The Link Between Posture and Pain: How Physiotherapy Can Help

Posture plays a crucial role in our overall health and well-being. Maintaining good posture not only contributes to a confident appearance but also impacts our musculoskeletal health. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the connection between posture and pain, exploring how poor posture can contribute to various aches and discomfort, and how physiotherapy may help you regain postural control and alleviate pain.

Understanding Posture

Posture refers to the way we hold our bodies[1] while sitting, standing, or moving. Good posture involves maintaining the spine’s natural curves and aligning our body segments. This optimal alignment[2] minimises stress on your muscles, joints, and ligaments, promoting musculoskeletal health and reducing the risk of pain and injury.

However, many factors in modern life, such as prolonged sitting[3], slouching, and repetitive movements, can contribute to bad posture. Common postural problems include:

• Forward Head Posture: Where the head protrudes forward, straining the neck and upper back muscles.
• Rounded Shoulders: This often accompanies forward head posture, causing the shoulders to slump forward.
• Excessive Curvature of the Spine: This can manifest as excessive kyphosis (hunchback) in the upper back or excessive lordosis (swayback) in the lower back.

Recognising these postural deviations and their potential impact on your body is the first step towards addressing them and improving your overall well-being.

How Poor Posture Contributes to Pain

When our posture deviates from its ideal alignment, it may result in a cascade of effects throughout the body, often leading to pain and discomfort. Here’s how bad posture can contribute to pain:

• Muscle Imbalances: Poor posture[4] may cause some muscles to work harder while others become weaker and overstretched. This imbalance can lead to muscle fatigue, tightness, and pain, particularly in the neck, back, and shoulders. For instance, slouching can overstretch the upper back muscles and shorten the chest muscles, contributing to neck pain and headaches.
• Joint Strain: When our joints are not aligned correctly, they may experience uneven pressure and wear and tear. This can lead to joint pain, stiffness, and inflammation. For example, a forward head posture can place excessive strain on the facet joints in the neck, leading to neck pain and headaches.
• Nerve Compression: Poor posture may compress the nerves, leading to numbness, tingling, and pain. A common example is sciatica, where a herniated disc or spinal stenosis compresses the sciatic nerve, causing pain that radiates down the leg.
• Reduced Blood Flow: Slouching and other postural deviations can restrict blood flow to muscles and tissues[5], potentially hindering their ability to receive oxygen and nutrients. This may contribute to pain, fatigue, and impaired healing.

Physiotherapy for Posture Correction

If you’re wondering how to fix rounded shoulders and other musculoskeletal issues, physiotherapy offers a potentially helpful approach. When you visit a physiotherapy centre in Singapore, the physiotherapists may utilise various methods to help you achieve optimal posture and alleviate pain:

• Postural Assessment and Analysis: A thorough assessment is the basis of posture correction. The physiotherapist will analyse your posture and identify muscle imbalances, joint restrictions, and movement patterns contributing to your postural deviations.
• Manual Therapy: Hands-on techniques of a frozen shoulder treatment, such as soft tissue and joint mobilisation, may help release muscle tension, improve joint mobility, and improve alignment.
• Exercise Prescription: Targeted exercises may help strengthen weak muscles, improve flexibility, and enhance postural control. The physiotherapist will recommend a personalised physio for back pain programme that addresses your needs and goals.
• Ergonomic Advice and Education: The physiotherapist will guide you on how to stop slouching while helping you to optimise your workstation setup, posture during daily activities, and sleeping positions to minimise strain on your body and promote good posture.