Growing up my mother always used to say to me, “Hold up your back” because I slouched. You would think that going to ballet classes would have helped. It didn’t. Years later I was still slouching or hunched over my keyboard as I was typing. My fiance used to be on my case. He scolded me every time he saw me slouching. He said that I had a muscle in the middle of my back which should not be there. And it’s no wonder that I have back problems.
Well, my back problem didn’t actually start because of my slouching. It happened one summer when I was in London with my mother. I was going down or up some steps (I can’t remember which) and I stumbled. I reached down and tried to break my fall. I must have done something to my back because it hurt so much that we had to go into a church so that I can sit down and rest. I should have had it checked then.
After that incident, my back ached periodically when I stood too long or when I went shopping. It felt as if a weight was pressing into it. I had my doctor check it and there wasn’t anything wrong–that he could find. It has gotten better now. It aches now and then.
Last night I thought about what bad posture does to women and decided that I would find out.
Bad posture creates a number of conditions that result from pulling on neck, shoulder and back muscles. The downward motion created from poor posture pulls throat, abdominal and even leg muscles. Good posture that aligns the shoulders with the hips minimizes stress on the joints and connective tissues in the legs and hips and enables the body to operate at maximum efficiency.
Bad posture not only creates a poor silhouette, it can cause additional problems such as back pain, headaches and TMJ disorder. Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorder, also called TMJ, is a condition that causes pain in the jaw. Chiropractors at Chiroeco report that poor posture can lead to a hunched back and create breathing difficulties since the diaphragm doesn’t have enough room to expand. Muscles that tire easily from supporting the back can lead to increased fatigue. Additionally, poor posture makes women look older (http://www.livestrong.com/article/90412-bad-posture-women/#ixzz1F08TGdny).
These are the problems. Now what are the solutions? I came across another website which tells you in detail how to correct your posture. It gives you a test to figure out if you have a good posture. How you stand, sleep, sit is very important. Read more http://www.elegantwoman.org/correcting-bad-posture.html
Ladies, it’s time for us to stop slouching and to stand tall. Not only would this be good for our posture but also for our health.
