Your Posture, Of All Things

Most of all the Moms and Dads at one time or another says to their children, "Sit up straight" or "Don't slouch". There is serious truth in that matter. Posture is how well you stand or sit for the benefit of looking, feeling and being healthy. The spine is complex, but how you treat it early in life will have a great impact on you as you get older.

I was told at the age of nine that I had scoliosis. Scoliosis is a lateral curvature in the thoracic portion of the spine. It shows up in the early years, and though it is thought that it develops from muscle weakness, it is a genetic condition that is common; sometimes it can accompany other birth disorders. After I went to gymnastics class, I experienced severe pain in the upper right shoulder blade, or scapular region in my back after I decided to try tumbling backwards in a wrong way. I was in so much pain, I never went back into the gymnastics class again. The severity of the condition curtailed me for a while in any participation of sports. My Mom and Dad had me enrolled in swimming lessons, which seemed to be the only sporting activity that was healthiest for me. My Dad's dream of me being a tennis star was effected by the scoliosis in my back.

What Is A Healthy Spine?

The spine is an intricate combination of bones, cartilage, nerve fibers, cushioned by separate disks. It is an extension of the skull which houses the brain, the intricate computer of the whole entire human body.

The vertebral bones in the spine add up to 33. The first 7 are the cervical, or neck. The next twelve vertebra are the thoracic, the chest. The lumbar spine consists of five or six vertebra, the sacrum is made up of 5 vertebra, and the coccyx (the tail bone) consists of 3 bones.

The spinal cord fits right inside the veterbral bones. This conducts the nervous system to send messages from the brain to the body. Each portion of the spinal cord serves a certain nervous function of the body. The cervical spinal cord effects the movement of the upper extremities and the muscles for our breathing. Any injury to the cervical spine could cause serious damage to the entire body. That is why a person who has been in a serious car accident or a falling accident is not to be moved from the place in which they have fallen. Any sudden move or jerk to the neck could cause serious damage to the body, such as paralysis to the lower body or even respiratory arrest.

An example of serious cervical injury is what happened to the actor, Christopher Reeve. His best movie appearances were in the Superman movies. Reeve was an equestrian, and one day, he fell off his horse while jumping over a wooden hurdle. With proper handling he did not die, but suffered sever injuries to his spinal cord. He became paralyzed from the neck down, making him a quadraplegic, and he had to be with an artificial airway and live on a portable respirator for breathing. He spent the rest of his life on daily therapy to try to walk with mechanical assistive devices that took years to develop in producing, and he had to learn to talk again with assist of a valve over his tracheotomy tube with attachment of hoses that were connected to his breathing device. Reeve also received stem cell surgical implants to attempt to repair his sensation in his spinal cord to walk.

The Thoracic Spine

The chest in the body is made up of the ribcage which is attached to the thoracic portion of the spine. The ribcage houses the heart, the lungs and it pierces through the diaphragm which is the floor of the thorax. The diaphragm is the muscular wall that separates the abdomen from the upper cavity; its role is to assist in breathing. The nerves from the thoracic spinal cord is involved with the lung capacity and the functioning of the upper body and extremities as well. An injury to the thoracic spine or the nerves to the spine effect the shoulders, arms, and hands.

An example of injury to the nerves in the thoracic spine is carpal tunnel syndrome. The origin of the carpal nerve is in the upper portion of the thoracic spine and it travels down through both arms which attaches to the radial nerves along each radius bone in the lower arms. It extends into the wrist, causing a common injury which involves numbness, tingling and pain in the wrist and hand. The proper way of reducing inflammation to the carpal nerves is massage to the lower arms, the back of the upper arms, and then below the shoulder blades. Poor posture can also have an effect on the carpal nerves. Slumped pose of the upper shoulders can put pressure on the nerves in the thoracic spine causing some pain.

The Lumbar Spine

The cause of injury to the lumbar portion of the spine can be poor body mechanics in bending and lifting. In my profession of nursing, I have been required to take mandatory classes to be certified for proper lifting techniques. Lifting people can be a challenging task. I am well advised and trained in bending at the knees while lifting objects and when assisting with transferring a person from bed to chair, from chair to bed, or from chair to floor. And moving a person up and down in the bed requires proper mechanics.

The majority of back injuries can be caused by error in lifting, bending and transferring heavy objects or people. But a complication of lumbar pain is due to posture and being overweight. Upon realizing this, in my own experience through the years of getting older, enjoying life, and not exercising as much as I did in my younger years, I see how the muscles in the lower back will weaken if not used as much. That can have an affect on the feeling of health.

The Coccyx, or the Tailbone

This area is also effected by the posture of the spine, and how we position ourselve when we sit. A soft chair or couch feels good to the tailbone. Sitting on a hard surface like the floor, or a hard chair can affect the way your tailbone feels. The lying position in bed or on the floor can have an affect on the tailbone as well. This is the location of the end of the spinal cord. And immobility of the lower back, such as sitting on a hard surface for a prolonged period of time can cause a numb tingling sensation. Even bending over in the wrong way can cause injury to the nerves in the tail bone. Sciatica is an example.

Positions of the Spine During Sleep

Do you sleep on your back? Your stomach? Do you sleep on your side? Do you sleep in a fetal position ( in a little ball)? Do you sleep on your knees with your rump in the air (some little children do this). These are good questions to ask when evaluating why your spine feels a certain way when you wake up. Then evaluate what you are sleeping on. Do you sleep on a hard or a soft mattress? Is your mattress too soft? How many pillows are under your head? Are your pillows soft, and fluffy, or are the pillows hard and flat? I can not tell a person how to sleep, because no one can predict the unconscious movements during one's sleep. Changes in position are affected by the person's overall health, age, level of activity or fatigue, and body size, and also by whether the person sleeps alone or with another. Posture in sleeping is also influence on the mattress or surface slept on.

Shopping for a new mattress is affected by the quality of the bed materials and by the maintenance of the mattress itself. Keeping the mattress clean and covered properly can have an influence on the person's sleep habits. A lot has to be considered. If you have a longterm sleep partner, their input is essential on the relationship. That is probably why the invention of the "Sleep Number" bed is so popular. The "Craftmatic" bed is also quite popular for the person with chronic health conditions, who are sedentary. Hospital like beds at home, the beds with electronic controls to elevate or lower the head or foot of the bed itself will be beneficial for the bedridden or compromised person.

Easy Exercises For Better Posture

There are easy things you can do daily to improve your posture. Here is a list of a few things I personally think will help with remembering to keep your back straight.

1. In front of a full mirror, stand erect like there is a stick inside the back of your shirt. Hold your stomach in. Bend your knees while keeping you head straight.
2. Sit on a stool at your desk instead of a regular chair and practice keeping your back straight while sitting.
3. Stand against the wall. Bend at the knees only, keeping your back against the wall.
4. While standing up straight, stomach held in, stand on your toes. Then go back down on your heels gradually. Do this several times while keeping your head straight.
5. Walk with a book on your head and see if you can balance it there while you walk down a hallway, or around the room
6. If sitting for long periods of time, take frequent breaks to stand, stretch up, touch toes, turn side to side at the waist.

There is so much to consider when evaluation of the healthiness of one's spine. Diet, nutrition, activity, and personal lifestyle has its influence. But appearance is what makes an impression. So standing or sitting straight and tall will express confidence and encourage a positive attitude. Who wants to slouch and look frumpy anyway?