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Many individuals participate in some form of physical
activity or sport to achieve their own personal fitness goals. Actively
engaging in exercise offers many benefits, from strengthening the bones and
muscles and controlling weight to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease
but, unfortunately for many individuals, injuries can frequently occur. The
truth is, exercising with an improper posture can cause a wide variety of
complications on the spine, knees, hips and shoulders, including numerous
structural issues such as muscle tightness, joint pain and the potential increase
of injuries. Many individuals struggle to correct and maintain a proper
posture, as a matter of fact, most adults tend to walk with their shoulders
slumped while staring at the ground.
Improper posture can result in a range of health
complications, most commonly causing an increase in low back pain, neck pain, headaches
and restricted mobility for many individuals due to the excess curvature of the
spine. As a result, body mechanics may also be affected, leading to potential
gait and walking complications. Furthermore, in more advanced cases, poor
posture can also result in decreased lung capacity and digestion issues.
A proper posture is identified where the body is capable of
standing, walking, sitting and laying down in positions while the least amount
of strain is being placed on the supporting structures of the spine, especially
during movement or weight-bearing activities, such as exercise.
If you’re an individual who struggles to maintain a proper
posture, there’s a few simple ways you can slowly correct and maintain a good
posture. First, to achieve a proper posture, hold your head high with your chin
in. Make sure not to tilt your head forward, backward or sideways. Frequently
utilizing a mirror throughout your day can also help remind and ensure your
posture is being kept correctly. While checking your posture in the mirror,
your earlobes should be in line with the middle of your shoulders. Then, make
sure to pull your shoulder blades back, keeping your knees straight but not
locked and tuck your stomach in without tilting your pelvis forward of
backward. Assure that you’re standing with all toes on the floor with your
weight evenly distributed over the heels and balls of the feet to provide the
best support for the rest of your body. It’s essential not to allow the ankles
to roll inwards or outwards as this can make standing properly difficult. If
necessary, support the arches in the feet using special types of footwear.
According to authors Don and Kyle Colbert in Get Fit and
Live, the human heads weighs an average of approximately 3.6kg. For every inch
that the head moves forward and it is not centered over the shoulders, the
weight of the head is increased by 4.5kg. A forward head posture of three
inches, for example, increases the weight of the head on the neck by
approximately 13.6kg. The added weight can cause great pressure on the muscles
surrounding the neck or cervical spine, leading to injury and unwanted symptoms.
“Chronic forward head posture may lead to long-term muscle
strain on the neck, degenerative disc disease and disc herniation, arthritis,
and pinched nerves,” wrote Don and Kyle Colbert. Essentially while stretching
or exercising, pay close attention to your posture in a mirror. Engaging in
physical activity and not keeping the appropriate posture for each exercise,
often causes the incorrect use of certain muscles where they can then become
overly stretched or even cause them to tear. Also, avoid lifting excess weight
and keep the neck and shoulders relaxed to prevent your head from pulling
forward and straining. If riding a bicycle, be sure the seat is high enough so
that your knee is extended on the bottom pedal and your toes are barely
touching it.
Incorporating postural exercises into your workouts can be
beneficial for those individuals with an improper posture. These specially
designed exercises help strengthen the muscles of the back as well as helping provide
enough flexibility to the surrounding tissues of the spine in order to
ultimately avoid injury and further complications. By improving your exercise
form, the individual is allowed to experience greater benefits from each
workout.
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
