What’s so terrible about having poor posture? Sure, your slouchy presence may not present the most poised person, but besides that, not standing up straight could create a domino effect on your health. Your posture can say a lot about you—it speaks to your personality and says a lot about how your muscles and joints are working. How you feel and look is directly related to your posture. In fact, proper posture ensures that our bodies function properly.
Poor posture can impact and cause:
- Bad circulation
- Chronic shoulder, neck and back pain
- Chronic fatigue
- Herniated disc
- Misalignment in your body
- Limit your range of motion
So how do you know if you have poor posture? Here’s a quick test to check yourself:
- Stand up and put the back of your head and back against a wall
- Place your heels about 6 inches from the wall
- Your shoulder blades and buttocks should be touching the wall
- Now it’s time to perform the poor posture test: there should be less than 2 inches between your neck or the small of the back and the wall
- If there is a larger gap, it may indicate poor posture and a curving spine
Perfect Your Poor Posture
Standing up straight and correcting your poor posture can also correct any lower back pain, neck pain and help prevent varicose veins. Eliminating poor posture may feel awkward at first because your body has become so used to standing and sitting in a certain way. But with practice, proper posture will become second nature and will greatly impact your long-term health for the better. Ready to get started? The Greatist’s Ultimate Guide to Good Posture has some amazing tips to start improving yours today.
