Did you know that, over time, poor posture can change the anatomical structure of your spine. Just like a young sapling, correct support and bracing provides opportunity for strong trunk growth. But what does poor posture look like? And if you have it, what can be done with it? Chiropractic care is your best solution. We are excited to be hearing from Dr. Pawan Jit again, our head chiropractor at Body Works Pickering.
There are different factors that we have to take into consideration when we’re talking about posture. The two main types of posture problems are anatomical and functional. In the case of the anatomical, something in the anatomy of a patient is causing the muscles and the bones to shift or deviate into one direction. Typically, we would start with a brief assessment of a patient with this concern, to better see what the source of the problem is. We’ll discuss different causes of these factors and also look at what the patient does for a living. We’ll then look at different things that they do throughout the day, such as hobbies, house work and modes of transportation. We look at everything that they do in order to see what they’re doing with movement and how their body responds.
At this time, we might make some suggestions in terms of some devices that can help give the body support through those daily activities. This could include something as simple as an elastic support that will keep their shoulders back during desk work. Or it could be something like a foam roller which, again, that they’re able to position their back against to help reverse that hunchback look and feel.
But outside of the anatomical posture problems, there are functional problems with posture. A functional posture problem would be something where a patient is holding a prolonged position that is not natural to their body’s support system or they are allowing poor posture to develop through lazy body mechanics.
Oftentimes, a patient sitting at a computer all day will become lax about holding their head level, and will instead look down towards a screen. This in turn causes our shoulders to roll down and forward, putting a strain on the middle of the back. A lot of the muscles on the front part of their body have now begun to get really tight and our back muscles are being overstretched; all because our bodies are being very lazy! It’s a very constant tug of war that our body has with the muscles on the front side and the back side, in this case. The ones on the front get really tight, and then they get stuck and they stay there. This is where we would kind of address it via the chiropractor, the physiotherapist and the massage therapist.
As a chiropractor, what I would do is work on some adjustments for the cervical and thoracic spine to help increase the movement and restore some of the muscle function. The massage therapists at Body Works are able to work on some of these tight muscles, providing better movement in the joints. And then, when these muscles that were tight start to loosen, they’re constantly pulling on the weakened muscles on the back. We would then refer to the physiotherapist in order to strengthen those muscles on the back, which evens out that tug of war, provides balance and strengthens both sides of the torso.
All Body Works locations are near major roads and transit routes that the public can easily access! We’ve have four different locations all across Scarborough/Pickering, and each of these four different locations has physiotherapists, chiropractors, and registered massage therapists. If you are looking to experience all the benefits of a multi-disciplinary approach, reach out! Check out our contact page here or you can easily call us at 1-(866)-7PHYSIO to book for your next appointment.
