This question came to us from Sue, one of our subscribers...

Q: I don't have back pain, but when I look at myself in the mirror, my back and shoulders look rounded. Is that just bad posture?

A: Well, Sue, let me help you understand what you're seeing. First of all, I don't think people really grasp what the term "posture" means. For instance, you're seeing yourself as you are today, but your posture is the result of how you were years ago - maybe even decades.

What does that mean? Your posture, good or bad, is a result of your lifestyle. In other words, your habits, pattern, positions - the things you do every day.

Our bodies are very good at adapting to the environment we place it in. If we look back on our lives, most of us sat in school for 12 years, then maybe we went on to college and sat some more. If you happen to work at a computer, you sit even more. By the time you're 40, your body has gotten used to sitting, and your muscles are most comfortable in the sitting position. But all that sitting can cause some physical changes that, in turn, can lead to postural dysfunctions. If left alone long enough, these postural dysfunctions will cause structural changes that will be, for the most part, uncorrectable.

One of our subscribers said it best: "Our bones only go where our muscles put them." If you don't quite understand that statement, click here to keep reading about posture and back pain.