How does posture affect back pain?

Did you know that one of the most common causes of low back pain is poor posture? In today’s society, we often find ourselves sitting for long hours at the computer. Once poor posture initiates back pain, continuing to sit in a slouched position can worsen your symptoms over time. Sitting with a slouched posture for prolonged periods soon becomes a hard habit to break and can increase pressure on your intervertebral discs. Increased pressure overtime can change the shape of the disc and can lead to a bulging disc. A disc that bulges can pinch the sciatic nerve causing radiating symptoms into the buttock or down the leg.  In order to reverse the pressure on the discs, correct posture must be restored and your core needs to be strengthened. Pilates is an excellent way to strengthen your postural muscles in order to form good postural habits. A strong core can help protect your spine. Pilates can focus on lengthening short muscles or strengthening weak muscles which  both contribute to poor posture. Physical therapy with the addition of Pilates can help you understand how to prevent the onset of low back pain, or it can can help reverse current symptoms you may be experiencing.

-Dr. Erin Laurie PT, DPT, CPT