Example of a posture screen result

Posture Screening – what is it and how can it help?

This is one of the newest additions to our toolbox and is a really quick way to illustrate any alignment issues you may have, which can often be a contributing factor of any number of issues such as back pain, neck pain etc.

In a natural standing position, the ideal scenario is that if you were to draw a line from top to toe, passing through all of your major joints, that line will be pretty straight and indicate good posture, and that your spine is correctly aligned.

This is often not the case for a lot of people though, and a posture screening will be able to highlight the problem areas. 

It begins with the practitioner taking photos of you in a standing position from your front, back and both sides. You should stand naturally to have the photos taken – no posing to impress! These photos are uploaded into the posture screen software, where the practitioner will then plot points against each of your main joints/pivot points such as neck, shoulders, pelvis, kness etc. 

These points are connected by a line, and in an ideal scenario the line created through the spine will be straight and upright and the line created from shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip will be level and balanced. A perfectly straight line appears alongside your own plotted lines to give a visual comparison. 

From this, your practitioner will be able to talk you through what it might mean for you; it may be that any pain you have been experiencing could be directly related to your body being out of alignment. Or it may be that being out of alignment has not caused your pain, but is exasperating it. It could also be that by improving your alignment, you will be able to do things that you couldn’t do before; improving your flexibility and mobility, both of which are really important, especially into older age.

We offer posture screenings for our new clients as part of their initial health assessment, so if this is something you think you would benefit from, please do get in touch.

Woman sitting uncomfortably at a desk

Sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin…to talk about posture

Do you work from home, sitting at a computer? Do you feel like your posture is not what it should be? Here at Vital Health we want to ensure that your posture isn’t causing any pain or creating any problems for your future.  

When you are in a seated slumped position it has been found that this increases the risk of getting lower back discomfort. A study found that both people with lower back pain and people without, after 20 minutes of sitting, both groups of participants adopted a slumped way of sitting. This therefore shows that even people without back pain adopt an incorrect way of sitting that is putting the spine in a position that can cause problems in the future. If your desk isn’t ergonomically set up correctly then this also increases the risk of back pain as you are putting the spine into a position it doesn’t want to be in. Below is a picture of an ergonomically set up desk, which you could try and adopt in your home to minimise the pressure being put on the spine.  

Ideal desk setup for good posture
Ideal desk setup for good posture

Did you know that periods of prolonged sitting eventually leads to inactive glutes and weak core muscles. Inactive glutes can lead to back pain, knee pain and much more. Prolonged periods of sitting can also lead to tight hip muscles and tight hamstrings. This is just a few more reasons as to why prolonged periods of sitting are bad for the body.  

Here at Vital Health we are offering Posture Screen assessments to analyse your posture and then compare it with the perfect posture. This will give the physical therapist an idea of what muscles may be too tight and what muscles may be too weak. It will also look at your head position and look at your head weight going down the spine. Even if you don’t currently suffer with any aches or pains, the posture screen will highlight any future problems that may arise if you continue with your current way of standing and sitting.

If your posture is something you want to improve, get in touch with us at Vital Health and we can start the process to achieving the perfect posture.