Get Good Posture

Say the word “posture” and most people act like an alarm just went off. You’ve reminded them to get good posture as though it were an item on their to-do list. Go to the bank, return library books, get good posture. Clearly these people, as a group, want to straighten posture. I chuckle (laughing with them, not at them) because to me it seems that perhaps subconsciously they think all it takes is one yank up and the job is done.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Whether you realize it or not, it took you years to develop into the postural alignment you have now. If you have forward head posture, for example, it’s likely a result of rounded shoulders and rounded upper back (called kyphosis). People with kyphosis have to see, but because their upper back is bent forward their head changes its position so they are looking downward. So they extend their neck up, and this allows them to see what’s front of them. Unfortunately, this neck extension action, while it does pick up the head and eyes, tends to slide the head forward of of ideal postural alignment. (In ideal postural alignment, the ears should line up with the shoulders.)

As with nearly all posture problems and issues, most of the time it takes a while for kyphosis to develop. There are some situations where a disease process may result in a kyphosis, but that’s rare (and in these cases, it still takes time for the kyphosis to develop).

No, for the average Joe and Joe-Ess, posture is a product of habits – the day in and day out habitual way that you do things. For example, if you sit at the computer for most of your day, you may well experience the scenario described above where your shoulders round forward, a hump in your upper back develops and you scrunch your neck up to be able to see the screen. You probably crane your neck forward as you intentfully study and interact with that screen, too.

I wish I could give you a quick fix for your posture, but I can’t. At least not if I’m going to remain honest, that is. But if you’re patient, I’ll offer a few basic ideas and actions to address common posture problems. Look for them in the near future on this blog.