How Your Posture Effects Lower Back Pain!

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, we often overlook the importance of our posture. Whether we're glued to our desks, hunched over smartphones, or slouching on the couch, poor posture can sneak up on us, leading to the commonality of back pain. But why does posture matter so much, and how does it affect our backs? 

Between 1990 to 2015 the rate of disability caused by lower back pain increased by 54% which was believed to be caused by the increase of the population as well as increased aging, presenting as one of the major causes of disability worldwide. 

Approximately 84% of people reported suffering from lower back pain during their lifetime and 23% developing chronic low back pain. 

Posture refers to the alignment of and positioning of body parts and its relation to gravity. 

Postural problems can lead to 

• Lower back pain
• Future spinal injuries. 
• Poor Flexibility

A recent literature review published in 2023 identified 5 of the most common lumbar diseases related to bad posture. Spinal curves are completely normal but the most common postural abnormalities for lower back pain include excessive lordosis, sway-back, excessive kyphosis, flat back and scoliosis. Poor posture has been linked to chronic nonspecific low back pain due to its negative impact on spinal posture and flexibility. 

The identification of poor spinal posture is imperative for understanding your pain as well as what may present as a problem in the future.

At Peak Chiropractic, our aim is to improve your posture to the standard in which it should be, by working with your brain and nervous system to allow better control of your body. 

What we see with the 1000’s of visits we have each month is improvements in overall posture by changing your brain and nervous system so that they are working as they should, which will in turn prevent future injuries that may stop you from doing the things that you want to do. 

Book yourself an initial consultation with one of our clinicians where they will do a full screening of how well all your muscles, joints, nervous system and brain are functioning which will be accompanied by a discussion of the results from your digital posture analysis! 

References 

Du, S. H., Zhang, Y. H., Yang, Q. H., Wang, Y. C., Fang, Y., & Wang, X. Q. (2023). Spinal posture assessment and low back pain. EFORT open reviews, 8(9), 708–718. https://doi.org/10.1530/EOR-23-0025