When it comes to your posture, having good, healthy, straight posture can be life changing. Poor posture can affect your quality of life from your physical health and your mental health. While bad posture affects a large amount of the population, we do actually have complete control over our posture. Many people, without even realising, slouch, slump, hunch, or lean. Especially in the digital era and remote working, many people have very bad posture sitting at their desk. This posture can lead to a lot of back pain and discomfort as people grow older.
But with the help of a chiropractor in Bristol, you can slow down the long term effects of poor posture and have some instant relief from the discomfort as well.
Consequences of Bad Posture
If you have bad posture, you’ll want to go visit a Bristol chiropractor. But some people might be wary of spending the money on visiting a professional. However, the long term effects of bad posture might, The main consequence is back pain. Your body craves its natural balance, and if you’re regularly sitting in an unbalanced way will lead to bad posture which leads to pain. We tend to fall into patterns of placing our bodies under unnatural stress – such as on the pelvis, neck, back, knees, hips, and shoulders.
Besides pain, bad posture can lead to poor circulation, digestive problems, lung problems, and spinal misalignment.As you age, these problems will get even worse unless you work on our posture at home or see a chiropractor in Bristol.
How to Work on Your Posture at Home
While visiting a chiropractor in Bristol is recommended, first we’ll give you some tips on how to improve and maintain your posture at home. While it’s easy to let your shoulders hunch forward, and then slouch your pelvis back compared to sitting up straight with the natural curve of your lower back and your shoulders pushed back. There are some people who have poor posture due to things like excessive weight, weak muscles to support your body, self-esteem issues that lead people to make themselves smaller.
But here are some ways you can work on your posture at home.
Avoid slouching and straighten up
Stand tall, and consider how you’re sitting at your desk. Not only are you squishing your organs in unnatural ways that make it harder to breathe and pump blood, you’re stressing your muscles, joints, and bones.
Avoid the ‘Text Neck’
Looking down at your phone all day really strains your neck. Take time to stretch it throughout the day. Also ensure you hold the phone higher more often. This can also be said for laptops, and looking down at them instead of a proper monitor and desk set up.
Save Heels for a Big Night Out
While heels are very stylish, they’re really bad for your posture. Try to avoid wearing them everyday, which is a bit easier with work from home. And save them for the night out. If you’re keen to wear a higher shoe consider platform bottoms that are even but elevated.
Remember Your Posture Even When You Sleep
Choose a firm mattress that holds your natural shape. If you can, sleep on your back with a small one under the neck. But if you’re a side sleeper, bend your knees slightly and try to put pillows between your knees and arms to keep them even.
Work on Your Core
This is crucial, your core and abs balance on your hold body. Consider where your pelvic is compared to the rest of your spine. Your body curves naturally when you have too much weight around your stomach and not a strong core.
Work With a Bristol Chiropractor
When you work with a Bristol chiropractor they can help you determine the root of your bad posture and pain. Some of the things your chiropractor will look for include:
- Height variance across your shoulders.
- A forward tilt in the pelvis.
- Alignment in your knees.
- Stance variations like turning one or both feet outward.
- Changes in your normal gait.
- An increase in your spinal curvature.
Once the root is found, your chiropractor can treat you at their clinic with spinal adjustment, but also give you an at home treatment plan, that will include sleeping positions, sitting at desks, and working out your core, to help you alleviate the pain and slowly solve the issues.
Call us today to perfect your posture and rid yourself of the pain.