The Posture Theory

Introduction

I invite intelligent members of the public to read this idea thoroughly, and to recognise it’s value, and to identify it as one of the best theories, and most useful ideas ever written.

When I discuss The Posture Theory with the people who I meet directly, the most common response is that it is the most logical idea that they have ever heard.

However, there are other people, who I have never met, and who don’t bother to read or understand the idea properly, or those who have some prejudice or bias, who want the public to believe that it is illogical nonsense.

Nevertheless, I have noticed, that many of them, after criticising me, have stolen bits and pieces of my ideas, and paraphrased them, or republished exactly the same ideas in different words, and are pretending that they got the information from somewhere else, or that it is their own idea. i.e. They obviously recognise its value, but for some reason or other, don’t want to admit that I produced it.

I would like the public to clearly recognise that I am the author of this idea, and that my critics are fools.
I have been developing this concept for more than 35 years, and my critics come and go like small and insignificant waves, smashing their heads on an island of granite in the middle of the ocean.

The Posture Theory
Poor posture places the head and shoulders forward of the spine and puts strain on the spinal joints and muscles, and in the long term causes neck and backaches, and arthritis and injuries to the spine.
Poor posture also puts the head and shoulders over and above the chest and abdomen where the weight presents downwards pressure on all of those structures.
For example, it puts pressure on the chest to cause tenderness, soreness, and occasional pains between the ribs on the lower left and right side.
It can also put strain on the muscles on the extreme left and right side of the chest, to cause occasional severe and painful muscle cramps in those areas.
It also puts pressure on the lungs and prevents them from moving upwards to the fullest extent during inhalation, so that the person does not get a full breath. Consequently their breathing is labored, and is generally more shallow and frequent than a person with a straight spine who sits in the upright position.
In the longer term it can cause changes in the efficiency and function of the breathing process and dispose to the occasional symptom of breathlessness.
Poor posture also compresses the air in the chest and impairs the flow of blood from the feet to the brain, which in turn leads to tiredness and poor concentration. In the longer term it puts strain on the blood vessels below the chest which weakens them and results in inefficient circulation and disposes to a reduced  energy levels, and a lower capacity for exertion.

It also puts pressure on the stomach, and can alter it’s shape and position, and impair digestion, and in the longer term dispose to stomach and abdominal pains.
Poor posture causes many other symptoms which have been summarised in The Posture Theory diagram, and can be seen in more detail in my essays and books, and in other parts of this website, and my previous one.

Causes of poor posture
Various factors can cause changes in the shape of the spine when a child is young.
One of the more obvious factors is Vitamin D deficiency which weakens the bones and causes them to bend under the infants own body weight. If those changes are not corrected early, they will become permanent features of that persons physique. That condition is called Rickets and can be due to a lack of Vitamin D in the diet, or a lack of sunshine which is necessary for the processing of Vitamin D in the body.
Other major factors which produce nutritional deficiency include viral illnesses which result in prolonged periods where there is a lack of appetite, nausea, or vomiting.
The lack of calcium in the diet would also contribute to the weakening, and curvature of bones.
Bio-mechanical factors are the other major cause of changes in the structure of the bones.
By way of comparison, if a tree is allowed to grow naturally it will become tall and straight, but if a farmer was to bend it when it was young and pliable, and then rope it to a stake so that it was curved into a C-shape, then it would proceed to grow in that manner until the wood hardened. It would then become a taller tree with a curved trunk which would remain in that shape.
Similarly, if a young child was to walk to and from school for a half an hour each way, while carrying a kit bag or satchel in one arm, while it was full of heavy books, every school day for a decade, then they would be very likely to develop sideways curvature of the spine. That problem could be prevented by carrying books in a knapsack strapped on the back where the weight was distributed evenly across both sides of the spine, and the weight of the books was kept to a minimum.

Why the problem went unnoticed for so long
As you can see the process of developing poor posture can take a long time, and it is so gradual that the patient doesn’t notice it happening, and even the best doctors and researchers in the world didn’t notice until I began studying this problem and writing my theory.
Similarly, the effects do not occur in the early stages, and the person may feel relaxed and comfortable in the slouched position which is parallel to the shape of their spine, and in fact, when they try to sit up straight, their back muscles will be pushing against curved bones and soon become fatigued. The child will then slouch again, and they will continue in that manner, simply because the muscles are more relaxed when the body is curved, than when they are trying to force back against a curved spine.
However, while in that position the head and shoulders are projected forward, and the weight and effects of leverage puts constant or repetitive strain on the joints of the spine, and the muscles of the back, and eventually result in neck aches, backaches, and spinal injuries such as slipped discs, and arthritis.
Nevertheless, there is still no immediate or direct link between cause and effect, so some patients won’t recognise that their posture is the cause of their symptoms, even if you tell them.

Other spinal factors
Other bio-mechanical factors.
The controversies
My theory on posture and fatigue
The undetectable nature of the symptoms and my proof that they are real and not mental.
My critics are people who have previously argued that the symptoms were imaginary, and called them hypochondria
People who were previously promoting the idea that they symptoms were imaginary resent me for proving them wrong, and, out of spite, seek revenge by trying to discredit me and convince the public that I am a mentally ill fringy kook.