How to Improve Your Posture

The human body is built around the spinal column.   The spine is like the keel of a ship; it’s the structure from which other parts of the body– head, arms, legs, torso–  branch out.  Because of this, your posture is a good indicator of your spine’s alignment.  Posture is important to health, because it determines how “efficient” your body is, biomechanically.   Having bad posture is like driving a car that needs a tune up and wheel alignment– the car can still run, but it is inefficient due to the engine having to work harder.    Likewise, poor posture saps your energy and predisposes you to injury/ breakdown.

First of all, what is good posture?  Professionals in the physical medicine field (chiropractors, physical therapists, podiatrists) agree that the human body should be symmetrical when viewed from the front.  In other words, a straight line passing through the nose, sternum (breastbone), and navel should “split” the body evenly; and each foot should bear exactly 50% of the person’s weight.

When viewed from the side, a straight line should pass through the earlobe, shoulder joint, hip joint, knee joint, and slightly in front of the ankle.

Examples of abnormal posture include:

• a forward-leaning head (ear is in FRONT of baseline)
• a high shoulder compared to the opposite
• a tilted head (nose is to one side of mid line)
• a high pelvis (pants waist angles up on one side)
• a rotated pelvis (one hip of more forward)

A simple exercise to help you improve your posture from the side view is called wall angels.  This is a great exercise for those who find themselves in front of a desk for the most part of their day.  You see, sitting at a desk, over time, causes the muscles in the front of your body to contract (shorten) and the muscles of your back to weaken.  This results in that hunched, forward-rolling shoulder, forward leaning head posture.

To do wall angels, you’ll need to find an empty wall.   Stand against the wall, ensuring that the back of both heels and your head are making contact.  Raise your arms in the “hands up” position.  Make sure the back of your arms and your hands maintain contact with the wall at all times; gently push your arms back against the wall to ensure  this.  And, keep your wrist straight at all times.  The exercise is basically raising and lowering your arms (keeping elbows bent) as high and as low as they can go, without breaking contact with the wall or bending your wrist.  You should feel a strong stretch in your chest wall, and your back extend a little.  Do 50 – 100 repetitions.  This action activates the weak back muscles and stretches the shortened front chest muscles, essentially “reprogramming” them to help you stand straighter and taller.

(P.S. they are called wall angels because the action is similar to that when you make snow angels lying down, for you easterners!)

Till next time,

Dan Perez, DC