In a physiological sense, posture is the relationship among the skeleton, muscles, and other tissues of the body as it is held upright against gravity. It is as important to good health as proper nutrition, exercise, and a good night’s sleep.
What is poor posture?
When we think about poor posture, we often visualize someone slouching or hunched over. Poor posture, however, encompasses a lot more than a static pose. It is the result of chronic bad habits as we perform daily activities. Particularly, if we consistently engage in repetitive motions, or maintain a position for prolonged periods, our bodies begin to compensate for the activity. This throws the rest of the body out of alignment.
Unfortunately, this happens to all of us. We are creatures of habit. Our jobs require similar postures day in, day out, our leisure activities tend to be regularly repeated, and our sleeping habits become well defined. Then, as our bodies maintain the compensations acquired during our repetitive daily activities, we are no longer in ideal balance and our muscles have to work harder to even just hold us upright. We waste energy and develop musculoskeletal pain, joint restriction, and general discomfort.
What is good posture?
Good posture is a way of doing things more effectively and efficiently. It is maintaining the optimal position of the bones, muscles, joints, and other tissues of the body, to function as nature intended: in way that causes less stress and requires less energy. It is also the optimal position of your vital organs, allowing them to function at peak efficiency as well. This optimal position is often referred to as neutral alignment. When your body is in neutral alignment, your weight is primarily supported by your skeleton, not your muscles, greatly reducing the stress and strain placed on the body.
Why does posture matter?
Posture plays a pivotal role in the overall health and total efficiency of the body. Just 15 minutes of maintaining poor posture can exhaust the muscles and cause discomfort. Over time, poor posture will start a progression of pain conditions and health problems that can be easily avoided. Starting with fatigue, tight, achy muscles, joint stiffness, and pain, a lifetime of poor posture begins to affect bodily systems such as digestion, elimination, breathing, and the normal functioning of the nervous system.
What does the ActivAided Posture Training Shirt do?
When you repeat poor posture regularly, your body begins to change to adapt. This results in misalignment and pain. Restoring neutral alignment, however, can counteract previous damage and prevent future health risks. When worn, ActivAided cues the body to self-correct poor postural habits. Over time, this consistent, gentle cuing will recondition your muscle memory to maintain neutral alignment naturally.
Unlike other approaches, ActivAided addresses the whole kinetic chain and encourages the appropriate muscles to fire when preforming daily activities. It is a tool to remind you to correct postural habits, improve body mechanics and activate the stabilizing core muscles, without acting like a crutch your body can become dependent on.