Most of us remember being told as kids to "stand up straight" or "sit up straight." However, as adults, it's often hard to remember that our posture is essential to our look and feel. Poor posture can contribute to back pain and other health problems.
Good posture is how your body holds itself while moving or at rest. It includes dynamic and static positions such as sitting, standing, running, walking, lying down, etc. Good posture helps prevent pain and injury by ensuring that muscles are used correctly, decreasing abnormal wear on joints, and helping to minimize stress and strain on the spine, ligaments, and other supportive structures.
Poor posture can result in neck and back pain and many other health problems. It may also impact how we think and feel. For example, if you slouch while reading or working at a computer, your head can tilt forward 30 degrees or more, increasing stress on the spinal cord and neck muscles. This can lead to muscle fatigue, pinched nerves, or even herniated disks.
Maintaining good posture not only enhances your physical appearance but also plays a crucial role in supporting overall health and well-being.
Getting an assessment by our Physical Therapist is one of the best ways to help ensure good posture. They are experts in finding those shortened or tight bands of muscle that aren't letting you move properly and can help you loosen them up so that your body is more flexible and healthy. Here are 6 Techniques to Improve Your Posture.
Sit Upright
Posture refers to the position of the body at any given moment. It can be static (sitting or standing) or dynamic, such as during a jog. Regardless of posture type, prolonged periods of static positions should be avoided because they can cause pain and strain muscles, ligaments, and joints.
One of the biggest things that affect posture is slouching. Slouching can affect the shape of your back and neck, causing long-term damage. It can also lead to poor breathing because the frontal muscles and tendons become shortened, decreasing your ability to take in oxygen. Good posture keeps your spine in its natural curves and decreases stress on the skeleton, ligaments, and muscles.
Sitting upright can also help with posture. It may not feel as comfortable as slouching, but it can help you look better and prevent back pain. It can even make you appear more confident.
Another way to improve your posture is to avoid looking down at your phone for extended periods. Tilting your head forward for prolonged periods can cause a neck injury known as "text neck." This causes neck and upper back muscle tension, which can lead to headaches. To help prevent text neck, keep your chin up and don't read or text while driving. You can also do exercises to strengthen the support muscles in your back and stomach.
Sit Backwards
In the quest to achieve better posture, unconventional strategies can often yield surprising benefits. One such innovative approach involves what can be coined the "Sit Backwards" technique. This technique holds particular value for individuals whose daily routine involves extended periods of sitting, especially at desks or in front of screens. This unique method challenges the norms of traditional seating, aiming to foster improved spinal alignment and alleviate the usual strains experienced in the back and neck regions.
To put the Sit Backwards technique into practice, the first step is to select a chair that lacks armrests, ensuring sturdiness. In this method, one would straddle the chair, facing its backrest. The feet should rest flat on the floor, positioned at hip-width. It's crucial to adjust the chair's height to ensure that the hips are slightly elevated compared to the knees. With this foundation set, the next step involves leaning the chest and abdomen against the chair's backrest. The goal here is to achieve a neutral and straight back position, mirroring the spine's natural curvature. This novel arrangement actively discourages the common tendency to slouch and promotes a posture more aligned with the body's natural mechanics.
In this seated position, allowing the arms to hang naturally on either side of the chair relaxes the shoulders and deters them from adopting a forward hunch. To enhance stability, it's recommended to engage the core muscles gently. The advantages of embracing this technique include enhanced alignment of the spine, strengthened core and back muscles, a visible reduction in slouching, and a heightened sense of awareness regarding one's posture. Integrating this method into various contexts—such as during desk work, screen usage, or brief interludes between tasks—can effectively counteract the negative consequences of extended periods of sitting. While the Sit Backwards technique may initially feel unfamiliar, it can harmoniously complement other strategies to refine one's posture. Over time, this approach could potentially contribute to cultivating a posture that exudes confidence and robust health.
Keep Your Knees Straight
An intriguing method that warrants exploration is the "Straight Knee" approach. Particularly advantageous for individuals seeking to address posture-related concerns, this technique offers a discreet yet impactful strategy to foster improved spinal alignment and alleviate strain on crucial bodily areas.
Applying this technique involves a conscious adjustment in the manner of sitting. Whether perching on a chair or any surface, the key lies in deliberately ensuring that the knees align harmoniously with the hips. This uncomplicated modification diminishes inclinations towards leg-crossing or adopting uneven stances, which can disrupt the natural flow of spinal alignment.
