Posture vs. Structure

Got posture? You may have seen this catchy phrase around town on a Zenith Chiropractic t-shirt. There have been many studies and articles explaining the benefits of proper posture ranging from increased confidence to better health outcomes. You may be surprised to find out that posture (external) is often a poor gauge of Structure (internal). Allow me to briefly explain the link between the two and how we apply this concept in NeuroStructural chiropractic care.
"Sit up straight!"
"Stop slouching!"

We've all heard these commands from a parent, grandparent, or teacher. You may have even straightened up a bit in reading about this topic. In an instant we can change positions to improve our posture - essentially the outward appearance of our body's frame. Let me ask you, how often does the outward appearance accurately reflect the inward integrity? We all know that more often than not - IT DOESN'T.

Herein lies both the critical concept and its practical application: posture ≠ Structure.

To illustrate my point, consider driving around in your vehicle with one tire significantly flatter than the other three (illustrated above with caption "Proper Alignment Means Better Performance"). Less PSI means that your vehicle is unbalanced - sort of like poor posture. If you catch this change early enough, you can re-inflate the tire and minimize the Structural implications to your vehicle. However, if this minor change goes unnoticed for a long enough period of time it's reasonable to expect both Structural and Functional changes to your vehicle. For example, you may find:

• uneven tire wear
• alignment issues
• unequal load on bearings and shocks
• reduced lifespan of brakes

Pumping that tire up to normal PSI solves all of these problems right? Wrong! In the same way, improving posture does not equate to improving Structure and subsequently Function. To solve a Structural problem, you need a Structural solution. NeuroStructural chiropractors apply these basic concepts to our patient care every day in several important ways.

1. Looking at YOUR individual 3-dimensional Structure. We do this using state-of-the art 3D Structural imaging and Digital Structural Photography. 
2. Understanding normal so that we can recognize abnormal. It is extremely important to compare all of our findings to normal ranges. This allows us to know a few things:
1. Is a Structural Shift present?
2. How long has it been there?
3. What is the severity of the problem?
3. Measure Function. Structure influences Function - this is a well established principle. If we determine that a Structural Shift is present, we want to know EXACTLY how it is impacting your Function. 
4. Complementary Recommendations. Since each person is unique, we complement our care with specific recommendations that are tailored to each individual. A "one size fits all" approach is simply ineffective for a large percentage of people.

By collecting all of this data before we begin care, we create a full picture that we can use to track progress over time. We find that this allows us to achieve the best possible results with our patients by only providing adjustments when absolutely necessary. As a matter of fact, we often find that addressing the Primary Condition (Structural Shift) results in improvements in many Secondary Conditions, including posture.