“As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”
Have you ever wondered how life imitates nature?
As I sit in my office and think ahead to the spring season, I look at one of my favorite quotes by Alexander Pope placed on a beautiful picture of a Bonsai tree. From there I sit and visualize its precise application of Chiropractic care to the health, strength, and longevity we hope to achieve with proper balance and growth.
First, is To Understand
The ancient Japanese art form of growing Bonsai trees is fascinating. Bonsai trees are standard shrubs that have been consistently stressed in a particular way for a long time to create a posture which would never be found naturally in nature. Depending on how the tree is stressed while it grows, it may end up looking like a miniature version of a full-sized tree, or it may end up looking like a wild tangle of branches with twists and loops.
Second, is the Vision
To most people, “good posture” only means sitting and standing up straight. Few of us realize the importance of posture to our health and performance.
Our human body literally craves alignment. When we are properly aligned, our bones, not our muscles, support our weight, reducing effort and strain on our nervous system.
When our body is in proper alignment with the help of correct posture we are rewarded as we are healthier, have more energy, plus we move and age more gracefully.
So while the word “posture” may conjure up images of book-balancing school girls, it is not just about standing up straight. It is about being aware of your posture being wholly connected to your body’s health and wellbeing.
Posture and Chiropractic
As a chiropractor, we know and try to help you understand that posture ranks right up at the top of the list when you are talking about optimal health. It is as important as eating right, exercising, getting proper rest and avoiding potentially harmful substances like alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.
Ideally, our bones stack up one upon the other: the head rests directly on top of the spine, which sits directly over the pelvis, which sits directly over the knees and ankles. But if you spend hours every day sitting in a chair, if you hunch forward or balance your weight primarily on one leg, the muscles of your neck and back have to carry the weight of the body rather than it being supported by the spine. The resulting tension and joint pressure can affect you not only physically, but emotionally and chemically too.
One of our goals as a chiropractor is to correct the misalignments releasing the tension on the delicate nerve tissues which will, in turn, release the pressure of the muscles that become tight and inflamed trying to protect the injured area(s). As the body is twisting and shifting to protect an injured area another area of the spine and body can and will become compromised.
Good vs. Bad
Good posture is a way of doing things with more energy, less stress, and fatigue.
- Without good posture, you cannot be optimally physically, chemically or mentally fit.
- Without good posture, you can actually physically damage your spine every time you exercise.
- Without proper posture, your nerves will not communicate properly with your glands and organs, resulting in all kinds of degeneration and potential chronic diseases.
Is Chiropractic for Children Too?
From the very beginning of our children’s lives, we are always creating guidelines to help form and develop them into the healthy adults that they will become. As parents of this generation, we have encountered a new force that is creating bends and twists in our children’s postures – the smartphones and electronic devices. This repetitive activity over time is now grooming our children’s postures into the predictable head forward posture and rolled shoulders.
With the unhealthy curves, we see, the path of our children’s health is becoming all too clear with the rising complaints of back pain, headaches, short attention spans, depression, indigestion, reflux, high blood pressure, asthma and thyroid problems at earlier ages.
As in nature, the earlier one begins a healthy lifestyle, the healthier and less disease they will experience.
So by all means, Chiropractic care should be considered first either actively or proactively as it is a safe, effective and drug-free way to better health for all ages. All care is tailored to the individual’s size, age, shape, and needs.
Your Posture Is the Window To Your Health
What does your posture say about you and your family?
Contact us today and schedule a posture exam. Your posture will be telling all of us more than you think!
For Your Health,
Dr. Joseph Gambardella, Dr. Benjamin Erb and Dr. Gail Behar