POSTURE & PAIN
A Colleague of mine sent this in a discussion of chiropractic care. These are quotes taken from peer reviewed scientific journals.
“The loss of normal cervical lordosis is associated with neck pain.”
- Haughie L. Relationship of Forward Head Posture and Cervical Backward Bending to Neck Pain. JMPT 1995; 3:91-7
There are a lot of nerve endings in the muscles and joints of the neck, and these send nerve signals to the brainstem where they can mix and mingle with nerve signals that can carry headache signals. People with poor neck posture have more headaches.
“Straightening of the lumbar spine is associated with severe pain and dysfunctions that are known as the flat back syndrome.”
- LaRone MO Loss of Lumbar Lordosis. A Complication of Spinal Fusion for Scoliosis. Orthop Clin N Am 1988; 19:383-93
Having a back that has lost its normal curve can cause more pain. Along with the pain, if you have lost your normal back posture, you probably don’t move as well as you should. Along with this, you’ll have muscles that have wasted away.
“A fixed kyphotic posture of the mid-cervical spine will lead to overall sagital imbalance manifested by axial pain in the upper to mid-thoracic spine.”
- Lowery G. Three Dimensional Screw Divergence and Sagittal Balance. Spine: State of the Art Reviews 1996; 10:343-56
In my practice, I see continually that if someone has problems in their neck, they also have radiating pain to their mid-back, shoulder blades, or their arms.
Is your posture off? You don’t need to just resign yourself to it. Don’t accept defeat, and do something for yourself. There are exercises you can do to help it, and of course, chiropractic care will help restore the function of the joints of the spine and reset the muscle tone that controls posture.
Todd Lloyd, DC
Chiropractor in Sonoma
Here’s more:
Older People with weak posture had 1.44x greater mortality rate.
Study of 1,353 osteoporosis patients:
· Posture was assessed as Normal or Hyperkyphotic (forward head). Hyperkyphotic was defined as requiring more than a 1.7 cm head support hold head level.
People with hyphekyphotic (Forward head) posture had 1.44x greater mortality over the next 4.2 years.
—
D. Kado, MD, Huang, DrPH, A. Karlamangla, MD, PhD etc. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Volume 52 issue 10, p 1662 –10/2004
Bad posture could raise blood pressure.
Direct neural connection between neck muscles and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS – a part of the brainstem which plays a crucial role in regulating heart rate and blood pressure.)
Study author I.J. Edwards
This study could explain elevated BP and heart rate with neck injuries like whiplash or ergonomic activities like hunched over a computer all day.
The Journal of Neuroscience, DOI: 10.1523/neurosci.0638-07.2007
—
"Forward Head Posture leads to long term muscle strain, disc herniations, arthritis… " — Mayo Clinic November 3rd, 2000
—
"Deviations in the body’s center of gravity (read: poor posture)… have resulted in intestinal problems, hemorrhoid, varicose veins, osteoporosis, hip and foot deformities, POOR HEALTH, DECREASED QUALITY OF LIFE, and a SHORTENED LIFE SPAN [my emphasis added]."
Journal of the American Medical Association Volume 165(7), pages 843-846
—
"Loss of cervical curve stretches the spinal cord 5-7 centimeters and CAUSES DISEASE [my emphasis added]." — Dr. Alf Breig, neurosurgeon and Nobel Prize Recipient
—
"For every inch of forward head posture, it can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds." — Dr. Kapandji, Physiology of Joints — Volume 3
—
DEMENTIA and exercise!!!!!!!!!
· Those walking less than a quarter-mile day were almost twice more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or other dementia than men who walked more than two miles daily.
Knoops of the Netherlands Wageningen University, per 12/06 JAMA
—
• “The expectation that damaged low back tissues should heal within a matter of weeks has no foundation. Long term problems have a SUBSTANTIAL biomehcanical/pathoanatomical basis.” Low Back Disorders, Mcgill, p. 12 (My Ephasis added)
—
Chronic Low Back Pain Linked to Reduced Aerobic Fitness Levels
· People with poor CV fitness more likely to have chronic low back pain.
Smeets RJEM, Wittink H, Hidding A, et al. Do Patients with chronic low back pain have a lower level of aerobic fitness than healthy controls? Spine 2006; 31(1):90-97.
—
“Altered alignment of the spinal column is known to cause bone, disc, ligament and myofascial degeneration.”
Adams MA. Sustained Loading Concentrations in Lumbar Intervertebral Discs
Spine 1996: 44:611-33
—
“In a 10 year follow-up, Katsuura et al. found that segmental cervical kyphosis and hypolordosis is one of the factors causing degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc and body.”
-Katsuura A. Kyphotic malignment after anterior cervical fusion. Eur Spine J 2001;10:320-324
—
“Posture affects and moderates every physiological function from breathing to hormonal production.”
- Lennon J. Postural and Respiratory Modulation of Autonomic Function, Pain and Health. American Journal of Pain Management 1994;4:36-39
—
The development of ossification of the ligamentum flavum was secondary to altered alignment in the form or a kyphotic angle.
- Fukuyama S. The Effect of Mechanical Stress of Hypertrophy of the Lumbar Ligamentum Flavum J Spinal Disord 1995; 8:126-30
Thank you for sharing a useful information. I’ll visit your blog every now and then to check if there’s a new interesting post.
Stand tall. Good posture makes you look and feel great and can help prevent back pain.