The document discusses the detrimental effects of poor posture, specifically hyperkyphosis, which significantly increases mortality rates among the elderly by 144%. It details how this condition affects various bodily functions, particularly respiration and spinal health, leading to severe health issues like muscle fatigue and chronic pain. The document emphasizes the importance of posture awareness and corrective practices to prevent and manage these postural distortions.

1. Is Your Posture
Killing You?
Dr. Mark Wade
American Posture Institute

2. Is Your Posture Killing You?
• By evaluating the participant’s
kyphosis or curve of the upper part
of the back, the thoracic spine,
and the researchers were able to
correlate an increase in early
death among the elderly
population.

3. Is Your Posture Killing You?
• The researchers discovered that
persons with a hyperkyphotic
posture have a 144% greater rate
of mortality.

4. Is Your Posture Killing You?
• Meaning that as your posture
weakens and you form this type of
postural distortion pattern your
chances for dying before your
time come close to doubling

5. The Posture of the Spine is Degenerating
• As the posture weakens both muscularly
and structurally, the body begins to adapt
to abnormal posture patterns.
• The Thoracic spine has a natural curve to it.
This is developed by one bone (called a
vertebrae) sitting on top of another in a
stacking pattern.
• They are separated by a cushioning
structure called a vertebral disc.

6. The Posture of the Spine is Degenerating
• This causes the curve of the spine to
increase, which actually brings the top of
the spine closer to the bottom of the spine.
• This is one of the reasons why many people
become shorter as they age.
• Their spines are no longer in the erect and
stable position they once were.

7. What Does It Look Like?
• Structurally when we have hyper kyphosis or
an increased curve of the upper spine it
distorts many physical aspects of the
posture.
• You see this postural presentation regularly
even though its postural affects are quite
serious.

8. What Does It Look Like?
• This is the person that looks like they are
hunched forward; their shoulders are generally
rounded inwards.
• And they have a bit of a hump also known as a
dowagers hump at the base of their neck.
• In extreme conditions you see the elderly
person hunched over, leaning forward, usually
holding onto a cane to help her stay standing.
• Her head is sitting forward, and she looks like
she has a big round hump on her back.

9. How Does This Effect My Body
• The body is designed to function properly.
When we change the postural design of the
body we also alter the function.
• The most major situations from this postural
distortion pattern are the effects on
respiration or breathing and the pressure on
the spinal cord and nerves.

10. How Does This Effect My Body
• When the spinal curve increases causing the
rounded back, it stretches the spinal cord.
• The spinal cord runs through a small hole or
canal in the vertebra.
• As the vertebra flex forward, it stretches the
spinal cord putting stress, and sometime
direct pressure on the cord.
• This cord is what carries all the messages
from your brain to your body.

11. How Does This Effect My Body
• In regards to breathing, your lungs are
positioned in the upper part of your
body/chest.
• They bring in oxygen for your heart and
body by expanding to pull air in.
• When we bend forward, or have this
postural distortion pattern we are actually
limiting the space our lungs have to expand.

12. How Does This Effect My Body
• With each breath we have reduced the
space, limiting the amount of air we can
breath in, which then limits the oxygen that
is supplied to our heart and body.
• Having reduced oxygen in the body can
cause many serious health issues, and more
commonly noticed are issues such as
chronic fatigue, dizziness, and even
headaches .

13. How Does This Effect My Body
• Additional health issues caused by
this postural distortion pattern are
muscle fatigue, back pain,
herniated discs, and fractures of
the vertebra, arthritis and
osteoporosis.

14. Sitting Isn’t Helping
• As with all postural distortion patterns, it is developed
overtime by your habits and lifestyle.
• This postural distortion pattern most commonly occurs
in those who are seated for long periods of time.
• Someone working on a computer or sitting at a desk.
• When we allow our core muscles to relax, we lose the
support to sit up straight.
• This causes the thoracic spine to flex forward giving us
that postural compensation pattern.

15. Sitting Isn’t Helping
• Maintaining this position over time is one of the
factors to what causes this postural distortion
pattern.
• Having our hands positioned in front of us with our
shoulders rolled in, as if typing on a computer is the
exact position that creates this posture issue.
• With posture, you either have good posture or you
don’t there is no in between.

16. How Can I Check?
• Why don’t you take a second and feel
the top of your back, or where your
neck meets your shoulders.
• Do you feel a hump there?
• If so you may be starting to develop
this postural distortion pattern.

17. How Can I Check?
• The best way to know for sure if you
are developing this postural distortion
pattern is to have a postural analysis.
• The most highly trained to perform this
are Certified Posture Experts

18. How Can I Correct This?
• Most importantly, in dealing with
postural distortion patterns is
prevention.
• It is not only more effective, but it
is much quicker and easier to
correct these problems before
they happen.

19. How Can I Correct This?
• There are three fundamental
concepts when correcting
posture: Spinal alignment, postural
rehabilitation and postural habit
re-education.
• Here we will briefly focus on the
habits of those who sit at a desk
regularly.

20. How Can I Correct This?
• We must retrain our body what
proper posture is.
• This involves being consciously
aware of our posture in order to
change it.
• To break this postural distortion
pattern we must first sit up straight
and take mini posture breaks.

21. How Can I Correct This?
• When working we often forget to
stay in good posture and to take
posture breaks.
• However, these are vital in
changing our posture.
• A great tip that I use with all my
patients is a Posture Sticker

22. How Can I Correct This?
• Take a sticker, or any object really, and label
it your posture reminder.
• Place this sticker at your desk where you can
see it regularly.
• Every time you see this sticker you remember
to sit up straight, tighten your core/stomach
muscles, pull your shoulders back, and bring
your head over your shoulders, as if you were
pulling your chin back.

23. How Can I Correct This?
• If every time you see this
reminder you perform this
action you will begin to
strengthen your postural
muscles, and develop the
proper postural habits.

24. How Can I Correct This?
• Additionally, every 30 minutes
stand up from your desk, take
20 seconds and stretch.
• Stretch your arms to the
ceiling, bend from one side to
the other, and move around in
place.

25. How Can I Correct This?
• When we stay seated for too long in one
position the static load on our spines begins
to increase, causing the spinal
degeneration we spoke of.
• By staying consciously aware of correct
posture and taking mini posture breaks
during the day to stretch you will be moving
in the right direction for changing your
posture into good posture.

26. How Can I Learn More?
• For more tips like these, or for a
posture correction program visit
• www.AmericanPostureInstitute.com

27. American Posture Institute
Written By:
Dr. Mark Wade D.C, DRPH, CPEP, CPE
Certified Posture Expert
Doctor of Chiropractic
Doctor Of Public Health
CEO American Posture Institute