Just what is posture, as it refers to the body? "A position of the body or of body parts: a sitting posture. An attitude; a pose: assumed a posture of angry defiance. A characteristic way of bearing one's body; carriage: stood with good posture. A frame of mind affecting one's thoughts or behavior; an overall attitude."* Simply put, it is a position and an attitude. You can tell alot about a person through their posture. You can see if someone is in pain, if they are confident, in a bad mood and some people are professional posture readers (body language). Posture tells us many things and it is constantly changing. Many of us could not get into a "good" posture if we tried, due to all the work we have put into "bad" posture. At some point in our lives, most of us have probably been told to "stop slouching!" Turns out, that was better advice than imagined.
Studies now show that there are correlations between posture and life expectancy. One study over 20 years shows that loss of height is related to earlier death. This refers to disk height and increased upper thoracic spine humping (kyphosis). Those losing over 3 cm increased risk 64% over those with 1 cm loss. ^ This is mainly related to increased cardiovascular compromise and lack of oxygen due to stooped posture. The farther you forward flex (slump) your spine forward, it compresses the heart and decreases the distance the rib cage and diaphragm are able to expand, allowing less oxygen in. This affects all tissues and organs in the body. Excessive kyphosis of the thoracic spine is often related to osteoporosis, but it increasingly common in the younger popluation due to the obsession with computers, texting, gaming and sitting long hours.
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