What does your family's posture look like?
Remember when people used to visit your school and do a scoliosis check? It used to be a common occurrence, and I think it's something we should bring back. With all of the latest research showing an even greater link between posture and wellness, monitoring your family's posture has never been more important.
Postural problems are also becoming more prevalent. We spend more time seated at work, watching TV, slumped in a couch, driving a car, sitting at school or playing computer games than ever before. The lack of movement and poor ergonomics created by these activities is wreaking havoc on our posture, and as a result on our spines and nervous systems. One study of healthy 20-50 year olds showed that 66% had forward head posture and 38% had an increased curvature in their mid-spines.
How can I check my family's posture?
It's easy. Start with them facing towards you. Now check their ear heights (use the bottom of their ear lobes), their shoulder heights and their hip heights - they should be level and parallel. If one ear, shoulder or hip is higher than the other, it may indicate a postural or spinal problem.
Now look at your family members from side-on. Find a vertical line (like a door frame) that you can line them up against, and allow a metre or two of space between yourself and the person you are checking. Now draw an imaginary line from the middle of their ear, to the point of their shoulder, to their hip, to their knee, to just in front of their ankle joint. Once again, these should line up. Due to our modern lifestyles you will often find people's shoulders forward and rounded, and even more so, people's heads and necks poking forward.
Ok, so my family's posture could be better. What can I do about it?
Well, there are a number of things that you need to consider in order to improve your family's posture. Firstly, what are the stressors that are causing your postures to be distorted in the first place? Are you sitting in poor posture at work? Are you doing repetitive, one-sided activities that are causing stress on your spine? Are you anxious, causing excessive tension between your shoulderblades? Have a close look at what activities might be contributing to your family's poor posture and minimise those stressors as much as possible.
Next, you will need to look at what your bodies require in order to maintain good posture - the most important thing is proper movement and proper stability. When it comes to exercise, it is not just the amount of movement that is important, but the quality of movement.
If you are being restricted due to pain or lack of mobility in your spine, then it might be time to get a spinal check-up from your health care practitioner.
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I think you would agree that good maintenance is necessary for long term restoration. Please check out the PostureJac as a convenient device to restore strength and mobility needed for long term change. It provides guided mobility to teach the user to internalize good posture position and instill a sense of upward mobility.
Check it out at www.posturejac.com