Posture and Vision

Posture comes up a lot in conversations with my patients. The body is made up of many interconnected systems—no system operates in isolation. Visual stress can cause the body to compensate with certain behaviors, which may present as postural changes.

For example, if someone is struggling with visual stress, they might lean in toward their work or tense their shoulders, creating a hunched posture. Over time, the body adapts to relieve this physical stress. But sometimes, poor posture comes first, which then leads to increased visual stress. The brain recognizes this strain and compensates, sometimes through suppression or even by developing nearsightedness (myopia).

I've seen this mind-body connection play out in my own life. I began experiencing back pain in junior high. Refereeing just two volleyball matches would leave me in severe pain. In high school, a chiropractor found a mild spinal curve—“borderline scoliosis.” Treatment gave me short-term relief, but not a lasting fix.

In my fourth year of optometry school, during a behavioral vision therapy internship, a doctor observed how a vision activity caused my body to twist without me realizing it. Correcting my posture actually caused discomfort. I also noticed that one eye wasn’t seeing the same brightness—likely due to the asymmetry in my prescription and my tendency to favor one eye during near tasks.

After graduation, I began working in a vision therapy office, and while working with patients, I often participated in the activities myself—focusing on posture and balancing my eye use. Around the same time, I resumed chiropractic care. Initially, I went three times a week. One day, I was struggling to relax (diverge) my eyes. I worked on it for ten minutes until I felt a release. At my next chiropractic visit, my chiropractor noted that I was suddenly aligned—without me having said anything.

Coincidence? I don’t think so. He explained that addressing an underlying issue can sometimes return the body to a state it was in when the problem first developed. By working through both vision and posture together, my body was finally able to heal. I progressed faster than expected and, after six months, my original chiropractor could barely detect my spinal curve.

This personal experience reinforces why annual eye exams are so important—especially for children and teens. My sister and cousin, both with scoliosis, also have asymmetrical prescriptions. Kids may not realize if only one eye is seeing poorly, and posture issues could be early clues. Addressing posture early and recognizing the visual component can reduce long-term discomfort. If your child has postural issues, consider functional optometry alongside PT, OT, or chiropractic care.