Poor Posture

Poor posture is present where good posture is absent, and therefore exists where the centre of gravity doesn't fall through the centre of the body.

There is an intrinsic and delicate link between alignment, gravity, balance and posture. Upset the alignment of the structure, and the centre of gravity is offset. Offset the centre of gravity and the balance of the entire body is compromised.

In order not to fall over and succumb to the influence of gravity, the body must adapt and compensate it's posture in order to maintain an upright stance and oppose the force of gravity.

Funnily enough, it is the structure of the foot that plays a vital role in lining up the centre of the gravity through the body. With the three-arched structure of the foot in it's optimal position, gravity falls straight through the centre of the body and the medial longditudinal arch (big arch along the inner side of the foot). Find out more.

High arches push the centre of gravity backward, toward the heel whilst low arches pull the centre of gravity forward, toward the toes.

And now for another amazing coincidence - an inherently faulty foot alignment such as a natural varus or valgus footshape forces the arches in the foot to lower or heighten respectively when fully weightbearing. Find out more.

In the example below, a severe natural varus footshape forces the arches to flatten when weightbearing, pulling the centre of gravity forward. As a result, the muscsuloskeletal structure is forced to flex and bend out of its' ideal alignment in order to compensate and keep the body upright.

The result is a textbook example of poor posture. With a structural misalignment in the feet, the postural muscles that normally keep the body ideally aligned are weakened through misuse.

Misalignment of the bones causes abnormal wear and tear on the weightbearing joints throughout the body.

Without the proper alignment and strength of the bones and postural muscles to rely on, the body must call in for help from the superficial muscles to maintain an upright stance.

Unfortunately, these muscles are simply not designed to maintain postural alignment for long periods of time, and hence muscle soreness and stiffness, exhaustion, stress, joint wear and tear and an increased risk of injury result.

See the difference proper alignment of the arches in the foot makes to the structural alignment of the body. The example of good posture on the previous page is of the same subject as above, but with a pair of custom TOG orthoses under her feet.