5 Ways Your Posture is Causing You Pain and How to Avoid it
If you’ve ever been to a Chiropractic treatment center or consulted with a specialist chiropractor in Santa Fe, you most definitely have heard how bad posture can cause you a whole lot of health problems. Improper posture can cause you pain. Research has proven time and again that bad posture can be implicated in many different conditions that affect your health and quality of life. From heightened levels of stress to an even more serious reduction of life expectancy, here are unexpected ways that your bad posture is affecting your health and causing you pain and how you can fix it:
Back and joint pain – Stooping, slouching, or sitting in one position when performing a task can definitely place a huge strain on your joints, ligaments, and muscles. Back pain is a common affliction of the modern man, and unsurprisingly so, because of the amount of time we spend sitting in front of a screen. One way to remedy this is to take regular breaks from repetitive tasks, get up and move about, so as to relieve the back, neck, knees, and hips of the strain caused by bad posture.
Increased stress levels – Spending extended time in slumped positions can likewise alter the levels of cortisol and testosterone in the body. Practicing yoga is a good fix for this, along with some deep breathing, which can likewise reduce stress hormones.
Reduced life expectancy – Leading a sedentary lifestyle is also linked to lower life expectancy. In fact, some experts believe that a sedentary lifestyle poses just as much risk to health and life as smoking does. One study found that every hour you spend slumped on a sofa watching TV reduces your life expectancy by at least 21.8 minutes. This can be reversed, however, by adjusting your viewing habits and correcting your posture, like sitting cross legged and keeping your back supported against a chair or sofa.
Muscle pain and damage – Wearing high heels, doing repetitive tasks in a single position, and even poor sleep posture can lead to all kinds of muscle pain, stress, strain, and injury, the most common of which is chronic pain in the lower back. A good fix for this is avoiding unnatural and repetitive movement or posture patterns and simply being aware of your posture all the time so as to avoid tight neck muscles and other usual strains and aches.
Depressive mood – A study has also revealed great distinctions between the mood of participants who sit upright and those that sit in a slumped position. Reports say that upright sitters have improved positive moods and greater self-esteem than sitters that slump. Taking walking breaks or other active breathers from your desk or TV is a good way to get rid of bad posture.
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