(scroll down to see videos on posture and health)

THE FACTS:

The link between posture and good health has been recognized for many years (see 50's video below). Prior to the research done over the last twenty years, the problem of poor posture had been recognized, though not well understood.  The most recent studies demonstrate that posture is a key component for spine, hip, knee and ankle health, but more importantly, that posture directly influences your systemic health.  Systemic health is simply your body's state of health as a whole.  The research shows that poor posture equals poor systemic health, and contributes to: high blood pressure, abnormal pulse, decreased lung capacity, development of spinal osteoarthritis, loss of balance, mood swings, chronic muscle pain, and low self-esteem to name a few.  

THE THEORIES:

Alf Brigg, a neurosurgeon, visualized, photographed, and found, that during laminectomys (spinal surgeries where you remove part of the bones of the spine and can see the spinal cord), when his patients' heads were flexed (bent forward), blood flow within the arteries supplying the spinal cord was decreased, due to the cord being pulled taut.  This longitudinal tension throughout the spinal cord, which was demonstrated with a head forward posture in Brigg’s patients, creates ischemia (decreased blood flow) in the spinal cord. Decreased blood supply and histological (microscopic tissue) changes in the spinal cord due to head forward posture, are being investigated as a potential cause or contributing factor to demyelinating (loss of the outer covering of nerves) diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis. MS is a very complex autoimmune disease, with no known cause.  I want to make it clear, that I am not claiming to be able and cure or treat MS or other diseases.  My goal is to share with you a recognized theory on abnormal posture's effect on the health of your spianl cord and nervous system.  MS is just one of the many unexplained medical conditions that could be caused or contributed to, by mechanical spinal cord tension.

Some research points to a connection between abnormal nervous system/immune function, and sustained spinal cord tension due to the increased stress (pulling end from end) on the spinal cord as the head moves forward and the shoulders and upper back round.  The fact that your spinal cord, the information highway of your body, which sends and receives all information to and from your organs, glands and tissues, is being pulled taut and choked of blood due to abnormal posture is a scary proposition.  Pathology associated with adverse spinal cord tension due to poor posture is difficult to study, but I will update the research on this page as it becomes available.

The bottom line is that poor posture is unhealthy, decreases your quality of life, and has been demonstrated to lead to an earlier death.  This is why we focus on posture.

The following research quotes, highlight many of the disease process caused from poor posture:

“All measures of health status showed significantly poorer scores as C7 plumb line deviation increased.” “There was clear evidence of increased pain and decreased function as the magnitude of positive sagittal balance increased.” - Spine September 15, 2005 (18):2024-9 

“Compared with the other patients there was a significantly higher incidence of degenerative changes in the 20 who had sharp reversal of the normal cervical curve.” - Hohl M. J Bone and Joint Surgery 1974;56-A:1675-1682

“There is a significantly higher incidence of degenerative changes in patients who have kyphotic curves, because of the increased weight –bearing loads placed across the intervertebral discs.” - Foreman SM, Croft AC. Acceleration/Deceleration Syndrome. 2^nd ed. Baltimore, Philadelphia, 1995; pgs. 443-449

Trauma of the cervical spine as a cause of chronic headache.

“Complete or segmental loss or reversal of the normal lordotic curve of the cervical spine is the most consistent characteristic feature and very often is the only abnormality found.” - Braaf MM, Rosner S. J Trauma 1975;15:441-446