You may have heard your teachers tell you to sit up straight. Maybe you have been told that good posture makes you look confident. However, you may not realize that good posture is also critical to your overall health and well-being.
If you suffer from back pain and discomfort, you could be suffering from symptoms of poor posture. Fortunately, various physiotherapy methods are available to help improve your posture.
How Poor Posture Can Affect Your Health
According to MedlinePlus, posture refers to the way you hold your body when moving or at rest. Mayo Clinic further explains that good posture maintains the natural curvature of your spine at the neck, upper back, and lower back.
Typically, good posture orients your head over your shoulders and your shoulders over your hips—whether you’re standing, sitting, or lying down. Different postures are appropriate when you are active than when you are static.
Good posture allows your bones, muscles, joints, and internal systems to function correctly. When your posture is consistently out of alignment, you may experience health issues, including:
- Back and neck pain
- Ligament, bone, and muscle stress
- Joint pain and mobility issues
- Reduced flexibility
- Spinal degradation
- Poor balance
- Breathing and digestive problems
Left untreated, poor posture can create chronic health complications and disabilities.
Physiotherapy Can Help Your Posture
Physiotherapy takes a systemic approach to posture correction. Rather than only treating pain or discomfort in one area, a physiotherapist can work to strengthen the muscles and bones that support your body.
In addition, a posture-focused physiotherapy regimen can help you establish good habits for both active and static postural positions.
Physiotherapy Treatments That Can Correct Your Poor Posture
Physiotherapy, also known as physical therapy, encompasses a wide range of treatments. Depending on your poor posture’s source, symptoms, and severity, you could benefit from any of the following physiotherapy methods:
Resistance Training
Also known as strength training, resistance training aims to strengthen the muscles in your back, abdomen, shoulders, and other posture-related areas.
Since everyone’s body is different, your postural exercises may focus on different areas of the body. Your physiotherapist will create a specific regimen of exercises and stretches to enhance your postural support.
If your posture issues arise from another condition, such as an injury, the physiotherapist can establish a plan that addresses your symptoms as well as the underlying issue.
Spinal Manipulation
Spinal manipulation promotes spinal alignment. A licensed chiropractor uses focused thrusts to adjust your spinal joints, which can ultimately help alleviate pain and enhance mobility.
Massage Therapy
To treat pain and discomfort associated with poor posture, a licensed and trained massage therapist applies manual pressure to the muscles and soft tissues in the affected areas.
Massage therapy loosens tense muscles after resistance training and spinal manipulation. It promotes circulation and healing while reducing nerve compression and enhancing the range of motion and flexibility.
Electrical Stimulation
Electrical stimulation (ES) therapy uses a low-level electromagnetic current to reduce pain and promote healing.
How Better Posture Improves Your Quality of Life
Good posture maintains your natural spinal curvature, which keeps your entire musculoskeletal system in alignment. Going through physiotherapy to improve your posture can provide the following benefits:
Reduced Pain
Better alignment reduces the discomfort of compressed discs and pinched nerves. You can avoid neck pain caused by slouching or craning forward. Similarly, you reduce the potential for lower back pain from sitting at a desk or being on your feet all day.
Improved Mobility and Flexibility
When you build muscle, you can move your joints more easily. Joints that are properly aligned exhibit less wear on the cartilage, connective tissue, and bones, which makes them less prone to injury.
Better Coordination
Strengthening your posture muscles gives your spine, joints, and bones the support they need to move quickly and reliably. Improving your coordination and speed via physiotherapy can help decrease your risk of slips, trips, and falls.
Better Respiratory Health
A compressed trunk from slouching and poor posture can affect your diaphragm, lungs, and ribs, so you have more difficulty breathing. Good posture allows your body to get the oxygen it needs, keeps your lungs healthy, and helps you ward off respiratory ailments.
Better Digestive Health
With better posture, you may find that you have fewer digestive issues such as gastritis and indigestion. When your posture is upright and your spinal column is aligned, your digestive system is not compressed, which allows it to operate in a more healthy and efficient manner.
Physiotherapy for Chronic Posture-Related Conditions
Sometimes, posture issues arise from an underlying condition such as a nerve disorder, musculoskeletal disease, or chronic health issue. Physiotherapy can help address the pain and mobility issues associated with many chronic conditions.
In addition to strengthening your postural muscles, your physiotherapist can help with:
- Arthritis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Lupus
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS)
- Stroke recovery
- Osteoporosis
- Chronic back pain
- Accident injury recovery
- Surgery rehabilitation
- Cardiorespiratory disease
- Sprains, strains, and cartilage tears
- Tendonitis
- Bone fractures
- Neurological disease
Changes to your posture due to an injury or illness can alter your musculoskeletal alignment enough to cause additional pain and discomfort. By addressing postural issues, physiotherapy treatment can reduce pressure on the spine, which can improve your mobility and reduce pain associated with your underlying condition.
At NCIC, we offer a comprehensive range of therapeutic modalities tailored to address various health conditions and injuries. Our services include cutting-edge treatments such as Infrared light therapy, which utilizes light energy to stimulate healing and reduce pain. Additionally, our practice specializes in Vestibular balance therapy, designed to improve balance and reduce dizziness or vertigo symptoms. We also provide specialized Cognitive therapy techniques aimed at enhancing cognitive function and promoting mental well-being. For those suffering from back injuries, we offer targeted Back Injury Treatment plans, incorporating chiropractic adjustments and other rehabilitative techniques to alleviate pain and restore mobility. With our multidisciplinary approach, we strive to deliver personalized care that targets the root cause of your condition and promotes overall health and wellness.
Address Your Postural Issues with Physiotherapy
At Naples Community Injury Center, we provide patients with unique treatment plans to address pain and discomfort due to poor posture. Our licensed and trained physiotherapists and chiropractors are well-versed in postural issues, their causes, and how to treat them.
No matter how complicated your condition, our team can work closely with our in-house neurosurgeon and your physician to establish the best treatment for your needs. Call us today at (239) 631-5445 to schedule an appointment.
