Does posture even matter?
YOU BET!!
But forget all those times your mom told you to stand up straight! Posture is not something you can go around thinking about! It is the position and natural tensions in the body which keep you upright in space without significant amounts of conscious effort. Like breathing or being awake.
Your posture is largely determined by properties of the bio-tensegrity model, in which a structure maintains its shape through various forces of tension and compression.
Rather than thinking of ourselves as a set of stacked bones with muscles pulling the strings like a marionette, think of your bones and muscles enmeshed in a webbing that holds itself up from the inside out.
We also have some interesting pressure systems that are working to keep us propped up. Our core is bisected by the diaphragm which is a dome shaped muscle that drives breathing and is also integral in our core strength, posture, and low back stability!
Good posture is not necessarily about looking good, it’s about forces being able to flow through your body in efficient ways and without detrimental wear and tear on joints!
For instance how does sitting feel in your low back, what about standing for long periods of time, or running, or jumping? Your initial posture will guide how all of these activities feel and how well you’re able to do them!
If you’re feeling persistent pain or discomfort in your low back, neck, or between your shoulder blades, then you may have a problem with your posture.
At West Physiotherapy, every evaluation includes a thorough evaluation of posture and how it’s contributing to a patient’s problem and goals. Then we have lots of tools to help start changing that posture for good!
