Even if you’re ‘no slouch’, slouching or other habits of bad posture can make it impossible for you to perform at your best.
“When you make bad posture a part of your daily routine, you are constantly retraining your body to function inappropriately.” says chiropractor Dr. Matt Tanneberg DC, CSCS.
Poor posture affects much more than your overall appearance. Unfortunately, most people who suffer from poor posture don’t realize how deeply it can affect them. And it’s just a rare few of us who give posture the same importance as things like diet and fitness as a major contributor to our overall health.
But we all should and to give you an idea of why, here are just a few of the serious symptoms you can suffer due to bad posture.
1. Lower Back Pain
It’s estimated that as much as 80% of us suffer from lower back pain. For those who do, but can’t figure out why, it could be your posture. In addition to rolling your shoulders forward, slouching flattens your lower back, which can cause the pain you feel.
2. Constipation
If you have problems ‘going’, it could be bad posture, which can affect the movement of your intestines and cause constipation.
3. High Blood Pressure
The rolling of your shoulders and rounding of the back caused by slouching and slumping can affect how you breathe, which, in turn, can increase your blood pressure.
4. Poor Sleep
As your muscles adjust to poor posture, it can negatively affect their ability to fully relax when you’re trying to sleep.
5. Headaches
The extra strain on your upper back and neck muscles that results from trying to keep your head up while slouching can cause chronic headaches.
If you suffer any of the symptoms above without any other clear reason for them, poor posture could be affecting your health. Talk to your doctor and chiropractor to find out more about improving your posture and ridding yourself of its symptoms.
