Category: Spine | Author: Stefano Sinicropi
You’re probably aware that having bad posture at your work desk or in your vehicle can lead to back pain, but that’s not the only way that a poor spinal alignment can cause problems for your health. An ideal spinal alignment helps to keep other systems working properly, so if you’re dealing with certain health issues, the real problem may be rooted in your posture. In today’s blog, we explore four surprising ways that poor posture can impact your health.
How Poor Back Posture Can Impact Your Body
Aside from localized back pain, having poor posture for extended periods of time can cause other issues for your comfort and health. Here’s a few surprising ways your posture could be impacting your health:
- Headaches – Many people assume that a headache is caused by something like sensitivity to light, loud noise or poor sleep quality. And while these factors can certainly play a role in headache onset, the real culprit may be your posture. If you’re regularly hunched forward or putting excessive strain on your cervical spine, the muscles at the top of your back that support your head can become fatigued and strained. This constant strain of the muscles in this area can lead to the onset of what’s known as a tension headache. Improving your posture and relieving this prolonged muscle tension can help provide long-term headache relief.
- Fatigue – Are you feeling more tired than normal? When your spine is out of alignment, your muscles have to work harder just to support your spinal column. You may think that this is serving to make them stronger, but over time this constant stress will overburden them, and they can actually weaken as a result of this strain. If your muscles are constantly working, even when you’re seated, you can become fatigued faster.
- Inhibited Bladder and Bowel Control – Poor spinal alignment can also impact the nerves that help to regulate your bladder and bowel movements. Slouching will increase abdominal pressure, which puts more strain on your bladder. Over time, this could cause you to have less control over your bladder. The same goes for bowel movements. Poor posture can actually have an impact on digestion and bowel habits, so if you are having issues in the bathroom, it could be tied to your posture and activity levels.
- Decreased Immune Response – Finally, your spine is interconnected with your central nervous system, which plays an important role in a number of bodily functions, including immune response. If your spinal alignment is poor, it could impact the functionality of key nerve relays, lowering your body’s ability to effectively stage a proper immune response. If you feel like you’re constantly fighting off a cold or you’re feeling under the weather more than usual, prolonged spinal misalignment may be a contributing factor. Improve your posture to help nerves pass unimpeded throughout the body.
Posture problems can lead to obvious issues, but they can also contribute to some seemingly unrelated problems, so be aware of these potential issues and make it a point to have healthy posture day in and day out. For help with a posture-related spine issue, connect with Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
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