The key to health, youth, longevity, and general well-being is posture. Where do we start? What is good posture? What are the causes of poor posture? What are the physical, emotional, and internal effects of poor posture? The normal lateral postural landmarks are the following: the center of the ear, center of the shoulder socket, through the lumbar vertebral bodies, through the center of the femur, through the center of the knee joint, and slightly anterior to the medial malleolus. The normal anterior postural landmarks include the following: the mid-sagittal line includes the nose, chin, sternum, spine, and naval; the bilateral horizontal lines include the ears, shoulders (acromion process), pelvis, elbow joints, and knee caps; the feet should have no internal or external rotation to them. Many individuals ask the question-why is our spines curved? Are spine acts like a shock absorber, it maintains disc height, distributes weight evenly, and provides strength and stability. This is the path of least resistance for the spinal cord and nerves. Poor posture was not corrected in our generation. Our grandma’s were right, we need to “sit up straight.” Parents and children do not know the adverse effects of poor posture on long-term health.
Poor posture Examples
Examples of areas that give poor posture include: school posture, computer posture, video game posture, sports trauma, motor vehicle accidents, and sleep posture. Children begin to use a computer at a very young age. They spend hours in the “computer position” which increases each and every year. The video game typical posture includes: a slouched position on the floor, against a tree, or on their stomachs. How many hours in a year does your child do this? We need to educate our children on the importance of Exercise, Posture and Health. The television posture is not any better. People are on soft, unsupported chairs and couches, sitting on the floor, head on their hand, and they fall asleep in a poor posture position in these areas. School posture creates significant pressure on the spine as well. How many hours does your child sit in a hard, unsupported school desk each and every year? Does the teacher/professor expect them to sit straight up? What about our posture while we sleep? We should get eight hours of sleep per night times 365 days per year. This number is astronomical when you think about how long the average person lives for! Sports trauma can also cause poor posture. Many child athletes experience one thousand high force impacts per year. This can cause spinal ligament sprain and strains, and even whiplash. Poor posture can become permanent causing: muscle lengthening, muscle shortening, and disc deformation.
