Creating Good Posture
As children of a physical therapist, my brothers and I are constantly told to “Sit up straight!” As a student, I have spent many hours sitting (or should I say hunched over) at a desk on my laptop or reading. After a few hours, I notice that my neck, shoulders, and back of my head hurts. Freshman year of undergrad was terrible; sometimes, I had to stop working early due to head and neck aches. I even bought something similar to a recipe stand for textbooks to keep my head in line with my spine instead of dipping down to see a book. Posture is a seemingly harmless aspect of our physical and mental health; however, it affects more than we think. Therefore, we can easily create a goal of better posture.
Poor posture can cause neck, shoulder, and back pain, similar to what was happening for me. It can put stress on tendons, muscles, and ligaments. If you’re having this kind of pain, work on your posture! When your spine is properly aligned, you can move easily without straining anything - it’s how your body was created (The Importance of Posture, 2020). Along with this, spine health is important. Correct posture helps improve blood flow, keeps vessels healthy, and creates better back support. Next, poor posture makes it harder for digestion to occur naturally. Your body is not meant to slouch over - digestion occurs best when you are straightened out. If you notice that you’re dealing with heartburn or acid reflux, simply sit or stand straight and see how it helps (The Importance of Posture, 2020)! Finally, your mind and body can impact each other. You may notice that when you’re upset, you tend to slouch. When you’re happy, you sit up straighter. Better posture may help improve your mood (The Importance of Posture, 2020)! Next time you notice feeling down, try sitting up straighter for a while and see if it brings more confidence and peace. Some other negative effects of poor posture include decreased flexibility, less joint mobility, higher risk of fall due to worse balance, and poorer breathing capacity (Guide to Good Posture, n.d.).
So I’ve talked about the effects of good posture versus bad posture, but what is good posture? When you’re standing, pull your shoulders first up, then back and down. Keep your chin parallel to the floor and your head in line with your spine (not craned forward). Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and your body weight should be evenly divided between both sides, in the balls of your feet. Pull your stomach in so that your back is not arched or rounded. For all of us who have desk jobs, try to switch sitting positions often. Also, could you get a standing desk? If not, just get up and move around every once in a while (maybe 1-2 times per hour). Stretch semi-often to reduce stiffness. Keep your legs bent at 90 degrees and don’t cross your legs. Relax your shoulders and keep your elbows near your body. Finally, make sure your back is fully supported, most people do this with a pillow or lumbar support chair (Guide to Good Posture, n.d.). All this said, let’s work on good posture this week!
References:
Guide to Good Posture. Medline Plus. Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/guidetogoodposture.html.
The Importance of Posture. (2020). Barrington Orthopedic Specialists. Retrieved from https://www.barringtonortho.com/blog/the-importance-of-posture.
Challenges/Points:
Correct posture can be helpful in decreasing neck, shoulder, and back pain, bettering mood, improving digestion, and improving blood flow.
Look into the support you may need to sit with correct posture. Can you request a better chair with lumbar support?
Work on consciously correcting your standing and sitting posture this week.
Questions:
Have you dealt with any of the negative effects of poor posture discussed above in the past 6 months?
Do you have a good chair or standing desk currently?
Is correct posture something you’ve tried to make a habit of before?
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