Posture!

Mirror, mirror on the wall…who has the best posture of them all? Every day when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we look at our posture. Our posture, whether good or bad, is the window to our health. As part of my daily life, I enjoy looking at people’s posture. Depending on his/her posture, I am enlightened to the health of the patient.
Historically, poor posture has been associated with a variety of health-related conditions. Research shows the relation to posture and general health (1).
Another researched study also suggested that poor posture was associated with many pathological processes and that good posture could prevent disease processes (2).
As part of the current technology, our office uses a posture analysis (called Toes 2 Nose), which uses a digital camera to take a “snapshot” of your posture. Major spinal deviations in your posture are then identified, and the proper corrective exercise program is given to the patient to correct his/her imbalances. Better posture means better health, less fatigue, and builds resistance to infection (3).
The research shows that proper posture decreases the susceptible athlete to injury (4-8), while improving performance. The ability to maintain proper muscle tone requires a nervous system free of interference. Restoration of tone is dependent upon correction of vertebral subluxations. The beauty of this machine is that it incorporates modern technology with two basic principles:
1. The body is self healing and self-regulating;
2. The nervous system is the master controller of the body.
Incomplete as this summary may be, it strongly suggests that aberrant posture may adversely affect health-related quality of life (9).
Better posture is for everyone. It will allow you to live your life to the fullest, and open the window to your health.

References
1. Jenness ME: “The role of thermography and postural movement in structural diagnosis.” In: Goldstein M (ed): “The Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy.” DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 76-998. 1975.
2. Kuhns JG: “Diseases of posture.” Clin Orthop 1962;25:64.
3. Garner JR: “Posture and fatigue.” International Journal of Medicine and Surgery 1932 (Jan);45:27.
4. Watson AWS: “Sports injuries related to flexibility, posture, acceleration, clinical defects, and previous injury, in high-level players of body contact sports.” Int J Sports Med 2001;22:222.
5. Shambaugh JP, Lein A, Herbert JH: “Structural measures as predictors of sports injury in basketball players.” Med Sci Sports Exercise 1991;23:522.
6. Powers CM, Maffucci R, Hampton S: “Rearfoot posture in subjects with patello-femoral pain.” J Orth Phys Ther 1995;22:155.
7. Watson AWS: “Sports injuries in footballers related to defects in posture and body mechanics.” J Sports Phys Med Fitness 1995;35:289.
8. Cowan DN, Jones BH, Frykman PN: “Lower limb morphology and risk overuse of injury among male infantry trainees.” Am J Sports Med 1996;24:945.
9. Chiropractic Journal. June 2001.
10. Gray’s Anatomy. P.54.


For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.