In today’s hectic world, living a pain-free life is a big challenge. It’s easier to achieve your professional goals when compared to maintaining a healthy body. We take out time for everything but fail to give that much-needed attention to our body, which is why we face a lot of physical and mental health complications these days. Some of the most common health issues that you face these days are caused by poor posture, a condition that affects a large number of people across the world.
And the worst part is that even after knowing that you have a poor posture you do not take any important action until you actually start facing its severe consequences.
Poor posture is a serious problem and you need to take every possible action to fix it if you want to improve the quality of your life.
Here are some of the important consequences of poor posture on your body.
Shoulder Pain
One of the most common health problems that are caused by poor posture is shoulder pain. However, when you struggle with it you take a variety of treatments without giving much attention to what exactly is causing it. Yes, identifying the root cause of any problem is the first step in seeking right treatment for it. Therefore, when you struggle with shoulder pain, and you do not know that it’s caused by poor posture, perhaps you will never be able to fix your problem effectively. You may get a temporary solution for it, but your pain will come back after sometime.
Therefore, it’s crucial to address the primary cause of health condition to recover from it quickly, and the same applies to shoulder pain which is caused by poor posture. Sitting in a slouched position for a long time on your desk can put undue stress on your shoulders, so you must sit up straight. In addition to that, you must keep on changing your position frequently.
Remember, the human body is designed to make frequent movements, therefore leading a not so physically active lifestyle can lead to a lot of problems.
Back & Neck Pain
Poor posture also remains one of the primary reasons for back and neck pain, which can restrict an individual’s mobility to a great extent. Most of the people, when they struggle with a back pain or neck pain they take painkillers to feel better, which is actually not the right way to deal with them. You should ask your healthcare professional to figure out their actual cause so that you can seek a treatment that can offer a permanent solution to your problem. For example, if you talk particularly about back pain, you can consult a skilled physical therapist for healing it.
According to STAR Physical Therapy, “Back Pain is the most common musculoskeletal injury in the US. 61% of adult Americans have suffered back pain. Of those, 69% felt that it has affected their daily lives. The good news is that most cases of low back pain will respond well to conservative, proven treatments such as physical therapy.”
As in the case of shoulders, slouching also puts a lot of stress on your back and neck, which eventually leads to a variety of health complications. To stay away from conditions like back pain and neck pain, it’s important for you to take care of your spine and maintain its natural curve.
However, prolonged slouching puts a lot of stress on your spine, which eventually leads to back pain and neck pain. So, if you spend a lot of time sitting on your desk at the office, make sure that you keep on changing your position frequently. Also, make sure that you sit up straight. No matter how many times your parents and friends have asked you to sit up straight, but you have failed to give that much-needed attention to it.
One of the biggest problems with us is that we do not take any advice seriously, and only end up realizing about it when we confront a serious problem. Therefore, if your loved ones’ give you an advice make sure that you follow it effectively. At least the one that is offered by your parents, because they always want to see you in good health.
Again, don’t take painkillers to subside your pain, because that’s not the ultimate solution to the problem.
Poor Digestion
Poor posture also leads to digestive problems, therefore you must take important steps immediately to fix it. Your digestive organs are badly affected by slouching, so they affect the digestion process. In short, poor posture hampers the functioning of your digestive organs, which eventually slows down the digestive process. According to experts, long-term compression of these vital organs can reduce body’s capability to eat and process food, which can eventually give rise to a variety of other health problems.
Cardiovascular Problems
According to experts, people with poor posture confront way too many cardiovascular complications, when compared to those with a better posture. Yes, people who sit all day in a slouched position face a lot of chances of suffering from cardiovascular complications. And the worst part is that prolonged slouching also reduces a person’s life expectancy.
Poor Circulation
Poor posture obviously leads to poor circulation, which then leads to a number of health conditions. For example, if you are suffering from a knee injury or a shoulder injury, you will find it hard to recover from it, if you are struggling with poor circulation. Yes, poor circulation reduces your body’s ability to provide necessary nutrients to injured tissues and muscles which is why it takes a lot of time for them to recover from the injury.
Stress & Depression
Bad posture increases the levels of cortisol in your body, which eventually lead to stress. Yes, cortisol is a stress hormone, and its level increases in your body due to poor posture. Your failure to tackle stress effectively can lead to depression, which is one of the worst mental conditions. Yes, depression can have an enormous impact on a person’s personal, professional and social lives, so it’s better to seek accurate treatment for it. People struggling with depression experience a reduction in their productivity at the workplace, and find them struggling with a lot of chaos and confusions at home. Depression is a condition, wherein an individual loses’ interest in daily activities because they feel depressed all the time. They can neither focus on the work at hand nor they can plan their future effectively. In short, they are caught in a condition wherein they don’t feel like doing anything with interest, which derails their life completely in the absence of a right treatment.
Tension Headaches
Tension headaches are also caused largely by poor posture. Perhaps that’s the reason people who live a very hectic work life wherein they have to sit on their desk all day, struggle with frequent episodes of tension headaches.
Here’s How To Fix Poor Posture
Physical therapy is one of the best ways to improve poor posture. Consult a good physical therapist in your area, who has years of experience in treating musculoskeletal conditions and the pain and discomfort caused by them. They will improve your awareness about the correct sitting position, which will eventually help in improving your posture. In short, they will teach you several effective techniques to improve the way you sit and walk. In addition to that, they will include a wide range of low-impact exercises in your treatment plan to improve your posture and flexibility. Apart from that, if you are struggling with a condition like stress and depression, your physical therapist will use techniques like massage therapy and aquatic therapy to reduce levels of cortisol in your body, which will eventually offer a great relief to you.
You can also start your own exercise routine at home to improve your posture.