How Posture Plays a Role in Muscle Pain

You may remember being cautioned to sit up straight and not to slouch when you were younger, otherwise, you would face many problems when you got older. While at that time you may have rolled your eyes and continued with your day, now you may find yourself believing what you were told in the past, especially if you have been involved in an accident.

Being the victim of an automobile or motorcycle crash can leave you with many lingering side effects that will take time to heal, one of which is muscle pain. The team at Impact Medical knows all about this, as we see this issue and many others while we work each day to restore accident victims to full health. Today, we wanted to focus on how posture and muscle pain are directly related to help you better understand this relationship and how it plays a role in treatment recommendations.

In our normal lives, we may spend hours slouched over a desk or workspace or perhaps with our heads down and buried in our devices. Less than stellar posture is a problem that affects many of us, and this can exacerbate injuries particularly to the back and neck that were sustained in an accident. 

The definition of posture is the positioning of the body when standing, sitting, or lying. Having good posture allows for your body to be in proper alignment so that gravitational forces are evenly distributed over your skeletal frame and musculature. When your posture is clinically correct, you should notice the following:

• Less stress on joints, ligaments, muscles, and the spine
• Proper joint alignment
• Muscles that can work effectively and efficiently with little to no discomfort
• Better flexibility
• Less prone to strains, sprains, and other injuries

When your posture is lacking, a whole other set of negative circumstances can result, as poor posture throws off the distribution of gravity on your body’s frame and can quickly send you out of alignment. For instance, sitting hunched over with your head down and shoulders hunched can lead to major strain on the spine. This can then transfer to poor positioning of other parts of the body and muscles that become weakened and painful.

Over time, as the muscles weaken, you may experience premature degeneration of the joints and the beginnings of arthritis. Also, other muscle groups and ligaments may try to overcompensate for the weakened areas, thus causing a vicious chronic pain cycle.

Here at Impact Medical, we take a holistic treatment approach with our valued patients. We realize that post-accident trauma is a complex issue that can require multiple treatment modalities to heal injuries and strengthen weakened muscles. Therefore, we approach your care as a team of specialized medical professionals in areas like physical therapy, chiropractic care, imaging, manual therapy, and more. 

With the Impact Medical team on your side, we can help your body relearn proper positioning and gain back what was lost in your accident. Don’t needlessly suffer after you have been in an accident. Give us a call today and give us a chance to positively impact your health and wellness so that you can start living your best life again.