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Understanding Your Posture to Protect Your Health
You are a human, you are bipedal, meaning you should be upright. However, you spend much of your time hunched over in a seated posture. Whether it’s computer work, driving, or relaxing while watching a movie, you can’t deny that we are slowly folding like a lawn chair.
You are human, therefore you are bipedal, meaning you should be upright. However, you spend much of your time hunched over in a seated posture. Whether it’s computer work, driving, or relaxing while watching a movie, you can’t deny that we are slowly folding like a lawn chair.
Sitting and leaning forward, with gravity pulling your head and shoulders down, creates unpleasant postural strain. This can present as neck pain, low back pain, shoulder pain, and the associated daily stiffness. Most commonly, the pain and stiffness is not severe enough to stop you from your daily activities, but nagging enough that it will cause you fatigue.
Repetitive strain is something that you cannot avoid, but depending on your posture it can either set you up for a future of pain and stiffness or with better/proper postural alignment, it can improve your body’s ability to cope with the repetitive strain placed on it.
Here is an example of a posture out of normal alignment. This example highlights the effects of forward head posture and how it correlates with increased strain in the neck.
Notice the red box. This estimates the amount of strain placed on the neck muscles, that have the task of holding the head upright.
Over time, a daily strain that is 2.5 times the normal force on the neck, will increase the rate at which the underlying structures break down. You can read more on the strains placed on the neck in this post here.
One of the most common signs of chronic wear and tear is the breakdown of the vertebral discs that space each moving vertebrae in your spine. This takes years to develop but with proper care, and posture awareness this can be limited. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
The example below is a degenerative disc that occurs over a period of time.
This postural effect isn’t isolated to the neck, but it’s also common in the low back, especially with people who are desk-bound for 40 + hours a week. Low back pain and stiffness over time can lead to concerning conditions such as sciatica, which can be difficult to recover from.
Often times we assume the breakdown is caused by “old age”. The correct way to put this is it is associated with age, ie. the more time this postural strain has been present, the more breakdown and degeneration is going to be evident.
In the past, as a chiropractor, I would expect to see signs of spinal degeneration in someone who has been working for 10-15 years at a desk for 40 hours a week. The concerning part for me is this is happening more and more in youth, especially since the reliance on technology, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Below is an example of a teenager that was referred to me by her family physician, for having a history of multiple disc bulges.
You can tell in the x-ray that her neck has lost the normal curvature and is putting undue strain on her spine, causing the discs to bulge on the now convex side of the curve.
It’s concerning to me what the next 10-15 years will look like for the youth of this generation. Prior to the pandemic kids were glued to tech and as a chiropractor, I was already seeing concerning issues in kids, teens and young adults, all related to their daily posture. Symptoms such as numbness and tingling into both hands, shooting pain down shoulders and arms, chronic headaches, and many more. Unfortunately, all of this has been exacerbated over the past year with online schooling and the obvious limitations of available recreational activities.
Like with your car, when the alignment is off, your tires wear unevenly and more rapidly. If your spinal alignment is out of position, the structures of your spine wear unevenly and more rapidly than if the alignment was good.
When it comes to the alignment and breakdown of the spine it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
It worries me that for the current generation of youth we will not be able to chalk up spinal osteoarthritis to “old age” when they are going to show those signs at a much earlier age.
Are You a "Self Crack" Addict?
During my undergrad at Wilfrid Laurier, I would study in the quiet floor of the library. It was dead quiet up there even though there were hundreds of students cramming for midterms and finals.
The only sounds I would hear was someone opening a drink, clearing their throat and cracking their own necks and back.
During my undergrad at Wilfrid Laurier, I would study in the quiet floor of the library. It was dead quiet up there even though there were hundreds of students cramming for midterms and finals.
The only sounds I would hear was someone opening a drink, clearing their throat and cracking their own necks and back.
The distinctive popping/cracking sound is from air held within a capsule that surrounds the small facet joints in your spine.
This happens with their is separation from joint surfaces more than the current normal.
If you have ever been manually adjusted by me this is the same sound you hear and the same mechanism.
There is one major difference though.
When I adjust your spine, I’m looking for areas that are not moving correctly, and therefore we are attempting to increase the movement to restore proper function. These areas can be tense and sore since there is inflammation from the lack of movement. It is good when these areas are adjusted and restore motion because if a joint lacks the normal movement it will continue to stiffen up and start to deteriorate over time and your symptoms will progress. This is called osteoarthritis.
On the other hand when you “self crack” the joints in your spine, it is achieved by making large movements to that particular part of the spine. People that do this to their low back will twist around until they hear a pop. People that try with their neck will push on their chin into rotation or grab the top of their head and pull in hopes that something will give.
The way the joints work in the spine is each of them does a small amount of movement to create the large movement we see on the outside.
When a joint becomes restricted and inflammed you will feel pain and stiffness which you try to get relief from self adjusting.
I’d be lying if sometimes this didn’t seem to help, but the concern is by self cracking you will start to create more movements in the joints above and below the joint that is locked up. In other words by cranking on your neck or back you are creating joints that are hypermobile (move too much and lack stability). This without a doubt will put more stress onto the joint surfaces, wear down the cartilage and create osteoarthritis in your future.
