The role of our shoes in maintaining the right Posture!
Ever felt that sigh of relief just as you take off your shoes after a long day at work?
Although we feel really good after doing so, we don't really realise how shoes play such an important role in hampering or maintaining the correct posture.
But first, let's answer the more important question - Does correct posture even matter?
Yes! Of course it does. We all know that!
But what exactly is the role of correct posture? Let's have a look -
It helps you function better as a human - Despite us being extremely adaptable beings, we still can't beat the laws of biomechanics. Which basically means correct posture helps us move more efficiently and "fight" against gravity in a much easier manner.
Mind-Body functioning - Research has shown that maintaining correct posture helps you function better not just from a physiological sense, but a psychological sense as well. For example, if we round our shoulders forward (protraction), the head also goes into a "forward head" posture, ultimately resulting in neck pain, and in many cases inadequate blood supply to the brain (due to stiffness in our neck). This kind of posture in called Thoracic Kyphosis along with Cervical Lordosis and can lead to issues like headaches, which lead to us being more "troubled" overall.
Helps us look AMAZING! - Although correct posture is not the only way using which you can look amazing, but is surely one of most important ones. If you're familiar with the term "body language" you know what I am talking about. Imagine this, you go for a super important work related meeting and you want to really make a good impression here. Say you're someone who has slouched shoulders, a rounded back and your chin is jutted forward. This may leave an impression to the other person that you're stressed, low in self-confidence or self-esteem. Although, by any means I am not trying to make anyone look bad here, but from a realistic sense, just maintaining correct posture in general can create a long lasting impression, plus it boosts your confidence as well. There's always room for improvement right?
Why do I need to worry about my shoes for correct posture? Is it really needed?
Ask yourself this first, "how many hours in a day do I wear shoes?" In particular, heeled shoes. Now for all the men out there, I know what you're thinking, "I don't wear heeled shoes! Not at all!". By any means, I'm not referring to 3-4in heels, even half to 1 inch can do the damage to your posture.
So if you're someone wearing shoes for even 6-8 hours a day, especially if you're wearing shoes continuously, this can be a major problem.
For all the women out there, ever felt that after this long bout of wearing high heeled shoes at work or maybe even a party, causes you lower back and feet pain? Let's see what's happening and how can we fix it. Don't worry, I won't ask you to stop wearing heels. You can continue to do so, if you like it.
What happens to my Posture when I wear heeled shoes?
The very first thing that happens to your posture when we stand/walk in heels is, excessive arching of the lower back. In fact, most people already have this kind of postural imbalance. Wearing heeled shoes makes this postural condition even worse!
Your body weight tends to shift on the front side of the foot. Even if it's a little, it adds up over the years and tends to further exaggerate those postural imbalances.
Lower back pain - YES! One of the major causes for lower back pain is wearing heeled shoes for prolonged hours. As I mentioned earlier, because of the excessive arching of the lower back, the muscles in around the lumbar spine (lower back area) tend to "burn out". Because of this "burn out", one day or the other we realise this in the form of pain. Not just the lower back, but just wearing heeled shoes, can cause several issues with posture, such as Neck pain, Shoulder pain etc. YES! Your neck pain might be a foot issue.
"But I don't want to stop wearing heels! They make me look AWESOME!"
Being a top fan of AWESOMENESS, I would never like to be someone who ruins it for you. Although, I have some AWESOME solutions, which definitely will help you with bad posture, making sure you don't have to quit wearing heeled shoes.
Taking off your shoes while you're at your workstation - You definitely won't be a fan of this if you have smelly feet! But keeping the hygiene factor neutral, this is an extremely easy solution for correct posture. Just giving your feet a break for a while can be extremely rewarding!
Carrying a tennis ball with you to massage your feet - My personal favourite! Just carrying a tennis ball to work can be super helpful to help you maintain correct posture and alleviate pain. All you need to do, is place the ball right under your feet, and massage the whole foot. This not only relaxes the muscles on the underside of the foot but even relieves you from stress! Afterall, it's a massage. It's meant to make you feel good! The tennis ball is like your personal massage tool. There are a ton of movements you can perform, right in your office with that tennis ball.
Don't force yourself to wear high heeled shoes - Not everyone would agree with me on this, but considering this option can be a gamechanger. IF your work requires you to wear heeled shoes, that's fine, you may try the above methods. But just by changing slightly, say switching from 4 inch heels to maybe 2 inch heels for women, and switching from tight uncomfortable heeled formal shoes to a more comfortable brand with slightly broader toe section, may be appropriate for men.
Exercise! - Woah! Where did that come from? With exercise, I don't mean to say go all out right from the word go. I just want you all to be a little more active than what you already are. This is without a doubt, the best way to fix incorrect posture.
Some of these tactics are really amazing and make a huge difference in our functioning and obviously, correcting bad posture.
So when are you "fixing" your bad posture?
Check out the video below if you want to see what I mean with "right shoes" for correct posture!
If you're someone who's having any sort of postural imbalance or any kind of pain, feel free to BOOK A FREE DEMO, so that I can personally help you!
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