Body Posture
It’s no big deal to follow a correct posture while exercising if you practice maintaining the correct posture in day-to-day life. But yes, if you are not able to follow a correct posture in activities of daily living then the correct posture might become unattainable for you during exercises for instance at home or at gym. People are likely to suffer from Kyphosis.
It is a matter of discussion that why maintaining good posture is important? It is vital because it is interrelated to the quality of life. You tend to overlook small things which turns out to be very crucial and same is applicable.
The way you brush your teeth, lift any object from ground, tie your shoe laces, watch television and mobile, the way you read and write, all such everyday activities if you perform with a bad posture, it will gradually lead to deterioration of the tissues such as muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones etc.
Good vs Bad Posture
Posture is the position in which we hold our body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down. Good Posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight bearing activities.
A good posture refers to the “three natural curves present in a healthy spine.” It is also called neutral spine. The neutral spine is a “S” shaped structure due to which it acts as a natural shock absorber by evenly distributing the greatest amount of stress placed on it. This natural “S” curve provides flexibility and support to body’s weight and protects spinal cord.
I have stated in my previous blogs for example, “Importance of Protein and Amino Acids” that human body is a smart machine! You may think if it is true then why does our body let it happen? Why it doesn’t react and cure such deterioration on its own? I will first answer the last question.
Is Bad Posture Permanent?
Our body does react and tries to cure the damages happened due to bad posture. It gives you signals. To give you an example, if you are sitting in a particular position for a long period of time while operating your laptop, you feel uneasiness around your neck, chest, shoulders and back. This is the indication that that posture is not favorable.
You start stretching yourself just to relax your muscles. This is how your body tries to cure! Now comes the first part of the above question which was, if our body is a smart machine then why does it let deteriorations happen? The answer is because of adaptation. Defect in your posture doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years and years when you project yourself in a bad posture everyday placing unnecessary load on your systems such as muscles and bones.
The Bad Posture
The bad posture becomes the ideal posture for you due to its adaptation. You cannot even visualise that how an incorrect posture can affect your life. It can affect your tissues to such an extent that it becomes unmanageable to perform small day to day activities.
I have seen many people in gym with an abnormal posture. Their main area of concentration is lifting heavy weight or to perform cycling. They tend to miss a crucial and foremost factor that is correct positioning of the body while performing any exercise.
At Fitness Cravers Academy (FCA), we focus on the Posture as it is the base and foundation of everyone’s life.
Let me explain some common bad postures with the solutions to correct them
Kyphosis or Forward neck posture:
Activities such as working on laptop, watching television, chatting on mobile are some of the examples contributing to Postural Kyphosis or forward neck posture.
Kyphosis is an excessive posterior curvature of the spine commonly occurring in thoracic region. It gives a “humpback” appearance. Head seems further forward than the rest of the body.
The neck usually stays in hyperextension due to which lengthening of neck flexors make them weak and neck extensors become tight. In a layman language, it means that the front muscles of the neck get stretched, weak or lengthened while the opposite group of muscles at the back of the neck are shortened or tight.
How To Fix Bad Posture?
Stretching of the back muscles of the neck and strengthening of front muscles of neck. Flexion of neck with hold of minimum 15 seconds at end range, isometric contraction of neck flexors with 15 seconds hold, isotonic exercises
Kyphosis or Forward Shoulder Position:
Kyphosis or Forward shoulder position/ rounded shoulders: The reason of its occurrence can be any of the above mentioned examples. Here, shoulders are in protracted position to which we also call, “rounded shoulders.” Due to such forward shoulder position, tightening of chest muscles and weakening of back muscles take place.
People having this posture find it difficult to lie in bed or on a bench effectively. One has to struggle to touch his or her upper back to the bench. I must tell you that in chronic cases, the upper back and the back of their head remain untouched by the bench.
How To Fix Bad Posture?
Strengthening of upper back muscles and stretching of chest muscles is the foremost solution.
A person having a bad posture should not only perform strength exercises but also the stretching exercises in order to balance forces produced by the muscles. One has to be very careful as it requires knowledge, experience and skills to assess & treat people with bad posture. The situation may get worse if not handled proficiently.
This blog will help you to a great extent in correcting your posture but it is just finding a needle in the desert. Because there are loads of things that needs to be explored and I will try my level best to share my knowledge with you.
To really want to dive into the depth of the posture, here at FCA we offer courses comprising in depth knowledge with practical applications which enable you to handle such situations efficiently.
