Posture – Erica Whitman

Posture – Erica Whitman

Beginning at a young age, we are often told to “stand up straight”, or “put your shoulders back”. This wasn’t because our parents or elders were just looking for reasons to pick on us. They gave us this advice because they were at an age when they were starting to see or even feel the effects that bad posture puts on the body.

Something that we all should know is that there are many forms of poor posture. “Hunch back” also known as Thoracic Kyphosis is not the only one. A common mistake of people who may try to correct their posture is called “Sway Back” or Lumbar Lordosis. This is almost an over correction from the hunch back. And then there is also the forward head posture, which is gaining in popularity. This is what I like to call the “Modern world posture,” resulting from bending our necks to use computers, cell phones, and TV’s (you’ve probably seen news stories or articles about just this).

There are several health benefits to good posture as well. It increases balance, improves blood flow to body organs, increases range of motion, and prevents a multitude of chronic aches and pains that stem from sustained misuse of the muscles and joints. And this is just to name a few benefits. From an outer standpoint, correcting a slouched posture can take years off of a person’s appearance.

So next time you feel “slouched”, just think of lifting your sternum (chest) up towards the ceiling. This forces the shoulders back and opens up the diaphragm.

If you have any ongoing aches and pains and would like to book a massage, please feel free to give Adica Massage Clinic a call. We offer a variety of different types of massages including: therapeutic massage, deep tissue massage, couple’s massage and even pregnancy massage.