Joint pain, headaches, and even neurological issues can sometimes be caused by a misaligned skeleton. This is because the skeleton is the underlying framework of support for all the body's systems, and when the bones are not aligned as intended by the natural human design, a host of problems can develop.
Joint Pain: Bones link up with other bones at joints, which bend when moved by muscles. When any part of the integrated whole of the skeleton is not aligned properly, this can put strain on joints, which can affect tendons, ligaments and the inside workings of the joint itself. Consider scaffolding, where vertical and horizontal poles are connected together at joints. In some places, scaffolding is constructed of bamboo poles lashed together with twine. Now imagine what would happen to those lashed joints if the vertical posts were moved off the "plumb line" and the even distribution of weight through that joints was disrupted. The twine would become torqued and twisted, and in the case of human joints, painful.
Headaches: When the spine is not stacked up as it's meant to be, some muscles are forced to overwork in order to compensate and do the job of "holding" us up. Or if the head is not balanced on top of the spine in an easy, relaxed kind of way, straining neck muscles are called into action. This is all translated as trapped tension, the unhappy result of which is often a headache.
Neurological issues: When skeletal support is compromised, it affects the whole body. Nowhere is this more evident than within the the primary neural pathway called the spinal cord. Every nerve passes out from the spinal cord through openings along the spine, sending messages back and forth from the brain and every part of the body. Distortions in spinal alignment, sometimes even small ones, can put pressure on nerve roots, sometimes causing pain and sometimes triggering disruption within the nervous system. Skeletal support is important to relaxed, diaphragmatic breathing, a key to promoting the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation response) rather than chronic engagement of the sympathetic (fight or flight) aspects of the autonomic nervous system.
Only recently has greater attention been brought to the somewhat overlooked importance of good posture to many aspects of good overall health. Unlike the more rigid, difficult-to-maintain kind of posture many of us have been taught, truly natural posture is easy, comfortable and relaxed.