Stand up straight. Don't slouch. Even if you didn't attend finishing school, chances are you've heard these statements sometime in your life. If you're a parent you might even use them yourself. From the time we are young we're told that it's important to have good posture, but did you ever wonder why? In the next few pages we'll talk about posture and how it affects your health.
What does posture mean, exactly?
Posture is a word that refers to the position of your body. Your posture is related to the shape of your spine. Because your spine can move, your posture can change.
What determines posture?
Two things determine the position of your spine: bones and muscles. The bones that make up your spine, or vertebrae, are designed to support the weight of your body. Your muscles have to work together with your bones to control and balance your body position. If either part of the system isn't doing its job, your posture can become a problem.
What does good posture look like?
Ideally, your spine should have three separate curves. These curves develop during childhood when we learn to hold our heads up, to crawl and to walk. The picture below shows the curves that you should have in your neck, upper back and lower back.
Pic of skeleton.
When your spine is in proper alignment, your muscles can support your position without much effort. If you're not in alignment, your muscles have to use much more energy to hold your body upright. Poor posture can lead to other problems like back pain, headaches and arthritis.
When do you need to worry about your posture?
Posture is something you should pay attention to all the time! There are some situations, however, in which many of us tend to forget about our body position. In the following examples, we'll go over several bad postural "habits," the problems they can cause, and how to correct them.
Sitting Posture
If you're like many people, you spend a lot of time sitting. We get out of bed in the morning, sit at the table for breakfast, sit in the car on the way to work, sit at a desk all day, sit in the car on the way home, sit at the table for dinner, and so on. Without the right posture and support, all of that sitting can put a lot of pressure on the low back. Here are some mistakes people make with their sitting posture.
Mistake #1: Slouching
Slouching is what happens when you lean into the back of your chair and allow your low back to flatten out.
*Picture slouching*
Slouching is bad because it puts more pressure on the ligaments and discs in your spine, which can increase your risk for injury.
Correction: To avoid slouching, sit away from the back of the chair. Use your core muscles to make an abdominal brace to support your low back in the proper position. If you have to sit for too long to be comfortable in this position, you can use a back support, or lumbar roll, to maintain correct positioning while leaning against the back of the chair. These products are particularly helpful in the car.
*Picture sitting properly*
*Picture with lumbar roll*
Mistake #2: Crossing your legs
Sitting with one leg crossed over the other is a common habit. Many people who sit with their legs crossed also have a tendency to slouch.
*Picture slouching with legs crossed*
Sitting in this position for a long time puts torque (a twisting force) on your low back and your hips. Over time, your muscles can become unbalanced and it can cause pain and even effect the way you walk.
Correction: Although crossing your legs for a short time isn't terrible, it's better to sit with both feet on the floor whenever you can. You can make this position more comfortable by making sure your chair isn't too high or too low for you. If you're not sure, you may need an ergonomic assessment of your workstation.
*Picture sitting with both feet flat*
Mistake #3: Rounded shoulders/Forward Head
When you're sitting down, there is often something in front of you that you are doing with your hands. Whether we are working on a computer, reading, writing, or doing something else, we tend to bring our bodies closer to our work rather than bringing our work closer to our bodies.
In the first picture, the model is holding a book away from the table where she can read without bending over:
*Picture of girl at desk holding book at eye level*
Although her posture is excellent, her arms are going to get tired quickly.
More often, we do what she does in the next picture: we leave the book on the table and lower our body toward the table so that we can see it.
*Picture of girl at desk with shoulders rounded and forward head*
In the second picture, the girl has her shoulders rounded forward and her head is too far forward also. Although this position makes it easier to read her book, it can cause lots of problems. Her neck and upper back muscles have to work overtime in this position to hold her up, and that can lead to neck pain, upper back pain, trigger points, and headaches.
Correction: The best way to fix this posture problem is to bring your work up to eye level. Whether that means using a book stand, raising the height of your monitor, or rearranging your whole workstation, it's a change that your neck and back will thank you for later!
If you can't make all the changes that you would like, you can compensate for this position by using a regular postural stretching program. These exercises can help to keep you from getting stuck in a bad position all of the time.
How Can We Help?
If you think that poor posture is causing you pain or other problems, a visit to the rehab professionals at Performance Spine & Sport Medicine could be just what the doctor ordered. Our integrated treatment model combines physical therapy and chiropractic care to bring you the best possible results. From restoring the proper curves in your spine to strengthening weak muscles, we can help to correct your posture now and prevent your pain from returning in the future.
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