Most of us had good, balanced posture when we were toddlers. We held our little heads directly over our bodies and had nice curves in our lower back.
But, then…we went to school and sat on furniture that didn’t fit us. Sometimes we had to sit for hours at a time instead of running around using all of our muscles.
That’s part of the problem. We stopped using all of our muscles.
Most of us use only the same 60 or so. Since we have over 600 muscles, that means we use only about 10% instead of 100%. That gets us “out of balance.” This creates poor posture and back pain.
Or, maybe you continued using most of your muscles but in ways that caused some to be much stronger than others. Your posture might look pretty good but still you feel strain and pain in your back. That’s a clue that your posture isn’t balanced. This causes back pain.
What causes poor posture?
When you hold your head and arms in front of your body for most of the day, like most of us do, the muscles in the front of your body get short. They pull, or round, your shoulders forward. They pull your head forward and down and make your chin stick out.
When your back muscles get weak because you’re not flexing (strengthening) them, they get overstretched and strained. Instead of holding you upright, your weak back muscles let your spine round at the top and you lose the curve in your low back, too.
Then what happens?
Your bones are the support system for your body.
When your posture gets weak, or collapses, your poor muscles start acting as bones to hold you up. Your muscles are straining to hold your heavy head up while gravity is pulling it down. (Remember why? Because your head has moved in front of your body instead of being held directly over it.)
So what can I do?
There are several natural things you can do to improve your posture and get rid of your back pain.
1. Assess your posture. Have Continue reading “How Poor Posture Causes Low Back Pain & How To Fix It”
