understanding Posture
Poor posture is quickly becoming an epidemic in today’s society. I can still hear my grandma’s voice telling me to stand up tall with my shoulders back. But what if posture isn’t as well understood as we think? We are told we can control our posture by holding ourselves in a certain way but does that mean we have to walk around like robots for the rest of our lives? Does everybody with “good posture” constantly work to maintain it each and every moment? We have this idea that posture is static but we weren’t designed to stay still. We were designed to move, to explore, to experience. Only recently have we started to get paid to sit or stand (in front of the computer screen) for hours. There’s a saying that goes “the worst posture is the one that you’re in the longest.” There are many things that influence posture like stress, activity levels, and even the way we breathe.
Below are some articles about posture that you might find helpful.
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Correlation between lung capacity, resporatory gas analysis and diaphragm movement distance according to forward head posture and round shoulder posture
Authors: Seung-min Oh, Ji-young Lee, Seo-yeon Kim, Dongyeop Lee, Ji-Heon Hong, Jae-Ho Yu, Jin-Seop Kim, Seong-gil Kim*
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Science, Sunmoon University, Asan, Republic of Korea
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Short Summary:
Poor posture, like forward head posture and rounded shoulders, affects breathing and lung function. It found that people with these postures have weaker breathing muscles, less diaphragm movement, and lower vital capacity, making it harder to breathe properly. Modern habits like sitting for long periods worsen these postures and cause chest and back tension. The study suggests that improving posture could help people breathe better. Inversely, can improving breathing patterns improve posture?
Anatomic connections of the diaphragm: influence of respiration on the body system
Authors: Bruno Bordoni 1,✉, Emiliano Zanier 2
Publication: J Multidiscip Healthc
. 2013 Jul 25;6:281–291. doi:10.2147/JMDH.S45443
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Short summary:
The diaphragm, a key muscle for breathing, is deeply interconnected with various systems in the body. Beyond respiration, the diaphragm influences posture, organ function, and the pelvic floor. It also plays a critical role in stabilizing the spine and supporting the vascular and lymphatic systems. The article emphasizes that the diaphragm is not an isolated muscle but part of a complex network of anatomical and functional connections. Understanding these relationships can help develop better treatments that address the whole body, rather than focusing on isolated symptoms.