Posture Assessment Check List

To assess your own posture, you will need to stand sideways, in front of a full length mirror or have a friend take a side view picture of you.

EXAMINE YOUR STANDING POSTURE.  Your spine and joints are in alignment when, from a side view, your ear, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle line up vertically.

To start: Assume your normal stance.  Pretend you are waiting for a bus or an elevator and stand how you normally stand when no one is watching.

• Does your head protrude forward or is it directly on top of your shoulders?
• Is your upper back hunched forward in a rounded curve?
• Do your shoulder blades stick out - one more than the other?
• Do your shoulders round forward?
• Are your shoulders uneven - one higher than the other?
• When you let your arms hang down, what position are your hands in?  Are your palms facing the sides of your thighs or do they face behind you?
• Are your hands directly beside your thighs, or do you hold them more towards the front of your thighs?
• Are your shoulders tensed and held up closely to your ears?
• Is your abdomen protruding forward into a potbelly?
• Is your lower back too swayed (arched forward)?
• Are your knees locked back with your weight basically on your heels?
• Do your ankles roll in, causing your arches to flatten?

Any of the above would indicate you have lots to gain by improving your posture.

Don't be discouraged.  No matter how bad you think your posture is or how long you've had poor posture, it is NEVER too late.  You CAN improve your posture and you can start right NOW! 

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