So next time you think to “self crack” think twice.
Is Chiropractic for Everyone?
The quick answer is no. It’s not.
But can most people benefit from seeing a chiropractor? Absolutely.
First off you have to understand what chiropractic is and what you as the patient want out of it.
The confusing part for the public is one chiropractor may practice completely different than the chiropractor down the road.
The quick answer is no. It’s not.
But can most people benefit from seeing a chiropractor? Absolutely.
First off you have to understand what chiropractic is and what you as the patient want out of it.
The confusing part for the public is one chiropractor may practice completely different than the chiropractor down the road. As the patient if you understand that the style of practice from chiropractor to chiropractor can vary, it’s up to you to know what your goal is before making an appointment. This will help you have a better fit when you do make a choice.
On the other hand it is up to the chiropractor to explain exactly what they specialize in day to day so you know what type of treatment and techniques will be used.
My goal for patients is to improve their help condition with whatever complaint that brought them in the first place, through chiropractic care, education and empowerment. Secondary to that is how can we can prevent that same complaint from getting worse and recurring in the future, by giving recommendations and tips to improve their health, with things like nutrition and exercise.
Not all my patient’s goals match my personal goals, which is completely fine. My main objective is to be as transparent as possible and support the patient for whatever their health goal is. Whether that is just getting out of pain or something that extends further like improving their health in all aspects of their life.
I am very honest with what my limitations are. So if your goal or your current condition would be better served by being referred to a physiotherapist, or massage therapist, or to your family doctor for further testing, I will let you know.
At the end of the day, everyone can benefit from seeing a chiropractor, but I might not be the best chiropractor for you.
Are You Shifted?
Your eyes let you see the world around you but your body also has eyes that let you see the world within. Find out how these receptors function and how your body may benefit from seeing a chiropractor.
Imagine you are standing in front of me and I told you to close your eyes. Then while your eyes are still closed I moved your arm in front of your body.
If I asked you where your arm is, do you think you would know?
Of course you would.
But how would you know this?
Well your muscles and joints are full of these special receptors that tell your brain where your body is positioned in space. They are literally the eyes within your body. They give you feedback on how you move, how fast you are moving and when you overstretch they will cause a reflex to engage muscles to prevent injury (this is what happens when you have your knee reflex tested).
These receptors are located all over the different regions of your body but there is one place they are way more dense than the rest of the body. That’s the spine and in particular the neck.
When your spine is in proper alignment these receptors only report movements and changes to the area (normal input).
When a joint is damaged, irritated or is out of it’s optimal position, these receptors are firing a barrage of signals to your brain telling it something is not right. This works in a feedback loop so your brain gets the message and has to come up with a response. The usual response to this is muscles tighten (spasm), reduced motion, and the end results can be pain.
This can not only lead to the symptoms above but it can lead to further degeneration due to increased spinal dysfunction. Even if the symptoms subside for a period of time you will be more at risk for re-aggravation.
We see this time and time again when someone comes in as a new chiropractic patient and they complain of back pain. They have had this multiple times in the past but “it went away on its own”, but “this time it’s not going away and I think I need to do something about it now”…
The bottom line is these dysfunctions that turn into full blown painful conditions are a result of repetitive strain breaking down the tissue further because there is poor communication between your body and brain.
As a chiropractor my goal is to identify these problem areas and improve the dysfunction and as a result reduce the pain. Dysfunction is corrected by restoring normal motion to joints, returning the normal alignment of the spine and decreasing the strain on degenerative tissues such as the disc.
I will leave you with a tell tale example that spinal dysfunction is present.
If you have knots around your shoulder blades and you have your partner try to work them out or you go for a massage but the last few times they don’t seem to be “worked out”, then it may not be a muscle problem. Think why are the muscles tightening up in the first place. Most likely in this scenario there is dysfunction in spine of the lower neck and as a result muscles attaching there are becoming irritated.
Health - It Takes Discipline
You want something good but are you disciplined enough to achieve it?
Most good things in life don’t come easy. We must be consistent and chip away at it little by little. The recognition or fulfillment comes after the work is put in.
As a chiropractor I’ve met many people who want better health outcomes but only few of them are willing to put in the effort to get it.
Whether it is being consistent with their chiropractic adjustments, at home exercise, kicking the sugar habit or laying off alcohol, staying on track takes discipline, and this is really evident for health.
You want to lose weight, you better have a regimented meal plan and fight off those food cravings. You need discipline.
You want to gain muscle, you better have regimented work out schedule and follow through on those days you don't feel like moving. You need discipline.
You go to the chiropractor and you want to be pain free, let your nervous system start working so your body can start healing from the inside out so you can get off those medications your on. Well you are going to make it to your appointments, even if the playoff game is on and the leafs are actually playing in it. You need discipline.
The bottom line discipline seems to breed success. If you want something you have to do something, and nine times out of ten it needs to be done consistently.
If you are having trouble with the big things then start small.
Ask yourself can you commit to getting up at the same time every day, making your bed each morning, shave etc. the list goes. on.
Start small and build on it. Build tolerance, and eventually challenge yourself with the big goals.