By keeping the knees straight and in symphony with the hips, a stable base for the upper body is fashioned. This, in turn, enables the spine to uphold its innate curvature, mitigating the risk of slumping and undue spinal tension. The benefits, however, extend beyond the back, positively impacting the neck and shoulder regions as well.
The integration of this technique is particularly important during seated endeavors, such as work commitments, meals, or casual discussions. Gradually, this purposeful tweak evolves into an ingrained practice that contributes significantly to overall posture enhancement.
The "Straight Knee" technique is a subtle yet potent tool, underscoring the transformative might of minor adjustments. As you weave this technique into your daily cadence, you take strides towards a more poised and assured posture, all while nurturing the well-being of your spine.
Don't Forget to Breathe
Often, we forget to breathe while we're reclining or sitting. This is because bad posture can compress the lungs and inhibit deep breathing. Deep, full breaths engage the diaphragm muscles and the thoracic region (the back portion of your ribcage). They also promote stability. Taking a deep breath allows your muscles to stretch and relax, which may also help with posture.
To remember to breathe, try placing your hands behind your back in a "plane" or airplane pose, interlacing your fingers, and pushing them toward each other. Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth, focusing on the chest moving outward as you do so. This exercise can be helpful while sitting, standing, or even walking.
The most important thing to remember is that good posture is a consistent effort. A few days of practicing good posture won't fix the problem, but doing it regularly can improve your health and reduce pain.
Get a Firm Mattress
Getting the right mattress is one of the most important things you can do to help with your posture. A firm mattress will keep your spine aligned and distribute pressure evenly while you sleep, essential for good posture during the day. It will also prevent you from waking up with back and neck pain that can lead to poor posture.
A mattress that's too soft will distort and sink into your body, which can cause your spine to become misaligned. If you sleep on your stomach, a firm mattress will prevent sagging of the hips and support your lower back, which can contribute to poor posture. For back sleepers, a medium-firm mattress is ideal since it supports your upper and lower back and your hips.
If you need help deciding what kind of mattress to get, try different types until you find the one that feels comfortable and is the right height for your body. If you're a heavyweight sleeper, look for a high-quality mattress for your weight and sleeping position. There are also plenty of mattresses in the middle of the firmness spectrum that will be ideal for most people, which is great if you want a good night's rest but don't like the "sink-in" feeling of extra-soft mattresses.
Get a Good Pillow
We often focus on posture during the day, but it is crucial to think about how your posture affects you when you sleep. Good sleep posture can help prevent back pain, neck pain, and snoring, reduce stress, and improve overall sleep quality. The best way to promote a healthy sleeping posture is by using the right pillow for your body type.
For example, if you are a stomach sleeper, a small pillow between your knees can help keep your spine aligned while preventing the familiar twist in this position. Getting a pillow that supports your head so it doesn't fall forward is also a good idea, which can strain the neck muscles.
Finally, it would help if you considered a posture neck pillow like this one to help stretch the chest area and relax upper back muscles that can be tight from sitting or standing for long periods. The unique design of this pillow uses gravitational forces to reverse the effects of poor head, neck, and shoulder posture by promoting an aligned neutral position while you sleep.
Following these techniques can significantly improve your posture throughout the day and night, resulting in less back pain, more energy, and healthier life. The key is to start with a good mattress and bedding, then choose the correct pillows.
The Bottom Line
It's easy to think that good posture looks like a puffed-up cartoon soldier—chest out, head up, shoulders back. Good posture varies from person to person and should look natural for each of us. That's because posture isn't just about pushing your ribs forward and squeezing your shoulder blades together; it's about balancing the support muscles in your core (abdominal and pelvic) and strengthening them to help you stand, sit and lie down.
Our bodies aren't designed to sit for long periods, and slouching for hours at a desk can cause short-term problems such as back, neck, and shoulder pain. It can also weaken the supportive muscles in the chest and abdomen, and if you have brittle bones, it may lead to compression fractures of the spine.
Bad posture causes tension and strain in the upper back, neck, and shoulders, resulting in headaches. It can even cause skeletal changes, such as a curved spine or a dowager's hump (dorsal kyphosis).
The good news is that most people can correct their posture by improving their daily habits and performing regular exercises and stretching. However, if you've suffered from poor posture for years, it will take time to notice a difference and change your habits. If you're having trouble making progress, consulting with a healthcare professional may be helpful. They can evaluate your posture, strength, and flexibility and prescribe a program of exercise and stretching to help you improve.
