… Consider the impact it has on your sports performance, which can be significant.
… Be aware that good posture is more than your standing or sitting position.
… Sports trainers like to say no five-minute warm-up can counter eight hours of sitting. Train and exercise with good form in mind.
When engaged in their sport, athletes are always moving, switching from position to position at different speeds in short bursts and sustained activity. Athletes are able to perform the specialized moves of their sport through correct posture. Posture allows for efficient movement so the athlete can conserve energy for an entire game or race or routine. When an athlete has to move more to compensate for poor posture, they could use up the punches of power they will likely need later in play.
Daily activities like driving, eating, playing computer games, sleeping and hours spent sitting can affect an athlete’s posture even before they start to play their sport. The poor posture of daily life can develop inefficiencies in movement over time, which can carry over into an athlete’s physical ability to play their sport.
Good posture is more than your standing or sitting position. Good posture ignites a muscular and skeletal balance that protects the body from injury whether you’re moving or not. This means athletes need good posture or form when running, jumping, diving, tumbling and tackling in addition to sitting or sleeping.
Your body must adjust constantly to your current environment to maintain correct form, often called postural sway. You are exhibiting bad posture if you have an exaggerated lumbar curve (lower back) or an exaggerated thoracic curve (neck) – although it likely took years to develop from repeated, prolonged or habitual movement.
Poor posture can affect your endurance, the stabilization of your mid-body and respiration. With unchecked poor posture, you can develop overextended knees, altered shoulder joint mechanics, a tight thoracic spine and other conditions that will deter economical movement and cause pain.
With the increasing amounts of time that many of us spend sitting at a desk in front of a device or even walking and looking at our phone, proper posture has never been more important. Many of us sit with a slump in the shoulders, our necks craned downwards to work or study while viewing a monitor, electronic screen, game, what-have-you. This poor posture not only looks bad, it can have long-term impacts on your health and well-being:
POOR CIRCULATION – Slouching and leaving your legs crossed for too long can cause pressure that will limit the movement of various fluids throughout your body. This pressure increase outside of the standard resting range can lead to circulatory issues throughout the body, including the development of spider veins in the legs.
INCREASED STRESS – Poor posture can cause increased levels of cortisol to circulate throughout the body, leaving you feeling more stressed out than you should be. This increased stress hormone level can form an unhealthy feedback loop that works beautifully with the other negative physiological effects of poor posture.
MUSCLE PAIN – Poor posture can put undue stress on smaller muscle groups, which typically are not meant to carry the loads placed on them by poor posture. This can lead to soreness, pain, tightness and even strains if left ignored for too long.
DECREASED LUNG FUNCTION – When hunching over, your lungs do not expand fully and do not function optimally to bring enough air into and out of the body. This leads to lower oxygenation levels in other body tissues, which can lead to a multitude of symptoms that affect your strength and stamina.
Sports trainers like to say no five-minute warm-up can counter eight hours of sitting. The different postures you use as an athlete -in competition and in everyday life- will affect your performance. Train to enhance correct posture and balance. Work on postures used in daily activities as well as sports moves. Check the ergonomics of your desk or workspace for back and hip health. No not spend too much time in one position, such as sitting or lying down. Move often and well throughout the day.
At True Sports, we’re sports-focused because you’re sports-focused. The best physical therapists in Baltimore and Maryland provide the highest level of sports physical therapy and expertise you need to get back to your sport. With six convenient state-of-the-art locations to choose from, any athlete who takes their rehab seriously can get awesome care and extraordinary results. Select your location and schedule an appointment and have True Sports get you back to your team. For questions about insurance or self-pay rates, please call our office at 1-401-946-1672.
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