Is good posture important?
I would just like to take a minute to stress the importance of good posture and especially proper head position in the treatment of low back pain. It is essential that you carry your head erect in a military posture. When your head is balance on your shoulders, your chest comes up and you can breathe more deeply with less effort. When your head is carried forward, your chest is depressed and diminishes your oxygen exchange. This also puts some slack into your abdominal muscles and decreases your anterior pelvic support. When the pelvis tips down you are prone to SIJD. Not only that, but when the pelvis is tipped down and you have a lordotic posture you interfere with the function of your hip flexors and instead of bringing your feet straight forward when you walk you will tend to externally rotate your feet and bring them forward with the hip abductors. This will stress the medial knee ligaments, flatten your arches and cause you to roll over your big toe causing a bunion. If you have
