How Often Should I Get a Posture Assessment?

Posture assessment is a useful tool for identifying and correcting any posture-related issues. However, how often you should get an analysis depends on a variety of factors. These include your lifestyle, age, and any pre-existing medical conditions. Maintaining good posture is essential to staying healthy. Poor posture often leads to a variety of health problems, such as back pain, headaches, and even reduced lung capacity.

Work Habits, Lifestyle, Pre-Existing Injuries

• If you work at a desk for long periods, it’s recommended that you get a posture assessment at least once a year. Desk jobs require you to sit for prolonged periods, which leads to poor posture. An assessment will identify any issues and provide recommendations for a program to improve your posture and reduce the risk of developing health problems.
• If you have an active lifestyle that involves a lot of physical activity, like sports or fitness training, it is recommended that you get checked every six months. Physical activity puts a strain on your body and the kinetic chain, which affects your posture. A functional assessment will identify any imbalances and the guidance needed to improve posture habits, reducing the risk of injury, and improving your performance.
• If you have pre-existing medical conditions, such as scoliosis or arthritis, it is recommended that you get a posture analysis at least once a year or as recommended by your CPEP posture specialist or healthcare provider. A quick postural assessment will reveal asymmetries and provide your healthcare provider the opportunity to manage your condition reducing the risk of worsening posture or pain.

How often you should get a posture assessment will ultimately depend on your lifestyle, age, and any pre-existing medical conditions. Looking at this regularly will help you to maintain good posture and improve your overall health and well-being.

Self-Assessment

If you have postural issues, scoliosis or just want to keep an eye on things, it’s a good idea to get a posture grid. A posture grid is a simple and affordable tool that you use to monitor your posture and ensure that you are performing exercises correctly, reducing the risk of injury and improving your results. Your home gym, yoga studio, garage or basement are all great places to install a grid for periodic use.

You’ll find information on How to Perform a Posture Self Assessment at this link.

Professional Posture Assessment

If you want to get a more detailed and accurate assessment of your posture, you can make an appointment with a Certified Posture Exercise Professional (CPEP). CPEPs are posture specialists trained to assess and correct postural imbalances using the innovative StrongPosture® Method, which is a unique approach to postural therapy that helps improve the body’s natural alignment and function. During the assessment, the CPEP will take a posture picture of you in different positions to identify postural imbalances and asymmetries.

The posture picture assessment is a non-invasive and painless process that provides a detailed analysis of your posture. The CPEP will use the information obtained from the assessment to develop a personalized posture correction program to correct any postural imbalances and asymmetries. They might also have you enroll in 7 Steps to Strong Posture online so that you can do the program at your own pace at home.  The program will include a variety of exercises and stretches that are specifically designed to improve your posture and alleviate any pain or discomfort you may be experiencing.

Even after you’ve made steps towards improvement, a regular posture assessment is important to track ongoing improvements or decline.