You’ve probably been told at some point to fix your posture.
“Sit up straight.”
“Pull your shoulders back.”
“Stand taller.”
Maybe you’ve tried, but did it actually help? If it didn’t, you’re not alone. What we perceive visually from the outside is not an accurate reflection of what the spine is doing.
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Posture is easy to see. But hard to interpret.
We tend to believe that posture is something obvious. That there’s a correct position and that if we can just hold ourselves the “right” way, things will improve. But posture is much more complex than that.
What looks “right” or “good” isn’t always good for your body. And what looks off isn’t always a problem.
Take something like the classic upright or military posture. It’s often seen as the ideal, but it notoriously places unnecessary stress on the spine because not only is it rigid, but it stacks the vertebrae in a position that they are not necessarily designed for. The body isn’t designed to be held straight as a board in one position. It’s designed to move, adapt, and shift.
When we focus too much on appearance, we lose sight of function — not to mention that what we think is “visually correct” based on societal norms can be deceivingly stressful on the spine.
What happens when we try to “fix” what we see
I saw this play out very clearly in a patient this week. She developed shoulder pain after a period of increasingly regular pickleball. As is common with shoulder issues in racket sports, her neck started compensating and became part of the problem.
What she was doing in response to the pain felt logical. She was stretching the areas that hurt — her neck and shoulder. It gave her temporary relief, which reinforced the idea that she was doing the right thing.
But that relief didn’t last because stretching was simply overriding the sensation, not actually addressing the underlying strain.
She was also trying to hold herself in what she believed was “good posture” — pulling her shoulder blades back and repeatedly creating space between her head and shoulder on the side of pain.
To her it felt like she was doing everything right but those efforts were actually reinforcing the exact pattern that was keeping her pain going.
What actually made the difference
When we had the chance to talk through it more carefully, she made a few small but important changes. She stopped stretching it constantly. She started doing low-key, targeted strengthening and stabilization work. Nothing dramatic. Just specific to her body’s needs.
She also worked briefly with a coach to refine her swing so that the movement itself was no longer feeding the issue.
What stood out most to her was that she felt better doing less than what she thought she should.
As long as doing less entails more specific action with an eye on individual needs, that’s often the turning point.
Why this matters more than posture
This is where the focus shifts…it’s not about finding the perfect position or holding your body a certain way. It’s about understanding what your body is asking for and responding to it appropriately.
Sometimes that means making small changes. The changes we make in response to pain during those early stages are not forever. They are just temporary modifications that allow things to reset.
These pauses and redirects reduce unnecessary stress and allow us to learn something about how our unique body functions.
Those small adjustments to our behavior are often where the most useful information is.
The Take Away
If something hurts, don’t assume you need to fix how it looks.
Get curious about what’s actually happening. If you’re able to, think about what movement or dynamics where in play during onset. Could that movement be reinforcing the problem?
When you’re stretching out the pain, ask yourself if you might be trying to stretch something that actually needs support?
How can you peel back your effort?
Don’t aim for perfection just try reaching for some understanding. And if this feels hard to do on your own, reach out. I’d be happy to help.
If you feel like you’ve struggled your whole life to fix your posture but it hasn’t worked, and you still have pain, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’ve just been focusing on something that isn’t a reliable guide.
What matters more is how your body moves, responds, and adapts.
And sometimes, discomfort isn’t failure. It’s information.
