Most people do not realize how important good posture is, and hence often neglect how they carry themselves. A person with bad posture is perceived as a person with low self-esteem and low confidence, besides harming overall health in the long term. The physical harm directly affects back and neck pain, amongst several other ailments. Today, we have Dr. Tina Mahendrakar – Physiotherapist, lay down some common causes of poor posture, so that being aware of these causes can help you avoid it to improve your posture. 

Pain or past injuries 

When you experience pain in your back or neck muscles or any other part of the body, you tend to overcome the pain by holding your body in a different position. When this posture is continued for a long time, it can become a daily habit. Hence holding yourself differently can be due to some pain or muscle injury in any part of your body. 

Low nutritional state

Your spine and back need adequate nutrients to grow strong and straight. Low nutrition and lack of vitamins and calcium can affect the bones and muscles by not providing adequate strength and flexibility to hold itself in a correct posture.

Hereditary

If you have a family history of bent back, then even you might have to deal with it. Sometimes no matter how hard you try to hold your posture in a correct way, the reason can be just genes that are preventing you from improving your posture. However, this can be rectified with professional help.

Extra weight 

According to Dr. Tina, carrying extra weight can also be the reason for your poor posture. Many women with large breasts tend to have bad posture because the extra weight around their chest pulls them forward. People with extra weight around their stomach can have a problem with lower back pulled forward, due to the stomach weight.

Habit

Sometimes, the way you walk or the way you hold things can be the reason of bad posture. For instance, if you always walk with your head down or slump your shoulders, this can cause your posture to pull out from proper alignment. Sometimes, carrying weight on only one side of the body can contribute to imbalanced or poor posture. 

Your job 

Your desk job is the biggest reason for your hunched back – according to Dr. Tina. People, who have desk jobs, often push their neck and head forward and hunch their shoulders. All these factors contribute to our inability to keep our spines straight and results in poor posture.

Lifestyle and fashion

Clothing and shoes especially affect posture. Women, who walk on pencil heels, are more prone to cause problems to their posture. Besides high heels shoes, wearing boots, tight fitting clothes, low waist jeans and wide belts can cause bad posture – according to Dr. Tina. When you wear something uncomfortable like wide belts or high heeled shoes, this changes your centre of gravity, which ultimately causes your posture to suffer. 

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