You may take posture for granted, though it’s not just one pose or another, sitting or standing. You always have posture, though it dynamically changes with every move or moment.
When you’re young, your body handles unbalanced postures with remarkable versatility. It’s with time and other changes that posture comes with regular reminders in the form of musculoskeletal pain.
At Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness in Richmond, Virginia, we can help you with a wide range of treatments for the equally wide range of musculoskeletal pain. In many cases, chronic poor posture may be your culprit.
Your body is always moving through different postures, and your bones and muscles adapt to keep you upright and under control. When you sit up or stand up straight, you’re using static posture, and it’s called dynamic posture when your body moves.
Joints and their supporting muscles adapt to correct imbalances — things like reaching, carrying loads, or moving while bent or twisting. Your body is capable of remarkable balancing acts.
But as many learned during the home offices of Covid-19, ergonomics are important to make it easy to maintain balanced postures. Sitting or standing for long periods of time invites slouching and leaning, which can cause aches and pains. Even bending your head to view a smartphone can do this.
Over time, poor posture can become chronic and harder to correct. Pain may become frequent or chronic too, typically making it more impactful on your life and harder to treat.
Over time, the burdens of imbalanced posture add up. These imbalances can cause pain in different ways:
Nerves pass through other structures in your body, and poor posture can reduce the space through which they have to pass.
When muscles bear the brunt of posture imbalance, they can become tired, tight, and weak.
As joints become acclimated to imbalanced posture, pain issues are normalized and chronic.
When musculoskeletal pain restricts mobility, it prevents joints from cycling through their full range of motion, which in turn results in additional lost mobility.
Pain from chronic posture problems can create a downward cycle that leads to increased pain while complicating treatment. As with many medical issues, early diagnosis and treatment leads to better outcomes.
As musculoskeletal specialists, our team at Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness can manage your pain and start you on the road to recovery. Request an appointment online with Savitri Gopaul, FNP-BC, or contact our office by phone to schedule your musculoskeletal pain management consultation today.
