chronically stressed state.
To summarize…
The health conditions created by bad posture can be painful, time consuming and chronic if left alone.
The good news is, they are all very treatable!
CHIROPRACTIC CARE!
A chiropractor is a highly trained doctor who analyzes the structure and alignment of your spine, as well as the nervous system. They are trained to work with you to improve your spines natural curvature through spinal adjustments, physiotherapy, spinal orthotics and other modalities.
As a result, chiropractic adjustments can also improve other health conditions such as acid reflux, ear infections, asthma, seasonal allergies, etc. all by improving your bodies ability to heal and integrate stress.
If you’re ready to make a change to the health of your spine and start feeling better, click the link below to schedule an appointment and learn more!
Give us a call at (423)-498-3400 today to see how chiropractic care can help you too!
Or click below to schedule your first appointment!
SCHEDULE NOW
Reach Health and Wellness Chiropractic is located in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area specifically in Collegedale, TN, a short distance from Ooltewah, Cleveland, East Brainerd, East Ridge, Ringgold, Apison, and Harrison.
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Dr. Ryan Lee is the practicing chiropractic physician at Reach Health and Wellness Chiropractic. For his full bio, click here. *This content is strictly the opinion of Dr. Ryan Lee and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All readers/viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Dr. Lee does not take responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement or lifestyle program.
