19 Apr Correcting Poor Posture with Chiropractic Care Improves Your Future Health
Poor positioning when using tech devices and computers may lead to more than just an aching neck or back. Evidence shows increasingly that poor posture can cause long-term health damage.
At Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic, we want to help you take control of your health naturally, with better lifestyle habits and chiropractic care that promotes wellness for years to come.
Risks of Poor Posture (Neck and Back Positions)
The risks of poor posture have increased in the past year, as many of us had to spend more time communicating on a screen instead of face to face.
When you tilt your head forward to use your phone or look down at your computer screen, you’re doubling the weight of pressure on your spine with every inch forward. Ten pounds of force on your spine can quickly ramp up to forty pounds or more.
Bad posture causes overuse damage in muscles from incorrect use. Your immune system tries to heal the muscles, promoting inflammation that causes problems like arthritis in joints.
How Poor Posture Can Lead to Disease
In addition to causing pain, impaired mobility, and arthritis, bad posture can also damage organs in your thoracic (chest) cavity, such as the heart and lungs, by reducing the space they need to function effectively.
An important study of older adults found that poor posture was actually a predictor of higher mortality rates.
The research involved people who had hyperkyphosis (also known as hunchback), a postural condition that occurs when the upper spine abnormally curves forward.
After following these patients over several years, the researchers found that older people with hyperkyphosis had a mortality risk 44 percent higher than those with normal posture. Most commonly, people died from the effects of atherosclerosis, which causes restricted blood flow in arteries, often resulting in strokes and heart attacks.
Best Practices for Good Posture
You’re not about to give up smartphones and computers, but you can modify your habits when using technology, such as:
- Looking up from your phone every ten minutes and pausing to move your neck around
- Holding your phone at eye level or lowering eyes instead of tilting your neck
- Taking regular breaks from desk work to walk around
- Keeping your computer screen at eye level
- Using voice dictation instead of typing
- Standing (with shoulders back) whenever possible while working
Achieving Good Posture with Chiropractic Care
Regular chiropractor visits align the spine to ensure your posture is correctly positioned. Manual manipulations, along with other treatments, reduce pain, improve mobility and prevent the posture problems that can cause future pain and impair overall health.
Chiropractic therapies safely and naturally play a key role in any family’s plan to stay healthy through years of technology use ahead.
Schedule Your Complimentary Visit at Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic
Give our Broken Arrow office a call at 918-940-4630 today.