Throughout your childhood, you most likely heard the words, “sit up straight!” from the nagging voice of your parents, grandparents, teachers or siblings. As irritating as it was, maybe they had a good reason for the demand. Good posture can not only help you to feel and appear more confident and poised, but it can also help you to avoid a host of uncomfortable health issues. Here is a list of seven health issues that may arise from bad posture.
Digestive issues
When you constantly slouch, your internal organs become compressed and cannot function properly. This may slow down the rate at which food can move through the body, which leads to constipation in the short term. In the long term, poor posture may negatively and permanently alter the metabolism.
Inflamed arthritis
Bad posture often causes a misalignment of some of the vital joints and can put extra strain on joints like the knees or spine. This pressure may lead to an increase in the pain and damage associated with those joints and can aggravate the effects of arthritis.
Poor circulation
When you sit all day slumping over a desk, you are cutting your body off from proper circulation. This may lead to varicose and spider veins, those unsightly and sometimes painful knots of swollen purplish-blue veins.
Back pain
One of the most obvious but most common symptoms of bad posture is chronic back pain, caused by the extra pressure on the spine or disc degeneration. Disc degeneration is caused when the disc between the vertebrae of the spine becomes worn down due to increased spinal strain.
Pinched nerves
Persistent poor posture may lead to a slight shift in the skeletal system. Since the nerves in your spine are connected to those in your hands, arms and other parts of the body, the shift in the spine may pinch the surrounding nerves. These pinched nerves may result in carpal tunnel numbness or pain in parts of the body seemingly unrelated to the spine.
Fatigue
The body’s natural posture is one that takes the least amount of energy to maintain an upright position. Bad posture puts a strain on parts of the body that are not meant to endure that kind of pressure. Thus, you may find yourself pretty worn out due to the extra work your body is doing.
Breathing problems
Breathing at the optimal level can boost brain and heart health. To breathe properly, your diaphragm needs to be fully expanded so that air can fully enter and exit the body. However, poor posture can contract the diaphragm and prevent you from getting enough oxygen.
Sources:
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/slideshows/10-ways-poor-posture-can-harm-your-health?slide=8
https://www.100percentchiropractic.com/long-term-effects-of-poor-posture/
https://www.bustle.com/p/7-unexpected-sources-of-stress-you-may-not-know-to-look-out-for-according-to-experts-9765767
https://www.bicrad.com/blog/spine-health-5-negative-effects-of-bad-posture
