Why Is Posture Important?

By Dr. Clifford Yun, PT, DPT & Peggy Brill, PT, OCS

August 26th, 2019

Research shows strengthening posture improves:

1. Energy levels

2. Deep breathing

3. Sports performance

4. Balance

5. Stress management

6. Appearance

7. Functional movement

8. Optimism

9. Confidence

10. Aging well

Simply put we need posture to be well. How can we expect ourselves to sit, stand, walk or run if we can’t even find neutral posture?  The best example of why posture is important is looking at a child’s development. At every stage of progression the baby is learning to gain control of their body from a lower center of gravity to ultimately a standing and moving center of gravity. 

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Other than the efficiency for daily functional movement, posture allows our organs to have space to function. This means our lungs have space to take in air, our gut has room to digest food, our muscles and organs have good blood flow, which in turn leads to less muscle tension and improved blood pressure to manage stress. 

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Eastern medicine has a basis in the understanding of body flow. The chi map that helps us understand acupressure points looks much like a road or train map. Each pressure point must have good circulation or it can develop into pain and/or referred pain.

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Therefore; if we used google maps for a GPS for our body we must limit traffic jams by providing the best posture positions to keep things moving.

Learn about what is good posture for the most basic positions of sitting and standing at our other blog post: “Posture Basics .” Regardless of primary injury I believe it is fundamental for all patients to learn what exactly is “Good Posture.” More importantly learn how to feel you are in good posture.

If you have posture related pains give us a call at 212-333-7224 to get a postural assessment and exercises to improve your Good Posture GPS. Locate what neutral and and reduce the onset of more serious pain.