6 Bad Postures That Are Ruining Your Health & How To Correct Them

If you had to guess at the state of your posture right now, how healthy do you think it is? For me, I already know what areas I struggle with, and thankfully I found out how to correct it.

If you are like the majority of the population, chances are you are suffering from symptoms correlated with bad posture. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, it’s easy to see that I have forward neck/head posture. This is normally caused by a variation of weak neck muscles, seated job positions, incorrect sleeping positions, and prolonged computer or TV use. But other than the un-esthetic aspect of bad posture, there’s really not much to worry about right? Wrong.

Over time, poor posture takes a serious toll on your spine, shoulders, hips, and knees. In fact, it can cause a cascade of structural flaws that lead to back and joint pain, reduced flexibility, and compromised muscles, all of which limit your ability to burn fat or build strength.

Worst of all, bad posture can cause nerve constriction. As the spine changes in shape, the resulting movements or subluxations can put pressure on the surrounding spinal nerves. Because the nerves that connect to the spine come from all over the body, these pinched nerves can not only cause neck and back pain but may also cause pain in other unrelated areas of the body.

The following article will explore 6 common bad posture positions that many of us are making and will provide solutions to help correct these postures.

Rounded Shoulders

The problem: The sternoclavicular joints are unstable, therefore the body recruits the pectoris minor muscles to stabilize the joint. This brings the shoulder forward. With the shoulder forward, the upper trap turns on helping to support the shoulder from the neck.

There is also a relationship with the thoracic spine & the sternum. The exercise described recruits global muscles to do the work of the postural muscles what happens is that for a short period of time holding through these muscles works then the muscles fatigue and the person falls back into the poor posture.

The fix: Lie facedown on the floor, with each arm at a 90-degree angle in the high-five position. Without changing your elbow angle, raise both arms by pulling your shoulders back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Hold for five seconds. That’s one rep; do two or three sets of 12 reps daily. Changing posture has to happen by working the postural muscles which are deep to the global muscles.

Forward Head & Neck

The problem: Stiff muscles in the back of your neck.

The fix: Moving only your head, drop your chin down and in toward your sternum while stretching the back of your neck. Hold for a count of five; do this 10 times a day.

Be careful not to push too hard or you will risk shifting your vertebra, which can lead to constant headaches.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt

The problem: There is a lack of support through the transverse abs and usually the lower 2 lumbar vertebra are unstable which is why the body tightens up the psoas & iliacus. There is often unstable hip joints due to stretched joint capsules as well.

The fix: Kneel on your left knee, with your right foot on the floor in front of you, knee bent. Press forward until you feel the stretch in your left hip. Tighten your butt muscles on your left side until you feel the front of your hip stretching comfortably.