Poor posture is an incredibly common issue in our society, and it’s a problem that is often overlooked and undertreated. Bad posture habits are unlikely to cause severe pain overnight, but left unchecked, it can lead to worsening back pain or problems for related areas like your hips, knees and shoulders. At OrthoRehab Specialists, we have a team of specialists dedicated to postural restoration therapy, and we can help correct underlying postural problems so that you can move more comfortably and restore a more natural spinal alignment.
Causes Of Poor Posture
Most people don’t assume that they have bad posture, but there’s a good chance that you have an unhealthy spinal alignment for a portion of your day. While it’s certainly possible to have healthy posture during these activities, it’s very easy for a person to hunch forward or slouch in their chair when they are performing activities such as:
- Driving in a vehicle
- Working an office job
- Using a cell phone
- Working on a laptop or computer
- Watching television
If you work an office job or live a sedentary lifestyle, you’re at an elevated risk for posture problems, and it’s not just your neck and back that suffer. Aside from back pain, unmanaged posture problems can contribute to lung and respiratory issues, poor blood circulation and increased stress on your hip and knee joints as these areas are forced to take on greater stress to manage the inefficient load bearing within the spinal column.
And while you can strive to make adjustments when you notice that you have poor spinal posture, many people end up eventually falling back into bad habits. Instead of trying to sit up straight when you notice yourself slouching, you should work to correct the underlying issue, which is typically a muscular weakness or muscular imbalance issue. The best way to do this is with the help of a postural restoration program.
Postural Restoration Physical Therapy
If you connect with a physical therapist in hopes of correcting postural issues or problems that are rooted in spinal misalignment, one of the first things they’ll do is a physical assessment. They’ll have you sit, stand and move around a little to see how your spine responds to different stress patterns and motions. They’ll also ask you about your daily activities, your work duties and the types of symptoms you are experiencing. All of this information helps them understand what’s going on in your spine and which areas require their attention.
From there, your postural rehabilitation physical therapist will go to work curating a program tailored to your specific needs, deficits and goals. This program will be specific to the individual and the issues they are facing, but oftentimes they will include similar aspects, like:
- Strength Training – Targeting specific muscle groups that are weak can help the spine endure more stress and more easily hold itself in a correct alignment.
- Muscular Balancing – Sometimes the issue is less about muscle weakness and more about strength imbalances between connected systems in and around the spinal column. Your PT will work to restore balance to these muscle groups so that these muscle systems can work better as a whole.
- Soft Tissue Pliability – When muscles, ligaments and tendons lose some of their natural flexibility, our spinal column can become stiffer and more rigid, which can contribute to posture misalignment. Gentle stretching and flexibility training can help restore elasticity in these tissues and make it easier for your spine to handle the stress you put on it.
- Alignment Coaching – Many people also find it incredibly helpful to have a professional show them exactly how correct spinal positioning feels when they are seated, standing or moving. We can show you how your body should be positioned and how to shift your spine into the right alignment during the activities you perform most so that you understand how to make corrections on your own when you’re not at the clinic.
By treating the underlying muscle or structural issue, we work to treat the root cause. Treatments that target the symptoms can give the appearance of relief, but oftentimes will lead to a resurgence of symptoms down the road, which is why it’s so important to help clients treat the true underlying issue. Let us help identify and correct the problems contributing to your postural problems. For more information, or for help with a different physical issue, reach out to the team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.