How Can Poor Posture Result in Back Pain?

The spine, or the backbone, has a natural curve that can get accentuated if the sitting or standing posture is wrong, which can put a lot of strain on the muscles that are attached to the vertebral column. As such, this poor posture can result in back pain which can then be only taken care of by physical therapy. So, to understand this dilemma, we take a look at the question: how can poor posture result in back pain?

Ask any chiropractor or any doctor who knows about the spinal column, the spine is the focal point of the body posture. An anomaly with this bone structure can result in some pretty painful issues of the posture and spine: scoliosis, pot belly, which accentuates the curvature of the spine, leaving the back in pain, which contributes to lower back pain when standing up straight.

How Can Poor Posture Result in Back Pain?

There are many situations, especially in these modern times of people bent over laptops and phones, where poor posture is rife among the majority of the populace and as such, back problems, backaches and postural problems are pretty common. So, we’ll also take a look at some common posture problems, and how how can poor posture result in back pain.

What are Some Common Posture Problems?

As stated beforehand, this is the era of technology, mobile devices and backaches. Everywhere you see, be it on the jogging trail or the office, people are bent from the neck-up: people bent on laptops, their necks and spines in visible discomfort. Joggers and jaywalkers alike bent on their cellphones, trying to fit in the message during their short time they can stare at their phone before they get home and stare at a bigger screen. So, needless to say, common posture problems are really common; and the answer to the question ‘how long does it take to fix bad posture’ is not very good either.

Slouched Shoulders:

Although this may not seem like an issue of the vertebral column, but it does affect the muscles that are attached to the upper portion of the spinal column. When the shoulders are slouched, the muscle band that connects the shoulders to the spine are contracted, and contracting them for long can cause them to pain, which leads to shoulder pain if you sit with slouched shoulders for too long.

Hunched Up Shoulders:

This is the opposite of slouched shoulders. Where in the previous one the shoulders are slouched downwards and the muscle band is contracted, in hunched up shoulders, the shoulder blades are raised constantly, which contracts a separate band of muscles attached to spine. This causes the muscles to tire out after a specific time period, causing back pain, especially in the upper back and the shoulders.

Bent Neck:

This posture is pretty common nowadays as constant device usage has caused our necks to stay bent the whole day. Since the neck bone is essentially a continuation of the spinal column and is actually connected to the spine at the base of the neck, any anomaly or pain in the neck will be shared by the spine. Therefore, a bent neck will eventually end up hurting both the nape (the posterior of the neck) and the upper back, which will also include the shoulders.

These are some of the common posture problems that affect people every day. Now, lets take a look at some answers to the question ‘how long does it take to fix your posture’.

How Long Does it Take to Fix Bad Posture?

Bad posture or poor posture affects the spinal column, which is what maintains our posture and is the main part of the back, if not the body. In its proper condition, the spinal column is arranged vertically in such a way that the bony structures of the column are aligned perfectly, with only a slight curvature in the lower-middle section of the spine, which falls squarely behind the stomach and the gut region.

This is why people suffering from obesity and a potbelly complain of back pain, especially in the middle part. This is because the already curved part of the spinal column (which is totally natural) is further affected by the overhang of the belly, which puts additional strain on the curvature of the spine, increasing it over time. This does not happen at once, and is the same as how long it would take to fix your bad posture; a consistent practice of weeks, months at a time.

To fix bad posture, the first thing you need to understand is that the spine is a bony column that extends from the neck to the lower back. And this being a hard structure, is not easy to bend or shape it the way you want. In other words, it is not as malleable as other parts of the body, like muscles are. Bad posture does not develop overnight, and neither does correcting it happen overnight.

Days and weeks of sitting in the wrong posture or sleeping in the wrong posture can contribute heavily to a bad posture, and even then, the body and the column itself gives you enough signs to do something about it. You will notice an unnatural pain arising in the spinal column after sleeping wrong or after sitting in the same spot. While this pain may persist initially, once the spine has adjusted to that shape or posture, it will stop, and the right posture then will start to flare up pain in the back.

As for the answer to how long does it take to fix your posture, you need to first practice sitting in the right posture for at least a couple of days before the pain (from readjusting the spine) will subside and the spine will again readjust to the right posture. This whole procedure will take a couple of weeks, because the bone is brittle and hard structure which takes time to bend and get into a shape, just like how can poor posture result in back pain and how persistence on a bad posture can cause back pain.