50+ Lifestyles

Why “Posture”

By Logan Anderson, BA, CPT, CIFT
Owner of All Strong Fitness LLC

When was the last time you thought to yourself, “I need to work on my posture.” For me, I think of this almost daily. The idea that my posture is wrong and needs to be fixed has been instilled into myself, and likely many others since youth. “Stand up straight, don’t slouch, shoulders back,” sounds all too familiar. Unfortunately, posture is often misunderstood and oversimplified. Let’s take a look at why this is.

For starters, I am by no means saying that posture is unimportant. Having good posture will likely improve the integrity of your joints as you age, and also improve your confidence as you hold yourself and move through life. The issue is that it’s hard to truly recognize what a “good” posture really is. If you ask 100 different doctors, health professionals, or people on the street, their ideas of a “good” posture are all very different. This is simply because there is no good consensus on what a good posture truly is. One person’s “good” posture is another person’s “bad” posture. It’s an extremely subjective ruling that can lead to some psychological issues to the person looking at their posture. Being told “your bad posture is causing your pain,” can cause someone to fixate on every single “bad” posture they get into. The truth is your “bad posture” may or may not be related to your pain. The truth is, your “bad posture” is only deemed bad by the person who has looked at it. The truth is, your “bad posture” is to some degree genetic. The good thing is that when looking at the human body, we are able to move and participate in a variety of different activities. Some of these movements may put you in a “bad” posture, while some put you in “good” posture. As a human, your body can adapt to an abundance of different positions. This is great, because without this adaptation, any posture would cause pain and injury. One of the things that should be considered greatly is the length of time spent in these specific postures. Yes, slouching in your chair for the entire day, or walking around with your shoulders forward could cause issues over time. Remember that this is highly related to the length of time spent in these positions, and not that the positions themselves are inherently dangerous for a short amount of time.

In the end, realizing that posture is very subjective, and dependent on an arbitrary set of rules by the person examining you is important. This realization allows you to not forget about your posture, but realize it is much more complicated than good or bad. Still aim to stand up straight, not slouch, and bring your shoulders back. In doing this, understand that these are one of numerous postures your body can handle, and that a little slouch, bend, or curve in your body won’t destine you to a life of misery and pain.

For more information please contact Logan Anderson, owner of All Strong Fitness LLC. He can be reached at (563) 210-3701 or by email: allstrongfitnessllc@gmail.com.