A Little About Postureby Judy Soborowicz, Active Health Chiropractic

by Judy Soborowicz, Active Health Chiropractic

Feeling somewhat frustrated and guilty about being unable to maintain good posture? We have all experienced postural excellence—seemingly unattainable but for only mere moments at a time! Having an aligned, relaxed head, slightly back over the shoulders, a neutral spine, and evenly distributed body weight: fleeting postural bliss.  Stress, trauma, and toxins alert and affect posture and balance, and our nerve system’s ability to ensure our dynamic balance is maintained in all conditions. 

Posture is taught and thought of as a static state against gravity. However, our body is a constantly moving, dynamic process that keeps us stable in gravity and rapidly changing environmental conditions. Healthy posture requires optimal unconscious and continual relaying of communication between our nerve system and movable body parts. The zones of the nerve system that continually feed into the brain and allow the coordination of posture are found in the:

- Eyes (view surroundings)

- Ears (quick changing head position, as in rotating or stopping)

- Joints, muscles, facia, skin, feet (positional sensors)

- Jaw (head and neck position) 

The way we hold our bodies while sitting, standing and moving involves the alignment of the spine, head and limbs. We are not designed to maintain posture through conscious attention! Sensory signals continually inform specific areas of the brain about both external and internal conditions related to posture and balance, and they hold the key for adapting movement instantly. No matter what happens in our external environment, when the internal communication has the body on alert, posture is affected.

Our many joints and muscles allow for great flexibility, and the nerve system allows for great adaptability. We compensate and replicate postural stability so well that hidden loss of function may not be immediately obvious. Compensations and alterations of signals reaching our brain may be caused by:

- Injuries (old or new)

- Sprains, strains, weak or injured muscles or joints

- Jaw clenching

- Chemical trauma

- Stress

If bad information from the alert body is allowed to continually signal the brain, alterations in postural stability and balance progress.

As an example, imagine walking on a boot cast after an injury or surgery. Walking with the boot (along with the underlying injury) creates a non-avoidable, dynamic postural dysfunction—the body is on alert. Ideally, functional movement is restored once the boot is removed, but often the area of protection is retained, continuing an alert adaptation of movement. The inevitable effects on stability and posture become known over time: appearance of changes in athletic performance, poor balance, chronic repeated sprains, strains, tendonitis, reduced mobility, headache, poor posture, weakness, fatigue, or arthritis. Prolonged impairment of balance and posture can result in the need for pain/arthritis medications, surgical repair, or mobility aids.

The importance of postural stability to our long-term health, balance and physical performance cannot be overstated.  All exercise we do, from sitting at a computer to yoga class, can either enhance dynamic posture or strengthen compensation patterns. 

The chiropractic approach prioritizes our efficient nerve system, releasing alert areas in our body and improving postural stability and balance. Specific adjustments can restore nerve flow and reduce body stress where compensations or alterations of sensory input to the brain have occurred. Chiropractic is the original approach for optimal, dynamic whole-body stability, balance and posture.