How Can Physical Therapy Help Correct Bad Posture?
2/29/2024
Thanks to modern technological advancements, Americans are spending more time sitting and being sedentary than ever before. Staring down at smartphones, sitting at desk jobs, and binge-watching Netflix can all lead to bad posture.
Over time, poor posture can lead to serious, long-term health effects, including upper back and neck pain, weakened muscles, poor circulation, difficulty sleeping, and even respiratory issues. Further, failing to correct your posture can increase your risk of injury when you are active, and that includes bending over to tie your shoes!
The good news is that a physical therapist can help you improve and achieve proper posture. This article provides a brief overview of how physical therapy can help.
What Causes Poor Posture?
Poor posture can happen at any time in our lives, though it tends to become more pronounced as we get older. This is because we can develop bad habits that lead to poor posture, and we are also at a higher risk of losing muscle strength and flexibility.
Some of the most common bad habits that can lead to poor posture include:
Sitting at a desk job all day without taking breaks to stand up or walk
- Leading a sedentary lifestyle
- Slouching
- Having a lack of strength or muscle tone
- Lingering injuries
In addition to experiencing health complications, the signs of having poor posture can begin to manifest themselves with changes to your physical appearance. If you begin to develop a protruding belly, rounded shoulders or a hump on the upper back area near the shoulder blades, you likely have poor posture that should be corrected.
How Physical Therapy for Posture Improvements Works
It can be difficult to correct poor posture on your own, and a Katy physical therapist can help you improve your posture by developing a systematic strategy that incorporates a blend of functional movements, stretching, lifestyle changes, and postural retraining.
If you’re wondering, “How can physical therapy help correct bad posture?”, this list includes some of the ways that patients use physical therapy to make significant postural improvements:
- Teaching helpful exercises: A physical therapist can show you simple exercises to do in the office and at home. This can include movements to improve core muscles and stretching to improve flexibility.
- Providing lifestyle modifications: Based on the root cause of your poor posture and current lifestyle, a physical therapist can develop an improvement plan and offer ongoing guidance for maintaining good posture.
- Creating long-term habits: It took years to develop poor posture, but the damage can be undone once you are aware of the issue. A physical therapist can educate you about good postural habits and increase your mindfulness so that you can self-correct when you notice that you’re slouching.
Contact a Katy, TX, Physical Therapist for Help Correcting Bad Posture
Poor posture can typically be corrected, and a physical therapist in Katy, TX, can work with you to address the underlying musculoskeletal imbalances, weaknesses, and flexibility issues to help you improve mobility and movement.
At Spero Rehab, we take a holistic approach that is tailored to each patient for optimum results. Contact us to request an appointment.