Understanding the REAL Cause of Poor Posture | Posture Doctor

Have you been everywhere and tried everything to correct your posture, but when you look in the mirror you see little, if any difference?

A common mistake people make when trying to correct their posture is not understanding the real cause of poor posture. Many have tried several types of treatment and various exercise regimes in the past, but when they look in the mirror, they see little if any change. Does that sound familiar? If it does, then you may have a structural posture issue.

Further Reading: The 7 Biggest Posture Mistakes

A structural problem requires a structural solution. The problem is, most gym trainers and exercise classes that claim to correct your posture, use only a functional approach. A functional approach works really well for someone who has very good body symmetry. In other words your left and right sides are mirror images of each other and there are no obvious imbalances. Functional exercise programs work well as general rehabilitation for those with good body symmetry but not for the 10% of you who fail to see results, time and time again!

You may go along to a Pilates class where everyone is given the same functional exercises. You may go to see a personal trainer, and you’d be given functional exercises for weak core muscles or maybe to build overall strength, but again these exercises are generic. These generic exercises have nothing to do with the structure of your spine, and won’t help the 10% of you who have structural issues.

When you receive a tailored structural exercise program to correct your posture, you will likely receive a program of exercises – many of which, you have never seen. These mirror-image-exercises are designed to fit the altered shapes and asymmetry in your body – when the left side does not match the right side and your spinal curves have been altered.

A structural approach uses mathematics and physics to interpret your posture. Few practitioners and very few trainers and teachers are trained, qualified or even interested in using a structural approach because it takes much longer to train and should involve years of university-level-study in radiology.

For those of you who have tried many different approaches and still look in the mirror and see unattractive posture, consider you may have a structural posture problem. Once you receive a structural diagnosis, you can begin a tailored exercise program and it is then, and only then, that you are likely to be rewarded with real results – upright, attractive, youthful posture for life!