When you habitually slouch over your laptop or consistently lean to one side while waiting in line, your body positions can become subconscious habits. This continues until a day arrives when you start experiencing pain in your shoulders, neck, and back.
The significance of paying attention to your posture, the potential consequences of neglecting it, and simple methods for enhancing it will be explained.
What Is Good Posture?
When a person has good posture, they stand upright without leaning forwards or backwards. Their shoulders are lowered and pushed back, their head is level, and their feet are positioned approximately shoulder-width apart.
According to Leah Zhang, a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique in Los Angeles, good posture is not about having a strict military-like position with the chest out and shoulders back. Instead, it involves maintaining balance and alignment in the muscles and skeleton with conscious awareness and release. The Alexander Technique focuses on reducing physical tension, using muscles efficiently, and developing body awareness to improve movement.
Wendy Katzman, a physical therapist and former professor at the University of California San Francisco Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, emphasizes the importance of good posture for overall body health. She explains that maintaining good posture while sitting and standing involves aligning the head with the torso, pelvis, and legs. Likewise, during daily activities, it is essential to sustain good spinal alignment to ensure proper posture.
Why Is Good Posture Important?
Maintaining good posture is essential to prevent pain in the neck, shoulders, and back, as well as facilitating proper breathing and digestion. Additionally, good posture promotes flexibility, balance, and overall efficiency. Conversely, bad posture can limit a person’s mobility, making exercise and daily activities challenging. Moreover, poor posture tends to induce movement patterns that demand increased energy expenditure. Hence, several researchers argue that good posture is a fundamental requirement for a healthy lifestyle.
What causes posture problems?
Poor posture is frequently a result of modern-day habits such as sitting in front of a computer, slumping on a sofa while watching TV, or constantly looking down at a smartphone. Additionally, poor posture may be caused by spending extensive periods carrying hefty items like work equipment, grocery bags, or a burdensome handbag.
According to Doshi, engaging in these activities can cause you to slouch or hunch your shoulders, which results in an excessive stretching and weakening of the muscles located at the back of your shoulders. Simultaneously, the muscles located at the front of your shoulders and in your chest become shortened. Consequently, due to the muscles’ insufficient strength to pull them upward, gravity pulls these muscles forward.
If you have become inactive and your core muscles in the back and abdomen have grown weak, it can also result in a forward lean. The function of these muscles is vital for lifting your body and maintaining an upright position.
In September, we reported that another reason for poor posture is attributed to fractures in the back. Those with weak bones (osteoporosis) may encounter compression fractures when the vertebrae in their back are insufficiently robust to bear the weight resting upon them. The front side of the bone collapses, specifically the region closest to the chest. As the collapsed vertebrae accumulate, the spine becomes rounded and bends forward, resulting in a condition known as dowager’s hump (dorsal kyphosis).
Poor posture consequences
Doshi explains that sometimes people wonder why they should change their posture if they don’t mind it. However, one significant consequence of having forward posture is that it shifts their center of gravity forward, elevating the likelihood of falling.
According to Doshi, back and neck pain appear to be the most prevalent symptoms caused by poor posture, but it can also lead to headaches, difficulty breathing, or walking troubles.
Perk up your posture
If you have a spinal cord injury or have undergone surgery to fuse or remove bones in your back, there might be certain restrictions when it comes to enhancing your posture.
According to Doshi, as long as your doctor approves and your broken vertebrae have healed, it’s typically possible to correct your posture. In such instances, they would aim to prevent fractures in other parts of your back. Doshi explains, “Although we can’t alter bones, we can modify muscle mass.”
Tips to stand taller
In order to correct bad posture, it is essential to strengthen and stretch the muscles located in the upper back, chest, and core.
Two exercises that can help strengthen your shoulders are scapula squeezes, where you squeeze your shoulder blades together for 30 seconds, and rows, where you use a resistance band to pull back your elbows as if you are rowing.
To enhance your core strength, you can incorporate modified planks by assuming a push-up position with support from your elbows. Alternatively, you can engage your abdominal muscles by contracting them and pulling your navel towards your spine.
To effectively stretch your chest muscles, follow these steps: position your arms behind your back, then hold both elbows (or forearms if reaching further is a challenge), and maintain this posture.
According to Doshi, in order to improve your posture during everyday activities, it is suggested to place a rolled towel behind your shoulders when seated, even while watching TV, as it will help you maintain an upright position.
Doshi suggests reducing activities that have caused poor posture. It is also advisable to take breaks from computer and TV usage, and increase physical activity. According to Doshi, an improvement in posture can be witnessed within a span of six to 12 weeks.
How to Fix Bad Posture
According to Dr. Verma, individuals should initially consider using a posture trainer, back brace, or undergoing physical therapy as the primary forms of treatment to rectify their posture. If these methods fail to alleviate pain and improve posture, people should consult a spine surgeon who has expertise in managing spinal deformities.
The absence of data to demonstrate the effectiveness of a posture trainer, a small device that sticks to your back and produces a slight vibration when you slouch, in enhancing posture does not negate its ability to raise awareness of poor posture, according to him. He believes it is a reasonable initial approach.
In addition to posture tools and therapies, there are some ways to attain and sustain good posture.
Develop Postural Awareness
According to Katzman, understand the sensation of good posture by positioning yourself with your back against a wall. Ensure that your head, shoulder blades, rib cage, and sacrum are all aligned with the wall. Additionally, practice deep diaphragmatic breathing to assist in maintaining an upright spine.
According to Zhang, in order to improve our posture, it is necessary to relax tight muscles and be conscious of tension in the neck, bringing it back to its naturally lengthened position.
Adjust Your Desk, Chair and Computer Screen
To ensure proper office ergonomics, follow these steps when working on a computer: position your screen at eye level, ensure your feet can comfortably rest on the floor or a footrest, and make sure your chair provides back support. By doing so, you can maintain a good posture throughout your workday and even when you’re not working.
Pay Attention to How You Stand and Sit
When you are in a standing position, make sure to have your shoulders in a backward and relaxed position, your abdomen engaged, and distribute your weight evenly on both feet that are kept hip-width apart. Additionally, ensure that your knees remain relaxed and your head is aligned directly over your spine. Similarly, when you are sitting, whether it’s in front of the television or while using your phone or laptop, be aware of slouching and rounding your shoulders.
Try Tai Chi
According to George Kormendi, a senior tai chi teacher at the New York School of T’ai Chi Chuan, tai chi is a system of movement that can benefit posture. It is used for health, meditation, stress reduction, and self-defense purposes. Kormendi explains that tai chi involves performing a series of postures in a slow and continuous sequence. Unlike exercises that depend on muscular strength, tai chi focuses on relaxation, maintaining proper alignment with gravity, promoting healthy energy flow, and creating a unified internal sense of motion guided by your movement center.
