Can’t help slouching at your desk on the daily? It’s not too late to save your posture!
With a massive shift in work spaces and locations over the last few years, ergonomics has gone out the window for many as they may not have the resources to purchase the products needed to safely work at a home desk all day and/or perhaps are now working from around the globe in various setups (some great, some not so great). When not on video calls, some of our clients and patients have mentioned they are lounging on the couch or sitting on a comfy chair to do their work, often in an ultimately uncomfortable and sedentary position.
As another example, let's talk about educators and parents for a moment. These individuals spend their days guiding our youth to be the leaders of the future - regularly leaning over to work with a smaller being, working on a computer/tablet as well, preparing, carrying out and cleaning up activities, often forgetting to hydrate while being asked a million questions a day and quite literally being pulled in multiple directions. It's easy to see how one may forget to think about alignment from time to time.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to poor posture and the ripple effect it has on the rest of the body. It takes time for the body to shift and "humps" often appear over the years from poor posture, stress and fatigue. Although the speed of reversing poor posture does vary for each person, the good thing is it can be done.
What is Kyphosis?
It’s primarily forward head posture and hyper-extension of the upper neck region. It creates fatty deposit tissues at the base of the neck into the thoracic area of the spine and also results in loss of natural curvature of the spine. Let us remember that each nerve is connected to specific functions of the body, and once a nerve is under stress with altered posture or a subluxation, so is everything that nerve is connected to.
Like everything with the physical body, if one area is affected, it can affect the structural integrity of other parts of the body, like a sunken chest that results in shallow breath.
What can you do to reverse the effects of poor posture and kyphosis?
1. Stay hydrated
This tip is simple. Not only is drinking water good for you, staying hydrated means you’ll be getting up more often to walk to the bathroom - a win-win!
2. Exercise regularly, do some yoga and/or Pilates (both very effective, especially with seasoned practitioners)
Outside of professional help, the biggest way to prevent and reverse the effect is to practice good posture. Exercise, yoga and Pilates benefit the body in many ways, including retraining and strengthening weak muscles, improving endurance and increasing flexibility.
3. Use calendar reminders to check in with your posture
You could also add reminders in your work calendar every 15 or 30 minutes or so to ask how you’re sitting, one to perhaps take a quick break and do some stretching, and others to make sure you’re getting enough water.
4. Chiropractic care and massage therapy
You may be wondering, how does massage therapy and chiropractic adjustments help neck hump/kyphosis? After an assessment is made to address the kyphosis, as well as other concerns, a treatment plan is put into place for both in-person treatments as well as at-home care.
Massage therapy and chiropractic care helps to:
Increase the circulation of blood to tight muscles in the neck
Relieve pain and muscle tension in the area itself, as well as other areas affected in the body
Encourage the body back to proper spinal alignment, range of motion and muscle balance
Reduce inflammation
Reduce the degeneration of the spine
More severe cases may require additional and intensive correction. It’s best to get ahead of the curve.
Disclaimer: This blog post is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. The content provided is for informational purposes only. Use of the content provided on this blog post is at your sole discretion.