Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary defines neutral posture as the stance that is attained “when the joints are not bent, and the spine is aligned and not twisted”.

 The atlas carries the skull: it is involved with suspension, balance, and control of the spine and skeleton.

 With the atlas out of position, the weight of your head is shifted off-center, causing poor posture. Your atlas carries the average 12-pound head, so if the atlas is out of position, it throws the balance of the head off, and the body compensates. 

The Detrimental Effects of Poor Posture

1. Back, Neck, and Shoulder Pain

Poor posture or slouching can lead to tension and pain in your shoulders, neck, lower back, and upper back. Another problem arises when you over-correct on your own wrongly by pulling your shoulders back too far, leading to muscle stiffness and tension.

 Sometimes the rest of the neck and cervical spine is misaligned in this incorrect, stressed position, so the discs in the vertebra may begin to wear abnormally and prematurely and lead to arthritis in the neck. Arthritis pain can be aggravated as poor posture leads to misalignment of the spine, hips, and knees, putting added pressure on other joints, which again leads to a worsening of arthritis. These stresses and stains build up over time to wear down our joints, ligaments, and bones.

 Poor posture increases spinal and joint wear and tear which in turn can increase the risk of a back injury. The most severe injuries include spinal disc degeneration, bulging, and herniation.

2. Poor Circulation

Poor posture associated with working and sitting at a desk all day can put you at risk of developing or worsening circulation problems. By sitting with poor posture all day, you’re keeping your body from obtaining the necessary circulation it requires.

Poor posture can also make you vulnerable to varicose veins.

3. Impaired Lung Function and the Effect on Other organs

Poor posture directly affects the amount of air you’re taking into your lungs when breathing. Your lung function and capacity is limited and constricted when leaning or hunching forward.

 Your brain, heart, and other vital organs won’t get the oxygen they need if your lungs aren’t functioning properly. Lungs and other organs become less efficient. Unfortunately, this can create a decrease in oxygen intake and an increase in carbon dioxide build-up in the blood. Poor posture makes kidneys work harder to buffer the PH in the blood from becoming too acidic due to carbon dioxide buildup in the blood.

 Shortness of breath, poor cognitive function, and even heart and vascular disease are associated with a lack of oxygen.

4. Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

When poor posture causes shifts in the spinal alignment, it can also lead to blood vessel constriction. This directly affects oxygen and nutrient supply and can result in deep vein thrombosis and blood clots.  The risk of developing cardiovascular disease can greatly increase as a result of these negative side effects if the misalignment goes untreated.

5. Poor Digestion

The biggest problem with a desk job is how easy it is to slouch your shoulders and neck over your chest and abdomen. When you slouch, you squeeze your abdominal organs, including your digestive tract. Over time this can definitely negatively impact your metabolism and can also slow down the movement of your intestines and cause constipation.

6. Nerve Constriction

Poor posture can have a long-term impact of causing your spine and other bones to shift their position which causes your skeletal system to start coming into contact with your surrounding nerves, “pinching” them. Pinched nerves cause neck and back pain, but they can also cause pain in apparently unrelated areas of the body.

7. Misaligned Spine

Bad posture can negatively impact your spine’s position. A vertebral subluxation is when the spine becomes misaligned, affecting the overall integrity of the rest of the spine. Subluxations cause a lot of stress on your back and cause irritation in the surrounding spinal nerves.

An upright spine is not really straight. You have a few essential spinal curves; one in your upper-to-mid-back, neck, and lower back. Unfortunately, bad posture can interfere with these natural curves of your spine, affecting your whole body and causing an array of issues.

8. Fatigue and Mood

Your body works harder to keep you upright when it has poor posture which takes more energy so you may get tired faster.  We also add tension and compression to structures that weren’t meant to bear that weight which can add to your fatigue. Slouching makes you feel down, and adopting a correct upright posture reduces fatigue, improves focus, and creates an overall positive mental effect.

Improve Posture with AtlasPROfilax®​

AtlasPROfilax can treat Poor Posture with a SAFE, Three Minute Treatment.

AtlasPROfilax can improve your posture in a safe, single three minute treatment. Full deep breaths promote a healthy heart, brain, and other organs. The correction of the Atlas helps the mechanical and neuromuscular rehabilitation of the posture of the human body.

While there are other essential factors in maintaining bad posture, it is especially important to eliminate one of the main causes: the misalignment of the Atlas.

When you have proper alignment, you can easily feel posture throughout your musculoskeletal system and correct your posture.