It’s interesting how our frame and posture affects our overall health and well-being.
by Deric D’Agostino, D.C.
Forward head posture pulls down on the spinal cord that is attached to our brain stem and brain which then pulls on the very thing we are, a brain and spinal cord. This can lead to high blood pressure, cloudy thinking, pain, and as the American Medical Association stated, a decrease in life span.
It all makes sense when you think about it. We can actually trick our bodies into being stressed and then feel the symptoms associated with stress. I talked about this in previous articles.
Let’s revisit the lion walking into the room. When the lion comes in our bodies will turn certain things off like digestion, blood flow to the organs, and melatonin production, to name a few. It also turns things on and up like Cortisol production—eyes dilate, ears open up to hear the minutest of sounds, and blood rushes to the muscles.
So what does this have to do with our human frame and posture? Well, when the lion walks in, our head lowers, our chest muscles tighten, our gluts, hamstrings, and calf muscles all tighten up. Why? For what purpose? Well, we are either going to pounce on this lion and try to kill it or we’re going to run through a brick wall to escape.
When we slouch with rounded shoulders, forward head posture, flexed forward at the waist, we are telling our brains that we are in fight or flight mode (pounce or run mode). So the brain dilates the eyes, stimulates the auditory cranial nerve, increases our blood pressure.
The problem with this is that fight or flight should last for 10-30 minutes just to keep us alive and safe. When we live our lifestyle hunched forward like we do when we look at our phones, playing video games and working at our computers all day long we are in a chronic pounce or run mode.
So if you ever wonder why you’re so light sensitive, why loud sounds bother you so much, why you’re constantly irritated, or why your neck is always in pain—take a look at your posture, you may be in a chronic state of fight mode.
And if you are, you need to see a chiropractor. A chiropractor will help you get your correct posture back.
Deric D’Agostino, D.C. specializes in Koren Specific Technique and in the treatment of injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents. He is a master of his craft and firmly believes that chiropractic treatment can not only help the body but also the mind. His sense of humor and the personal attention that he provides really puts patients at ease.