Spine viewed from the left side | The Importance of Good Posture The drawing at the left is the human spine viewed from the left side. Notice the gentle curves and the healthy disks between each pair of vertebrae. The disks give the spine it's flexibility and allow it to act like a shock-absorber. Without the disks it would be a solid piece of bone. You can imagine an eight to ten pound head bouncing along on top of the Atlas vertebra while a person is running. The cervical spine will flex slightly each time the heel hits the ground in order to cushion the force. Likewise you can imagine the weight of the arms and shoulders pushing down on the upper thoracic spine as the person runs. The thoracic (chest) spine will also flex as the weight of the head and shoulders presses down. The flexing of the lumbar spine (lower back) works in just the same way; the disks compress and allow the spine to curve a little more to the left (in this drawing) as the spine adjusts to absorb the forces. Maintaining these curves is critical to good health. Poor posture over the years will deform the inter-vertebral disks and reduce the spine's ability to absorb shocks. Once the spine cannot absorb shocks, then accidents--slips or falls--are much more damaging. They can lead to lateral (side-to-side) deformities, or anterior-posterior (front to back) shifting of vertebrae. |
The woman at the right is sitting perfectly. Her spine head and pelvis are all in a natural position. If she was to get up to stand, she wouldn't change the relationships between her head, shoulders, spine and pelvis. She would simply stand up by straightening her legs. Notice that: - she isn't touching the back of her chair
- her feet are flat on the floor supporting the weight of her legs
- she's sitting on the bottom of her pelvis, a part known as the Isciums, what some people refer to as the sit-bones.
If you're not sure where your isciums are, stand up and push in just below your buttocks where your legs meet your hips. The bones you feel are the isciums. If you stand up very straight with your best possible posture and sit down being careful not to slump, the place where you're sitting should be the isciums. This is how the body was designed to sit. |  |
Sitting on floor with perfect posture | Young people often sit on the floor, often in unusual positions that stress the spine. If these positions aren't habitual--if they move from one position to another then no damage is done. But if a person, young or old, sits in one position too long as when watching TV or playing video games--and that position isn't what we see here--then ligaments, tendons, muscles, and inter-vertebral disks will be stretched out of shape and the spine will be weakened.
The photos of the two young women are courtesy of Gaiam, Inc. See www.gaiam.com for innovative and healthful things to sit on. |
