Often times, humans are unaware of their body posture due to the lack of exposure to ergonomics. Problems due to bad posture:

• Decrease in lung capacity
• Gastrointestinal pains
• Body Pains
• Shortness of breath
• Vascular disease
• Degradation of brain functions, etc.

According to Dr. Rene Cailliet, former director of University of Southern California's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, a person's lung capacity can be affected by almost 30% due to poor body posture. Therefore, it is imperative that humans are constantly aware of their body posture to ensure a healthy physique.

Many times, students wearing backpacks causes a decline in their body posture. As they grow older, the weight of their backpack grows as well. Therefore, the problem we, Evexia, are trying to address is the poor body posture of a person who is carrying a heavy object such as a backpack on their spine.

What is good posture?

Good posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting, or lying down.

According to Mayfield Clinic Brain & Spine, proper posture

• keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly.
• helps decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis.
• decreases the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together.
• prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions.
• prevents fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy.
• prevents strain or overuse problems.
• prevents backache and muscular pain.
• contributes to a good appearance.

But to have proper posture, it is important that you meet the following requirements:

• Proper muscle flexiblity
• Ordinary motion in joints
• Strong postural muscles (i.e. Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Maximus, Quadratic Femoris, etc.)
• Proper muscle balance on both sides of spine
• Awareness of your own posture (Extremely important because good posture comes out of continuous practice)