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signs of poor posture

Signs you have poor posture

Are your shoulders slumped?

This is probably the symptom that most people will think of when they think of poor posture.  If you can move your shoulders back so that your chest isn’t leaning downwards right now, it’s a sign of poor posture.

Does your head tilt forwards?

If your head is used to being further forward than the rest of your body, then it’s highly likely that you will be putting pressure on your neck, which will cause you to have bad posture.

Is one shoulder higher than the other?

If, when you relax your muscles and look in the mirror, you can see that one shoulder is higher than the other; one side of your body is likely to be stronger and more dominant.  This is common in people who carry a shoulder bag, laptop bag or sports bag over one shoulder every day.

Are your feet flat?

If the arches in your feet have collapsed so that the middle section of your foot comes into contact with the ground when you stand, this is a sign of poor posture which is likely to put pressure on joints like your knees and ankles.

How to test your posture

To test whether your body is suffering the effects of poor posture, there are a couple of exercises you can do, both of which only require a wall.

  1. Stand against a wall with your feet about six inches apart, ensuring that your head, shoulders and bottom are touching the wall. Reach behind you with one hand to touch your lower back, and with the other, touch the back of your neck.  If you have one or two inches of space between those areas and the wall, your posture is good.  If you’re much further away, or if your neck and lower back already touch the wall, then adjust the way you’re standing to improve your posture.
  2. Stand with your feet around 6 inches apart, but this time with your back and head against the wall. Lift your arms out to the front so that they’re horizontal and move them up towards the wall, with the aim of touching the wall with your wrists.  If you can’t do this, or if you have to arch your back in order to touch the wall, then it’s a sign that you have poor posture.

Things that can create poor posture

Things you could be doing which will negatively affect your posture, include:

  • Consistently using the same hand to do the same action e.g. lifting a bucket when washing the car
  • Slouching
  • Leaning on one leg
  • Hunching over (e.g. whilst sending text messages)
  • Only using one arm to carry shopping
  • Only using one shoulder to hang a bag from
  • Leaning around a computer screen to talk to someone

Ergonomic assessments

These are only a few examples of things you might be doing which could cause you to have poor posture.  The good news is that most of the time, if you correct your posture before it becomes a more serious musculoskeletal problem, you will find that posture-related aches and pains will go away.

At Positura, we have decades of experience in chiropractic, which lends itself to recognising what is affecting your posture and helps with identifying how to fix the problem.  To find out whether your posture is negatively affecting you at work, at home or in the car, call me for a specialist ergonomic assessment.

To book an ergonomic assessment, contact Tracy on: 07794 311201 or email info@positura.uk.