What is a correct posture? How to improve posture? Here's a brief guide

We do not regularly think of our posture as a fundamental part of our quality of life and we are wrong because it is as important as food and physical activity because bad posture affects us in the short and long term causing damage that leads us to surgeries or conditions Chronicles.

By having good posture, we are symmetrically and proportionally aligned with the body segments and around the axis of gravity (spine), keeping the physiological curvatures of the spine and body weight balanced without altering segmental pressures with our own weight. Before we start to define the correct posture, I recently came across a posture corrector that propels you to correct posture even if your body doesn't want to. It just makes it easier to keep your body in shape and healthy. 

What is the correct posture?

For posture we understand a position in which you keep your body in space. Good posture provides the ability to maintain a given position, whether it is erect, sitting or lying down, or performing any movement using minimal muscle contraction and tension in the ligaments.

The benefits of good posture

A good posture gets:

• Reduce fatigue, since muscles are used efficiently and therefore, the body needs less energy to move.
• Keeps bones and joints aligned properly.
• Minimizes loads on joints.
• It decreases the tension in the ligaments keeping the joints aligned.
• It prevents muscle tension and fatigue problems.
• Prevents back pain and neck pain.
• It helps increase self-esteem and makes you look more beautiful.

Maintaining proper posture should be comfortable and natural. But in the beginning, when the old posture begins to change for that more correct and functional one, our body can be affected and feel “uncomfortable” in this new position. This is normal since the muscles, ligaments and joints begin to function differently and it takes a few days, before, that you feel comfortable and relaxed in your new position.

How posture is improved?

A small piece of advice that I can give to improve your posture at this time is to start “feeling taller.” In fact, all the muscles that make you feel taller are the same muscles that improve your posture.

So when you stand: pretend to grow, try to feel taller!

• Keep your head erect with your chins slightly inwards
•  Keep your ears with your shoulders more or less in the same line
•  Keep your shoulders back
•  The knees stretched and the back straight
•  Leave your arms down in a natural way throughout the body
•  Slightly contract the abdominal muscles and try not to rotate the hip back
•  Make sure the plantar arch of the feet is in a neutral position with a minimum of space between the sole of the foot and the ground (not flat feet)
•  Distribute the weight of the body on the forefoot and not just on the heel 
• Keep your feet more or less shoulder width
•  If you have to stand and stand for a long time, move the weight of the body from one foot to another or from the heels to the tip of the foot.

How is it possible to quickly check the posture?

Stand next to a wall with your shoulders and buttocks in contact with it. In this position, the back of the head should also be in contact with the wall; If this is not possible, it means that the head is forward and not in line with the rest of the body putting the neck and shoulder muscles under tension and this could eventually lead to aches and pains.

Is it necessary to consult a specialist to improve posture?

If you can't correct your posture simply, you may have some restrictions on your joints, muscles, and ligaments. In this case, going to an osteopath is necessary to solve all the alterations that do not allow you to obtain a correct posture.

If instead you manage to put yourself in a correct posture, but you find it difficult to maintain it, then the problem may be a lack of strength and endurance at the level of postural muscles. An osteopath specialized in functional rehabilitation will be able to advise you on the best exercises to strengthen these muscles in order to easily maintain your ideal posture.

You can also use posture corrector for to keep your body in shape. Check this one the best Posture Correctors in the market.