Question: I don't have back pain, but when I look at my self my Back and Shoulders look Rounded, is that just Bad Posture? A: Well Sue let me help you understand what you see…Everyone uses the very common term posture but I don't think people really understand what posture truly means, you see your self as you are today but your posture is the result of how your were in the past, I'm talking years ago even decades ago.  What does that mean, well Good or Bad Posture is the result of your lifestyle in other words the way I like to put it is , your posture is the result of your Habits, Pattern, Positions and the things your do everyday, day in and day out.  You see our bodies are very good at adapting to the environment we place it in and if we look back on our life's, the first 18 years we sit in school and if you go to collage you sit some more, and that if you work at a computer you sit even more, so by the time you are 40 your body has gotten so used to sitting and your muscle are most comfortable in the sitting position but that sitting has caused some physical changes that in turn can cause some postural dysfunctions and if left alone will intern cause structural changes that will be for the most part uncorrectable, so lets get started… One of our subscribers said it best, "Our bones only go where our muscle put them" That is a great statement, and I hope you understand it…if not keep reading. We have just talked about how our bodies adapt to what we give them and how our bodies can be pulled into abnormal positions based on the many factors in our lives…I know what you are thinking just get to the part about what to do…Hang in there, just a little longer you see understanding this concept is more than half the battle, because you can now work to prevent and also correct problems in your posture if you understand the equation. Ok I will spill the beans now…your rounded back and rounded shoulders are the result of what are called Muscle imbalances that are causing this physical dysfunction you see in your posture, you area not the only one with this problem and you are not the first to have it, it has been know for years what it is and what caused it and even though your Doctor did not tell you how to address it does not mean that it can't be done. Here is are the nuts and bolts of the problem, if you are wondering how our muscles are responsible for the posture you have now, you must understand that our muscles can be either tight or flexible and/or also strong or weak and not to make the situation even more complex but our muscle can be in any combination of these four states from front to back and side to side. If we look at your rounded back and rounded shoulders you will see that your head and shoulders are being pulled forward, that would indicate that the muscle in the front of your body are overly strong and/or overly tight compared to the muscle in your upper back which are weak and have more flexibility. That is how we describe the imbalance between your muscles and that's what we call the root of the problem… Please realize that your body is and has been undergoing these physical changes for a long time and there is no quick fix, it is a physical problem it will require a physical solution, there is not pill, injection or massage that can make your muscle come back to balance, it take work… Now just because you know that there is an imbalance and you even know the direction of the imbalances does not mean you can just start doing an general exercise program, that is not how you do, in order to correct a know imbalance you will need to know very specific and very targeted stretches and exercises in order to correct the imbalances and if you choose to do nothing your imbalances will over time start the process of developing into a condition that will cause you pain. We strongly recommend that you start a proactive approach to your current situation, you are lucky that you do not have pain, it is a shame and I feel with all my heart the pain that the millions of people that are suffering from conditions that could have been prevented or corrected years ago if only more people understood the effects of muscle imbalances and how they effect our bodies. Sue I hope I have shown you that it's more than just bad posture and I hope you seek a qualified expert in muscle imbalances and live to prevent any further progression of your condition.