Get your posture right

Our young population is commonly afflicted by “the forward head syndrome”, thanks to their desk jobs, observes Neeraj Mehta.

Your posture affects all the functions of your body, from breathing to production of
hormones.

Just as a car requires a good alignment of wheels for a long drive, the body too requires good alignment for optimum health.

Wrong posture can wear out our joints and connective tissues (ligament and
tendons).

It could ruin the muscle mass of the body and trouble you with a lot of mobility issues. Therefore, good posture is the key to good health.

A correct posture helps your muscles work at their optimum capacity and also increases the lungs diffusion ability to breathe.

Human body is designed to move, and our muscles coordinate with each other to help us do all our daily work.

With the kind of lifestyle we lead these days - long working hours, sitting at a computer desk, lack of physical activity - poor posture is becoming the leading health issue.

This leads to impaired immune function, hormonal imbalances, ruined lean muscles from the body, cervical and shoulder stiffness or injuries, breathing problems and gastro-intestinal problems.

Long hours of sitting can block the circulation in the hip and leg area. When there is less circulation of blood flow in these areas, it limits the range of motion in the hip muscles,which decreases the mobility of the lower body.

So, how do you figure out if you are sitting in the wrong posture?

Biomechanically, your abdominal area will be the most relaxed area in the body, if you are not following the right posture.

When we stand, sit or move in the right manner, the abdominal and back muscles work to keep us upright. But when we slump in a chair, the core muscles (abdominal and lower back) go unused.

The most common fault in our posture is the head-neck-back alignment.

Our rib cage acts as a support system for the head and neck, and also works as an anchor for the muscles.

If the posture of head is directly over the rib cage, it has the least amount of strain on the thoracic area. When we maintain a bad posture (forward head while slumping or
slouching), it not only puts extra strain on the rib cage, but also leads to neck and shoulder muscle stiffness, and the risk of injury of these areas increases.

Forward head posture can even result in loss of vital lung capacity. Unfortunately, our young population is commonly affected by this “forward head syndrome”, thanks to their desk jobs. It is important to sit straight at all points of time; keep making conscious efforts to maintain the right posture and soon, it will come naturally.

Our feet take the brunt of all our body, all day long, yet we neglect them the most. The arch muscles of our feet give us balance while standing, walking or dancing.

The use of inappropriate footwear (high heels or tight shoes), and also being overweight or obese can easily weaken the arch muscles of the foot.

It results in over-pronated feet, tightened calf muscles and also strains the ligaments of the knee, which may rotate the knees towards each other!

Over-pronated feet can result in pain in the sole of the foot or toes, and even growth of an extra bone at the heels or toes.

It is important to make sure that you select the right kind of footwear. Also, having your feet massaged once a month is a very good idea.

Here are few tips to treat your sore or tight muscles:

Have a cold pack handy to treat the pain and reduce the inflammation

Relax and stretch. Don’t just jump to your intense workout session

Gently massage overworked muscles with the help of your fitness trainer

Heat is another way to soothe sore muscles. Heating pads, space heater and electric blankets work well.