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9 Effects of Poor Posture on Health You Should Not Ignore

By Credihealth Admin Updated on January 14, 2023 • 6 min read
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You were probably warned by your parents while growing up never to stay in a certain position for long. Well, they were right! You see, there are a lot of things wrong with maintaining a bad posture. Slumping or slouching of the shoulders is never a good idea. Not only does it look unattractive, but it can have grave effects on your health. Poor posture affects the spine and its ability to maintain the right balance as well as absorb shock. The good news is that you can start correcting bad posture by using the right tools such as a back straightener.

9 effects of poor posture on your health, and why you should not take it lightly:

  • Poor Circulation

Sitting or standing wrongly can affect the flow of blood in your body. This will be more obvious if you sit for hours long without taking some breaks. Your chair can dispose you to poor posture which can worsen circulation problems. To avoid poor circulation arising from poor posture, endeavor to get up from your chair to stretch and walk around after every thirty minutes to one hour. It is also advisable that you get the right chair that will prevent you from slouching, especially if your work involves daily sitting.

  • Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Poor posture can cause some changes in the way the spine is aligned. This could lead to the constriction of the blood vessel, which affects the supply of oxygen and nutrient in the body. It is also common for such a person to have deep vein thrombosis and blood clots. All these can increase your risk of developing heart or cardiovascular disease, especially when the misalignment is not tackled on time.

  • Shoulder, Neck and Back pain

This is a common effect of poor posture on the body. Poor posture puts a lot of tension on your shoulder, neck and back. It's unavoidable to stand or sit wrongly sometimes. But this shouldn't become a habit as it would lead to pains in these areas mentioned. If you have to slouch or even twist your neck occasionally and for some seconds, this might not pose a threat to your health. Doing so for a prolonged period could cause some stiffness and muscle tension.

  • Poor Digestion

When you slouch, especially when sitting on your chair in your office, you will notice that your neck and shoulder slouch over your chest and abdomen. This position compresses the abdominal organs especially the digestive tract. If this becomes a habit, it can negatively impact your metabolism and ability to properly process foods. Make sure that when you are eating at your desk, ensure that you are not slouching so that you don't compress your digestive tract.

  • Poor Lung Function

When you are wrongly positioned, it can impair the amount of air that you take in. Hunching or leaning forward very often can negatively affect your lung's ability to function properly. And when your lung's function is impaired, your heart, brain and other vital organs will not get enough oxygen. Common symptoms of impaired lung function are poor cognitive ability, shortness of breath as well as cardiovascular issues.

  • Aggravating Arthritis

There could be malalignment of the knees and spines due to poor posture. This is when a lot of pressure is placed on the knees. So, if you already suffer from knee arthritis, you will notice that poor posture aggravates it. When this happens, you will notice an increased frequency in the rate at which you experience pain in your knees.

  • Jaw Pain

There is what is referred to as temporomandibular joint syndrome. These are joints that connect the jawbone to your skull's temporal bones. Poor posture which can misalign the spine can also create a pattern of an improper bite. If there is poor posture in the shoulders, neck or if the issue is forward head posture, it can misalign these joints that are delicately balanced. As a result of this, the jaw joints may cramp, lock, pop or go into spasms, which could cause some pain or difficulty in chewing.  

  • Headaches

When the natural curvature of the spine is affected as a result of poor posture, it can tighten the muscles of the neck. Such a tight neck is one of the many reasons people experience pain that radiates up to the head.

  • Poor Sexual Performance

I bet you didn't know that poor posture can also affect your ability to perform optimally during sex. Always sitting in a sacral position or slopping position is very dangerous according to research. In fact, it seems to be more dangerous than other bad postures because it has a direct negative effect on sexual ability. And it applies to both men and women. The reason this happens is that such posture tightens and shortens the pelvic floor muscles that play vital roles during sexual intercourse. A weak and tight pelvic floor muscles cannot exert the needed strength and power needed during sex. Such a person or persons usually has very weak or even nonexistent orgasms. If you, as a man, have a tightened or shortened pelvic floor muscle as a result of your work that entails sitting all the time, you may notice that you don't always have stamina when it comes to sex. Also, your ejaculations may be weak. For a woman, her sexual arousal and ability to have multiple orgasms will be reduced if she has weak pelvic muscles.

Final Thoughts!

If you have read this article to this point, you most likely have understood why poor posture is bad for your health. It's not just detrimental to your health but can also affect your quality of life. While you have the option of getting help from a medical practitioner, however, you can make use of tested and trusted tools from the comfort of your home to work on your posture. But whatever you do, take conscious steps toward correcting your posture if it needs work. You will feel the impact on your general well-being.
Categorized into General Health
Tagged in Balance, Mind-Body Wellness
Credihealth Admin

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Credihealth Admin

Administrator & Support

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Country India
Joined Oct 2015
Wrote 2,068 posts

Credihealth Admin Editorial team have extensive experience in healthcare content creation, producing health information that is up-to-date, accurate, informative, fact-based, and accessible to a wide audience.

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