From WebMd:
"Improper posture, especially when walking, puts increased stress on your back and causes discomfort and damage. The key to good back posture is to keep the right amount of curve in your lower back. A healthy back has three natural front-to-back curves that give the spine an "S" shape. Although there is much natural variation from person to person, too much curve ("swayback") or too little curve ("flat back") can result in problems. The right amount of curve is called the neutral position. See a picture of the spine
showing the natural curves."
"Head up, chest tall, shoulders back and down, shoulders in line with hips," these are all posture/alignment cues that I use in all of my exercise classes. But good posture doesn't mean just standing tall and in alignment during exercise class, good posture needs to be maintained all the time.
From IdeaFit:
"Exercise professionals are committed to maintaining and improving the functional independence and physical performance of their clients. Most exercise professionals agree that good posture is essential for attaining these goals. It is often observed in the literature that a skeletal framework and/or spine that is misaligned may result in a cascade of bodily problems, most notably an impediment of the electrochemical messages of the nervous system (since the spine is the pathway for the nervous system to and from the brain) (Edmond et al. 2005). Healthwise this is of paramount concern, since the nervous system is involved in the control and regulation of most bodily system functions. This article reviews posture from a health perspective. Included are an overview of good and faulty posture; key points to be aware of in assessing lateral, frontal and posterior posture positions; and a discussion of posture as it affects health for different sectors of the population."
When you consistently have bad posture, the muscles that are effected by it can suffer tremendously. They shorten and get tight or lengthen and loosen causing misalignment of the spine.
More from IdeaFit:
"If the body segments are out of their optimal alignment for extended periods of time, the muscles eventually adapt by either shortening or lengthening (depending on the position) (Hrysomallis & Goodman 2001). Novak (2004) adds that prolonged misalignment adversely affects nerve tissue and function and that the adaptive changes in muscle tissue (whether lengthening or shortening) result in muscle imbalances, which can have a number of health consequences. The particular health issues caused by posture dysfunction tend to vary by population."
..."posture is an important consideration in all activities of daily living (e.g., walking, lifting objects, holding objects and driving) and that keeping good posture can make a considerable difference to the long-term health of the spine. Many postural problems are detectable at very early stages, regardless of age. If not corrected, these issues will become more pronounced.
Exercise professionals are in a leading position to correct spinal misalignments with a well-developed exercise program of flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, agility and balance training. Educate your clients to adopt a new posture pleasure principle: planning and prevention precludes pain and promotes perfect posture.
A major factor in urinary incontinence in women is weak pelvic-floor muscles. Pelvic-floor exercises have proved successful for treating urinary incontinence (Britnell et al. 2005)."
There are many more points made in the IdeaFit article. Here's the link to the entire article: http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/the-perils-of-poor-posture
Sorry about the white blocking--I can't figure out how to get rid of it.
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