Have you heard contradicting information about poor posture and its effects on your spine?
Some people say you should maintain a straight back all day. Others say it doesn’t matter at all. So, who is actually correct?
In this post we will finally provide clarity and explain to you in which situations postural alignment is crucial and in which situations it is not important.
Table of Contents
What is bad posture?
Alignment: The concept of a neutral spine
The concept of posture can be very confusing. Everybody talks about it but not many seem to truly understand it. Even experts disagree about the topic.
To define what “bad posture” is, it makes sense to first understand the term “good posture”. A healthy posture is simply the positioning of your body that allows your spine to be neutral.
A neutral spine is not totally straight. It is slightly S-shaped. These curves allow the spine to flex, extend, and rotate while maintaining stability and minimizing the risk of injury. The shape maximizes the spine’s capacity to absorb forces by dispersing the load more evenly onto the intervertebral discs.
A strong, healthy standing position allows for stability and organizes the spine in a neutral way. This can only be achieved by an interplay of your whole body.
It all starts with the feet acting as a solid foundation. The toes should be pointing forward and not be turned outward too much. You’re not a duck!
Your knees are almost extended but still have a soft bend. Your glutes are engaged, bringing your hips into a stable position. Your core is engaged too, taking some work off your glutes to maintain a solid hip position.
Your upper body is upright, and your shoulders are slightly turned outward, but are hanging relaxed. Your gaze is straight, with your chin parallel to the ground.
There you have it: A solid, healthy stance.
Misalignment of posture
Since your spine is in perfect alignment when it is in the neutral position, every position that differs can be classified as some form of postural misalignment.
But don’t be scared to move your spine! That’s completely normal and healthy (we will talk about the nuances shortly). Your spine has the remarkable ability to bend forward, backwards, from side to side, and twist around.
A few common positions that your spine will be in during everyday life are global flexion (your whole back being curled forward), global extension (your whole back being arched), and rotation (twisting the spine to the left or right, usually involving the thoracic and lumbar regions).
Very common is also a standing position with an exaggerated S-shape, meaning an anterior pelvic tilt and an excessively rounded upper back with the shoulders rolled forward and the head in a forward position.
Risks of poor posture for the spine
The internet will throw all sorts of scary consequences of “bad posture” at you, which almost seem like a death sentence or at least a life in misery. Some of them are extremely exaggerated, unlikely, or not proven by any credible research. Others are more likely to effect you.
This article only focuses on the impact of postural misalignment on the spine. As discussed earlier, the neutral spine is in the optimal position for stability and force absorption.
Therefore, positions of misalignment put more strain on the spine, especially on the intervertebral discs. Your vertebrae are separated by discs, which offer protection. They lay in between them acting like a cushion or shock absorber.
In positions of misalignment, there is more pressure on some individual discs because the load is less evenly shared. Additionally, the forces also impact a smaller surface area on those discs because the two vertebrae around the discs are no longer parallel but form an angle.
When alignment matters and when it doesn’t
It is important to remember that your body is designed to be moved and also to take on some load. So is your spine, including the vertebrae and discs. If you’re reading this looking down on your phone, sitting on the couch with a rounded back, don’t panic. You’ll be fine.
However, you should be worrying about maintaining a neutral spine every time you are putting more load on it. That could for example be the case when you carry something (moderately) heavy, when you jump and land, or while running.
Since the overall load on your spine and the intervertebral discs is higher in those situations, the wear and tear on those parts will be too.
This does not mean that a single event like this is likely to cause any damage. And probably many of those won’t either. But years and decades of heavy loads in compromised positions, will probably shorten the lifetime of those components, most notably the discs.
That means, it makes sense to be mindful of your posture when you go for a run and when you carry home the grocery bags. A good rule of thumb is to become more mindful about the positioning of your spine, the heavier the load gets. If you deadlift heavy or move a couch, be extra careful!
And it absolutely makes sense to also pay attention to your posture in everyday life, even when your spine is not under load. Because if you almost never spend time in a neutral spine position, it will be very difficult or even impossible for you to find and maintain it in situations in which you should.
The best way to train your posture to be strong in situations like these is physical exercise.
Conclusion
Your posture is important for the health and longevity of your spine. This is especially the case when your spine is under load.
When your spine is not under load, a misaligned posture will not hurt you.
But it is still a good idea to be mindful of your posture throughout the day. The more you practice to maintain a neutral spine, the easier it will be for you to protect it under load.
