​Good Posture For Better Spine Health

Chiropractic adjustments aren’t just for injuries or acute pain.  Good posture can help mitigate a lot of the negative effects of poor spine, neck, and back health.  Focusing on good posture is a way to improve your skeletal health and the improved body function that is derived from a good functioning spine

But what is good posture?

Posture is how we hold ourselves, the way we stand, sit, and lie down.  When standing in a good posture our muscles, tendons, ligaments etc are working at their most efficient.  A good example of this is the average head weighs between 4.5-5.5kg.  With good posture and a vertical spine (neutral position) its weight remains within this range (say 5kg), but if your head is leaning forward 45˚ degrees this increases to an equivalent load on the spine of 24kg.
To learn more watch my video on ‘How to get into “good” posture’.
Dr Craig Buscomb’s 3 Steps to Better Posture looks at your Mobility, Stretching and Strengthen of the body.  To learn more read our ‘3 Steps to Better Posture’ eBook.

Sleep and Back Care

We all know that a good night’s sleep is essential for your health, but did you know that poor posture can sometimes affect the quality of your sleep?
 
Improving you posture and resolving and reducing back and neck pain will help improve the quality of your sleep, while a quality mattress can also help with both your posture and quality sleep.  The key is keeping your spine in a neutral position.  This helps with the distribution of weight across the spine, regardless of your sleeping position.
 
Did you know there are three common sleeping positions; Front Sleeping, Sleeping On Your Back, and Side Sleeping, and how you sleep can affect your back and can cause further discomfort.  So, it is important to sleep in the best position to support your back.​
Did you know that Dr Craig Buscomb advised Sealy Posturepedic?  Jump over to the Sealy NZ site for my contribution as their Sleep & Back Care expert.
Front Sleeping
Of the three positions, Front Sleeping has the most risk of worsening any back discomfort or pain.  Having your head turned sideways to breathe can apply additional stress on your neck and upper back.  Our breathing is regulated by our rib cage moving up and out, lying on our stomach can restrict this natural rib cage movement.  Lastly lying on your stomach can put increased pressure on the joints in your lower back.  If you already experience back pain when extending or bending backwards, lying on your stomach could aggravate this further.
Sleeping On Your Back
Back sleeping helps can help you achieve a more neutral position when sleeping, as long as your head is not propped up too high on a pillow, as this can cause additional neck strain (look at using a thinner pillow).  If you have back pain when extending your back (bending backwards), this can be worsened by sleeping on your back as it can make your lower back arch, and this can aggravate the pain.  Lastly the one thing we can’t help with is snoring, sorry, but using the correct pillow may help.
Side Sleeping
This style of sleeping gives you the best possible opportunity to achieve and stay in a neutral position, as long as your head is properly supported (generally a thicker pillow than for back sleeping).  This will also take way the strain on you neck.  A simple test is to lay on your side and ask someone to check to see if your spine is straight or not.