Posture Assessment
How is your posture? How do you interact with gravity? Posture is something that most people can relate to but very few people understand how posture influences our health. Posture has an effect on your muscle, ligaments, spinal discs, heart, lungs, and digestion. The rate at which technology is developing is comparable to the rate at which posture is declining. Dr. Loomis has specialized training in the assessment and treatment of postural disorders that are plaguing our modern society. We can use posture photos to determine how chiropractic care can help treat years of postural decline. Dr. Loomis also uses a brain-based approach to help his patients interact with gravity in a more effective way.
If you are one of the 86% of Americans who sits at a desk for 40+ hours per week, you can be categorized as a “desk jockey” (which is really anyone who works a full-time desk job). Add in your commute, the amount of time you sit at home watching TV, reading, or eating, and we find that Americans sit more than 13 hours every day on average. Some have even gone so far as to call this phenomenon the “sitting disease” that is slowly killing us, because chronic prolonged sitting may be the worst thing you can do to your spine and your overall health.
“Desk jockey posture” is best described as slumped over with rounded shoulders, rotated hands, hips rolled forward and the low back leaning forward in a stretched position. This kind of poor posture sets us up for pain in shoulders, elbows, neck, upper and lower back, hips and knees and causes dreaded headaches.
Remain in any posture long enough and it can become the norm for your body. This is because our bodies are dynamic and they will mold themselves into the positions we put them in the longest. All of our muscles, joints, fascia, and other soft tissues will contract into that posture, and by doing it consistently your body will eventually cement itself in that position. Some muscles like the quads, hip flexors, and hamstrings will tighten over time, while others like our abs and glutes will simply weaken. Any negative adaptation of the body such as this is felt like a trauma by the body – the same as a punch in the gut or an automobile accident only carried out over a much slower period of time.