‘Straighten Up UK’
Straighten Up UK, is a three minute exercise programme for all ages, designed to help strengthen the spine and improve posture.
Consumer research for the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) proves that posture is associated with confidence and capability; one in three people in the East of England said that poor posture makes people seem unapproachable and lacking in confidence, a further 12% associate bad posture with laziness, while 18% said that it displayed a lack of care about appearance.
Unbelievably almost half of those in the East of the UK (47%) are currently suffering from back pain, a figure which has risen dramatically in just the last three years .
Something can be done. Straighten Up UK is designed to empower parents and their children to begin to make changes themselves. The three minute video is a useful tool to encourage children and parents to join in their own health care change their posture, strength and flexibility for free at home.
Further Studies
The BCA survey revealed some extremely worryingly statistics. Over half (51%) of 16-24 year olds in the UK have already been warned that they have poor posture, but 22% said that they were not concerned about it and nearly a third (29%) had taken no action.
When questioned about possible causes of their poor posture, 66% of respondents in the East cited slouching or tiredness, 42% said their seating contributed, 41% said it felt more comfortable when they were relaxing and 8% said that their poor posture was as a result of shyness or embarrassment.
Women reported suffering the most, with over 50% of female respondents experiencing back pain and 13% of them claiming that they have suffered with it for as long as they can remember.
In 2004 one in three people were suffering, now that figure has risen so that every other person in the UK has some form of back pain, which is of serious concern. People can make huge steps to improving their posture, to take care of their spine and help themselves look and feel their best.