To Your Health: Good posture = Good health
Published: Sunday, December 12, 2010
By MICHAEL QUARTARARO
AAC Family Wellness Centers
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Chiropractor Michael Quartararo
Remember Mom saying “Sit up straight”? It’s so commonly used it must be part of Basic Mom Manual 101. But the concept of good posture is common sense for anyone over the age of 18.
But what is posture?
Dictionary.com gives the following definition:
pos•ture: [pos-cher] — noun, 1. the relative disposition of the parts of something; 2. the position of the limbs or the carriage of the body as a whole.
So, posture is how different parts of the body relate to one another, resulting in good or health posture or bad and unhealthy posture. But why is this so important, especially, in children?
Good posture prevents arthritis
Good posture allows proper mechanics of the joints of the body.
A misaligned joint will not work properly. Over time, this will lead to breakdown of the joint. This process of breakdown results in arthritis or osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis with more than 20 millions Americans being affected, and the number is growing.
Common signs of osteoarthritis are thinning of the cushions in a joint (cartilage), bone spurs and restriction of joint motion. Continued...
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The more out of alignment a joint is, the more problems that joint will have. The amount of misalignment correlates with the onset and amount of arthritis/joint breakdown.
Important: Osteoarthritis is caused by joint misalignment and problems with movement. Only after this occurs can it develop. Arthritis is not a normal occurrence with age. However, once the joint is misaligned then time becomes a factor. The longer a joint works improperly the greater the incidence of breakdown/arthritis.
Other benefits of good posture
Healthy posture promotes the following:
• Healthy blood flow — Venous return of blood, or how the blood gets back to the heart, depends on the body movement. If you have poor posture, you can not move through a full range of motion and blood flow is affected.
• Muscles’ ability to contract and relax — Ever think poor posture caused those tight muscles in the shoulder/neck, mid back or lower back?
• Healthy nerve function — Did you know that 90 percent of nerve and brain activity is spent on adapting to your environment? Joints are constantly “feeding' the brain neuralgic information to help in this effort.
• Proper development of muscles, bones and nerves in children — This is why mom was so concerned about the way you sat and stood.
Other systems of the body that are influenced by posture include:
• Cardiovascular health — Rene Cailliet, the director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Southern California, concluded that forward head posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the spine. Continued...
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This can reduce lung capacity by as much as 30 percent, which can lead to heart and blood vascular disease. Caillet determined a relationship between forward head posture and the digestive system as well as endorphin production affecting pain and the experience of pain.
• Balance and coordination, bone density, life expectancy — Studies have shown posture has an influence in these areas.
Proper posture
Good posture is having head, shoulders, chest, hips/pelvis centered and level. From the side the head should be over the shoulders and the pelvis/hips should not be forward of the knees. As a chiropractor these are fundamental tools used to identify causes of problems in the body and then fix them.
It never ceases to amaze me how concerned we can be with the proper alignment or our car or of our teeth, yet miss the importance of alignment/posture and our health. After all, isn’t the most important “machine” God gave us our bodies?
Michael Quartararo has been a chiropractic wellness practitioner for 17 years in Saratoga Springs. He is the CEO and founder of AAC Family Wellness Centers, a Milton family and pediatric wellness center. He is a member of the New York State Chiropractic Council, International Chiropractic Council, International Pediatric Chiropractic Council and World Chiropractic Alliance. | He can be reached at www.aacfamilywellness.com or aacdocs@adirondackchiropractic.com.
Reader Comments »
View reader comments (0) » Comment on this story »
Reader Comments »
View reader comments (0) » Comment on this story »
By MICHAEL QUARTARARO
AAC Family Wellness Centers
Chiropractor Michael Quartararo
Remember Mom saying “Sit up straight”? It’s so commonly used it must be part of Basic Mom Manual 101. But the concept of good posture is common sense for anyone over the age of 18.
But what is posture?
Dictionary.com gives the following definition:
pos•ture: [pos-cher] — noun, 1. the relative disposition of the parts of something; 2. the position of the limbs or the carriage of the body as a whole.
So, posture is how different parts of the body relate to one another, resulting in good or health posture or bad and unhealthy posture. But why is this so important, especially, in children?
Good posture prevents arthritis
Good posture allows proper mechanics of the joints of the body.
A misaligned joint will not work properly. Over time, this will lead to breakdown of the joint. This process of breakdown results in arthritis or osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis with more than 20 million Americans being affected, and the number is growing.
Common signs of osteoarthritis are thinning of the cushions in a joint (cartilage), bone spurs and restriction of joint motion.
The more out of alignment a joint is, the more problems that joint will have. The amount of misalignment correlates with the onset and amount of arthritis/joint breakdown.
Important: Osteoarthritis is caused by joint misalignment and problems with movement. Only after this occurs can it develop. Arthritis is not a normal occurrence with age. However, once the joint is misaligned then time becomes a factor. The longer a joint works improperly the greater the incidence of breakdown/arthritis.
Other benefits of good posture
Healthy posture promotes the following:
• Healthy blood flow — Venous return of blood, or how the blood gets back to the heart, depends on the body movement. If you have poor posture, you cannot move through a full range of motion and blood flow is affected.
• Muscles’ ability to contract and relax — Ever think poor posture caused those tight muscles in the shoulder/neck, mid back or lower back?
• Healthy nerve function — Did you know that 90 percent of nerve and brain activity is spent on adapting to your environment? Joints are constantly “feeding' the brain neuralgic information to help in this effort.
• Proper development of muscles, bones and nerves in children — This is why mom was so concerned about the way you sat and stood.
Other systems of the body that are influenced by posture include:
• Cardiovascular health — Rene Cailliet, the director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Southern California, concluded that forward head posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the spine.
This can reduce lung capacity by as much as 30 percent, which can lead to heart and blood vascular disease. Caillet determined a relationship between forward head posture and the digestive system as well as endorphin production affecting pain and the experience of pain.
• Balance and coordination, bone density, life expectancy — Studies have shown posture has an influence in these areas.
Proper posture
Good posture is having head, shoulders, chest, hips/pelvis centered and level. From the side the head should be over the shoulders and the pelvis/hips should not be forward of the knees. As a chiropractor these are fundamental tools used to identify causes of problems in the body and then fix them.
It never ceases to amaze me how concerned we can be with the proper alignment or our car or of our teeth, yet miss the importance of alignment/posture and our health. After all, isn’t the most important “machine” God gave us our bodies?
Michael Quartararo has been a chiropractic wellness practitioner for 17 years in Saratoga Springs. He is the CEO and founder of AAC Family Wellness Centers, a Milton family and pediatric wellness center. He is a member of the New York State Chiropractic Council, International Chiropractic Council, International Pediatric Chiropractic Council and World Chiropractic Alliance. | He can be reached at www.aacfamilywellness.com or aacdocs@adirondackchiropractic.com. SpinalQ, Spinal Q, QBrace, Q Brace are products that can help improve your posture and rehabilitate injuries to the shoulder and spine.
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