Facts about your posture that will make you GASP!

Oxygen levels in the blood is something we measure as part of our vitality testing and goes part of the way to understanding how well your nervous system and body are working. There should be 99% oxygen present in a healthy nervous system, and changes as small as 1% or 2% will begin to affect your health.

When considering how posture can affect your oxygen levels we first have to understand what bad posture may look like. The classic example being; shoulders rounded forward, chest pointing towards the floor and head stretched out in front of the body. This example of bad posture is something we often hear clients wanting to avoid, and yes it's not aesthetically pleasing, the positions place weight and forces on the incorrect areas of the body and will often result in aches pain and symptoms but it is also having a greater effect on the individual's overall health as well.

As we breathe in, our diaphragm contracts and moves downwards increasing the space in our chest for our lungs to expand into. As we breathe out the diaphragm relaxes, raises up and the space in the chest reduces as air is forced out the mouth. Our bodies are designed to increase the space available in our chests so we can inhale as much air and oxygen as possible and reduce when breathing out to force the air and carbon dioxide out. If the shoulders are rounded forward, chest pointing down and head lent forwards this reduces the ability for the chest cavity to expand meaning we can't fully inhale and exhale. If we can't breathe in fully, we aren't getting the largest quantity of oxygen into our bodies meaning we need to breathe more often in order to compensate. This results in breathing shallowier and quicker placing more stress on the lungs, diaphragm and cardiorespiratory system.

Shallow, rapid breathing is known as tachypnea and is a symptom not a disease. This symptom however is linked to diseases such as asthma, Pneumonia, COPD, Pulmonary embolism or clot and so many others. These conditions do not develop immediately but having shallow rapid breathing over long periods of time can contribute to the development of diseases such as these.

This is one of the reasons why we measure oxygen levels in the blood and through our care we monitor them and ensure they are increasing towards 99%, moving the client into a healthier state of living.