Reference · 33 terms

Posture Dictionary

Plain-language definitions of the postural terms you are most likely to meet — in a clinic, in a scan report, or in something you read at two in the morning. Each entry links to a full explanation of what causes it and what changes it.

Head and neck

Forward Head Posture — Head sits ahead of the shoulders instead of stacked over them.
Tech Neck — Forward head posture caused by sustained downward tilt at phones and laptops.
Military Neck — The neck loses its natural inward curve and sits unusually straight.
Cervical Kyphosis — The neck curve flattens or reverses into an outward curve.
Neck Hump — A rounded prominence where the neck meets the upper back.

Upper back and shoulders

Kyphosis — The natural outward curve of the upper back — and the deviation when it becomes excessive.
Hyperkyphosis — An excessive outward curve of the upper back, producing a rounded look.
Hunchback — Everyday term for a visibly rounded, stooped upper back.
Rounded Shoulders — Shoulders sit forward of the midline with a tight chest and rounded upper back.
Winged Scapula — A shoulder blade that lifts away from the ribcage instead of lying flat.
Uneven Shoulders — One shoulder sits higher or further forward, usually from rotation lower down.

Spine and curvature

Scoliosis — A sideways curvature of the spine, typically with vertebral rotation.
Kyphoscoliosis — Excessive upper-back rounding combined with sideways spinal curvature.
Lordosis — The natural inward curve at the neck and lower back.
Lumbar Lordosis — The inward curve of the lower back — and what happens when it is lost or excessive.
Hyperlordosis — An excessive inward curve of the lower back, often with a forward-tilted pelvis.
Flat Back — The lower back loses its inward curve and the pelvis tilts backward.
Sway Back — The hips sit forward of the trunk while the upper body leans back.
Rib Flare — The lower front ribs sit lifted and angled outward, often with an arched lower back.

Pelvis and hips

Pelvic Tilt — The pelvis rotates away from neutral, changing alignment above and below it.
Anterior Pelvic Tilt — The pelvis rotates forward and down, increasing the arch in the lower back.
Posterior Pelvic Tilt — The pelvis rotates backward, flattening the lower back and tucking the tailbone.
Lateral Pelvic Tilt — One side of the pelvis sits higher, functionally shortening one leg.
Pelvic rotation — One side of the pelvis turns further forward, twisting the trunk.
Asymmetrical Pelvis — The two halves of the pelvis sit in different positions.
Uneven Hips — One hip sits higher — usually muscular, not an actual bone-length difference.

Legs, knees and feet

Knock Knees — Knees angle inward while the ankles stay apart, usually from hip rotation.
Bow Legs — Knees stay apart while the ankles touch, giving the legs an outward curve.
Tibial Torsion — The shinbone rotates along its axis, turning the foot in or out below the knee.
Hyperextended Knee — The knee pushes back past straight when standing, locking the joint.
Duck Feet — One or both feet turn outward when standing and walking. Usually starts at the hip.
Pronation — The inward roll of the foot and flattening of the arch through the step.

General

Core — The trunk muscles that stabilize the spine and pelvis and transfer force.

Looking for something broader? The Posture & Alignment library covers the patterns in depth, and Pain & Conditions covers the symptoms they produce.

A definition is not a diagnosis

Recognizing the name for what you see in the mirror is a start, but the useful question is which pattern is driving the others. That is what an assessment answers — thirty minutes, free, in clinic or on Zoom.

Book a free consultation