Can Posture Affect Blood Pressure?

Did you know there’s a relationship between blood pressure and your posture?

See, the pressure in your body, in your blood vessels can actually change depending on what you are doing, in terms of activity and physical demand. But it can also be affected by your physical posture - how you are holding yourself.

Now excuse my drawings in this video (I’m a better chiropractor & osteopath than an artist).

In your abdomen there are two main compartments. These two compartments are separated by your abdominal diaphragm (the main muscle you use to breathe). Above the diaphragm is your heart, which has a small attachment to the diaphragm.

When you have a nice relaxed and balanced posture, your abdominal cavities will have less pressure. Whereas if you compress through those same cavities by rounding your shoulders and increasing pressure you can see how it can compress those organs, one of those organs being your stomach.

Let’s think about your heart for a moment being like a water balloon with pipes coming out of it. If you squeeze that water balloon, it will then increase the pressure in that whole system. That’s one of the causes of your high blood pressure.

To help relieve it you can think about straightening your posture, bringing your shoulders back, which will reduced the pressure on the cavities and the organs within, thereby reducing your blood pressure.

The other thing you can do is use your abdominal diaphragm more effectively. So when you breathe and contract your diaphragm, your tummy will stick out a bit as the air fills your lungs. This allows that attachment of your diaphragm to your heart to stretch the heart a little more, there by also reducing the pressure in the heart and cardiovascular system.

Many studies have shown during quiet breathing, when using deep diaphragmatic breaths, it gets you into a relaxed state.

So if you are suffering with high blood pressure or get stressed think about these simple tips. Of course if you are under professional care, please seek professional advice to ensure you get the best outcome for you.