Posture and Chiropractic Services in Humble, Texas

 

Posture is the position your body takes when you are sitting, lying or standing. A person could have either a good posture or a bad posture. Good posture is known clinically as “neutral spine.” It is associated with a lot of health benefits. This includes the prevention of back pain. Good posture can be improved and maintained by chiropractic care.

 

The importance of posture

Good posture has a lot of benefits especially to the physical appearance of the person involved. However, there are many less-obvious health benefits that you need to know. They include:

• Proper alignment of joints and bones
• Reduction of stress on the ligaments and reducing the risk of injuries
• Prevents muscle overuse, stress, and pain
• Conservation of energy as the muscles are put to more effective use
• Reduction of abnormal joint wear

Studies have shown that poor posture is linked to depression, poor digestive function, and high-stress levels.

 

Signs that you have poor posture

Poor posture has many indicators. The more common ones include rounded shoulders, hunched back, arched lower back, back pain, among others. If you are not sure whether you have a good posture, you should contact your chiropractor to schedule a spinal examination.

A lot of factors contributes to poor posture. Primary among them include:

• Pregnancy
• Obesity
• Stress
• Excessive use of high-heeled shoes
• Weak postural muscles

Poor posture is one of the primary causes of dysfunction, severe pain, and body aches. Posture describes the position of the body in space. The body posture changes whenever a part of the body is moved. Posture communicates nonverbal body language, reflecting self-esteem and mental attitude.

Posture is of two kinds – the optimal posture and the faulty posture. Optimal posture is also known as ideal posture. When a person has an optimal posture, his skeletal and muscular balance is perfect and the body’s supporting structures are protected against progressive deformity or injury whether the affected person is at rest or in motion. The joints are positioned to provide less stress on the body. On the other hand, faulty posture exerts great stress on the joints. A person with strong muscles can easily be compensated for stress. However, if you have weak or unhealthy muscles, mobility becomes an issue, and you easily have joint wear and modification. The surrounding tissues can also be damaged.

Posture has far-reaching effects involving digestive, respiratory and the circulatory systems. The musculoskeletal system is also affected.

 

Physiology of posture

Phasic and static reflex activities are essential in posture control. Static reflexes involve sustained contraction of the musculature. Phasic reflexes, on the other hand, involve transient movements. The central nervous system integrates and controls both types of movements. Integration occurs from the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex and is affected mostly through the extrapyramidal motor pathways.

Corrections of the posture are continually mediated by spinal reflexes. Neck-righting reflexes, visual reflexes, and the labyrinthine reflexes also mediate posture.

Though posture control is controlled primarily by various reflex mechanisms, there is also extensive input from other centers of the nervous system. This implies that, to some extent, posture can be corrected just as it was learned in the first instance.

 

How a chiropractor can fix bad posture

The first thing a chiropractor does even before examining your posture is to ask you series of questions to ascertain whether or not the pain you have is from bad posture. This is an extremely important step because it allows the chiropractor to determine if he can or cannot fix your posture. Questions asked may rotate around your daily activities, exercise, work conditions among others.

Postural assessment: Before commencing treatment, the chiropractor will assess the extent to which your posture has changed.  Postural assessment is carried out to judge the state of your posture – how bad or good it is.  The chiropractor will assess you from a front view and a back view measuring specific body landmarks.

X-rays: X-rays may be done to get a detailed picture of the anatomy of your spine. The chiropractor will learn a lot from the x-ray and can determine what to do to correct your bad posture. Imaging reveals things such as:

• Arthritic change or degeneration
• Alteration of spinal curvature
• Scoliosis

Adjustments: Chiropractors can use gentle joint movements to correct your posture to the best position without the crack. The joint movements will help you increase the motion in your joint and also reduce the tension in the surrounding muscles.

Soft tissue work: This involves studying the interaction of your muscles with the rest of your body to improve posture.  This follows Sir Isaac Newton’s principle – “for every action, there is a reaction.” So if one muscle changes, then another muscle needs to change to compensate for it. A chiropractor can address these issues by conducting specific stretches and muscle releases before working on strengthening your muscles via rehabilitation and exercises.

Stretches/exercise/rehabilitation: Specific exercises will be prescribed for you. This is followed by rehabilitation based on changes in your posture to reduce muscle tension and then gradually strengthen your weak muscles.

In summary, the chiropractor can effectively take care of your postural challenge. What is required of you is that you take these essential steps:

• History taking
• Postural assessment
• Examination
• X-rays

This will allow the chiropractor give you the treatment that best suits your condition.