Boulder chiropractor explains why bikers experience neck pain and tingling in hands. Here are 3 tips to improve posture.
Posture Is The Missing Link
Everybody knows that diet and exercise are paramount when it comes to your health – but what if I told you that posture is just as important? Poor posture has been linked to back pain, neck pain, migraines, disc degeneration, digestive problems, poor immunity, bulging discs, bone spurs, disease and much more. Today, in the age of technology, it is common to see people hunched over their phones with forward head posture. Most people seem to be unaware of the negative health effects of poor posture, especially many bike fitting specialists.
The Problem With Your Bike Fit
If you are an avid biker, chances are good that you’ve had a bike fitting in the past. Most of the time when people sit on their bike to get fit, they sit with a slouch in their upper back, collapsed in the abdominals and a forward head. This poor posture leads to common symptoms in bikers like numbness/tingling in hands as well as tension/tightness in the neck and upper back. These symptoms can be annoying but the long term effects of forward head posture are much worse and include: neck pain, thyroid issues, digestion issues, chronic brain fog, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, increased risk of cancer, poor immunity, dizziness, headaches/ migraines, decreased lung compacity, allergies, heart disease, and more.Improper Alignment:
How To Sit Properly
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to posture is to think “ear, shoulder, hip.” Whenever you do an activity, whether it be sitting, standing, lifting, biking, etc., it is important to remember to have your ears, shoulders, and hips all aligned. Imagine a steel rod going through the center of your ear, down through the middle of your shoulder and hip. When you sit with proper posture, it encourages the proper alignment of the spine which eliminates pressure on the nerves and surrounding tissue. So the next time you buy a new bike and get a fitting, make sure you sit with your ear, shoulder, and hip all aligned.Proper Alignment:
