This Is How to Fix Bad Posture
Copyright 2019 Morgan Sutherland
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This report is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the author alone and should not be taken as expert instruction or commands. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions.
At times, links might be used to illustrate a point, technique, or best practice. These will reference products I have found useful, but please do your own research, make appropriate comparisons, and form your own decisions as to which products will work best for you. Links to my own website or products are used to illustrate points, because they are the examples with which I am most familiar.
Illustrations: Copyright Morgan Sutherland
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Cover image: 123RF
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
The information provided in this report is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice because of something you read in this report. Never rely on information in this report in place of seeking professional medical advice.
Morgan Sutherland is not responsible or liable for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis, other information, services, and/or products that you obtain in this book.
You are encouraged to consult with your doctor or healthcare provider with regard to the information contained in this book. After reading this book, you are encouraged to review the information carefully with your professional healthcare provider.
PERSONAL DISCLAIMER
I am not a doctor. The information I provide is based on my personal experiences and research as a licensed massage therapist. Any recommendations I make about posture, exercise, stretching, and massage should be discussed between you and your professional healthcare provider to prevent any risk to your health.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Whether youre deskbound for countless hours working on a computer, hunched over your smartphone, reading, chillaxing on a sofa, driving, or even cycling, lousy posture is inevitable.
Everybodys guilty of it, but what are the consequences?
Well, for one thing, poor posture can put unnecessary stresses on your muscles and joints, causing pain and fatigue.
Sustaining bad posture for a prolonged period can create imbalances in your body where some muscles become tight and inflexible and others weak.
This can lead to wear and tear on your joints and ligaments, creating an environment for potential injuries.
Poor posture can alter the shape of a persons spine over time and set one up for neck pain, back problems, and other aggravating conditions, such as heartburn, slowed digestion, poor balance, headaches, and breathing difficulties.
Poor posture can negatively affect your energy level, says Dr. Stacey Pierce-Talsma, an associate professor of osteopathic manipulative medicine at Touro University in Vallejo, California. The more efficient we can be in [maintaining] our good posture, movement and gait, the more we can improve our energy efficiency.
One of the most noticeable traits of bad posture is postural kyphosis, where the forward head posture accentuates a rounded, hunchback-like appearance.
It is possible to reverse this distorted hunched posture, unless it is kyphosis, which is a structural disorder and cannot be fixed without medical treatment.
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/slideshows/10-ways-poor-posture-can-harm-your-health
FORWARD HEAD POSTURE AND TEXT NECK
During any given day, a person will assume a forward head posture at least once.
This could happen when you drive your car, sit at your desk, or use your smartphone.
Sedentary lifestyles inevitably result in clocking thousands of hours, with our bodies resembling a human question markour heads jutting forward, our shoulders rounding, and our stomachs getting closer to our knees.
In todays culture, everyones plugged into some device, and this has given rise to the smartphone-related cervical spine injury referred to as text neck.
Text neck is a repetitive use injury that occurs to your upper back and neck muscles, caused by a combination of poor posture, excessive texting, and smartphone use.
Sustained forward head posture can overstretch and strain the neck muscles, leaving them feeling sore and inflamed.
One of the most common text neck symptoms is a crick in the neck and upper shoulders.
This can develop from the following.
Overstressing your neck muscles from excessive texting.
Sleeping in awkward positions.
Harshly twisting or turning your head during exercise.
Clocking hours of Quasimodo-like keyboard posture while hunching over your desk.
If left unchecked, forward head posture can potentially lead to pinched nerves, herniated disks, and even erase the necks natural curve.
Rounded shoulders typically accompany forward head postures, causing your upper back muscles to overstretch and tighten the chest muscles .
This posture can potentially compress the brachial plexus, the network of nerves that originate in the neck and feed into the armpit region and down into the arms.
A brachial plexus impingement can lead to several problems, ranging from numbness in the hands to thoracic outlet syndrome or carpal tunnel-like symptoms.
Did you know that for every inch the head moves forward in posture, it increases the weight of the head by a staggering 10 pounds? The average head weighs approximately 11 pounds.
So, with that knowledge, when a head is held forward from the shoulders by only 2 inches, it causes approximately 42 pounds of pressure on the neck and upper back muscles.
Now thats the potential for a 42-pound headache.
Yikes! Someone needs a forward head posture fix and fast.
WHAT IS UPPER CROSSED SYNDROME AND HOW TO FIX IT?
Upper crossed syndrome is a pattern of muscular imbalances and postural distortions in the head, neck, and upper shoulders.
These imbalances can occur when muscles are continuously tightened and shortened or overstretched and weakened.
This condition is given its name because an X (in other words, crossed) can be drawn across the upper body.
Specifically, the muscles at the back of the neck and shoulders (upper trapezius and levator scapulae) become incredibly tight. The muscles in the front of the neck and chest (sternocleidomastoid and the pectoralis major and minor muscles) also become tight.
