Breaking Bad Posture with Chiropractic Care
Do you ever get home after a long day with neck pain, back
pain, or a headache? The good news is that the great majority of back and neck
pain is not due to serious disease, but instead is mechanical in nature. In
other words, something in the spine is not physically functioning right and it
is causing your pain. In chiropractic practice, patients often ask “why does it
hurt?” or “why does that vertebra keep slipping out of alignment?” This is
because gravity is constantly acting on you, and if your posture is not up to
snuff, it will get the best of you. Let’s look at an average daily routine to
see what you are up against.
The alarm goes off at 6:30 and you roll out of bed with a
stiff back. If you look back at your mattress and there is a you-shaped divot,
this is the first place to look to improve your posture. Although it never
seems like you get enough sleep, you spend enough time in that bed to do some
damage to your neck and back if they aren’t getting the support you need while
you catch your Z’s.
After you get ready, it’s off to work. The national average
for commute time is about 26 minutes. How does the average person spend that
time? Sitting. You sit in your car, the bus, the train, perhaps even your bike
for 26 minutes to and from work. Next time you are commuting, take note of how
you are holding yourself. Are your
shoulders hiked up next to your ears? Are you slouching? Is your seat pushed
too far back for you to sit up straight? Car seats very commonly exacerbate low
back pain.
You finally arrive at work only to go and sit at your desk
the rest of the day. Even if you don’t sit, you most likely will be standing
all day. Either way your back and neck will not like it. You spend a tremendous
amount of time at work and gravity is acting on you and your spine the entire
time. Are you fighting back?
Five o’clock hits and you head home to eat dinner and curl
up on your overstuffed sofa to watch your favorite shows. Couches are very
deceiving because they are so big and fluffy and inviting. The problem is that
most couches provide zero support for your back and neck. They practically
swallow you whole, and your posture with you.
Repeat this cycle 5 days a week and it becomes easier to see
where the back pain, neck pain, and headaches come from. What you need is a
good therapeutic intervention and some good self-care advice. Enter
chiropractic. Your local chiropractor is highly skilled at identifying postural
faults, vertebral misalignments, and muscular imbalances that are causing your
pain. In addition, they can identify stressors in your life such as those
mentioned above that are contributing to the problem and give you
recommendations to improve your posture and ergonomics as well as stretches and
exercises to strengthen your postural muscles. As you can see above, poor
posture is a vicious cycle. Break the cycle with a trip to your chiropractor
and start feeling better today.
About the Author
Beaverton, OR Chiropractor, Dr. Kip Thompson is pleased to
bring you this article on “Breaking Bad Posture with Chiropractic Care”. If you
are interested, feel free to check out Dr. Thompson’s website at
http://www.catalystchiroandrehab.com/.
AND IF YOU ARE IN THE LAS VEGAS AREA:
SCHEDULE TO SEE DR. TED FOR A FREE SPINAL CONSULTATION
THE NECK AND BACK CLINIC
825 S. 7th STREET
LAS VEGAS, NV 89101
(702)-256-8080
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