SWS RELEASES
2009 Article: Posture Matters
IT TURNS OUT YOUR MOTHER WAS RIGHT!
“Sit up straight” your mother used to say. Your mother was the first to teach you the benefits of posture, and it turns out that she knew what she was talking about!
Poor posture is one of the leading (and least discussed) causes of chronic pain. Slumped sitting and standing postures can cause neck and low back pain as well as arm symptoms including numbness and tingling down the arms and into the hands. It can even contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome!
Many of us spend a great deal of time each day sitting in front of a computer. Take a moment and reflect upon your posture while you sit. Are you sitting up with an inward curve of your low back and your shoulders pulled slightly back? Or are you used to sitting with your head forward, shoulders rounded and back slumped?
Most people tend to slump while sitting. This causes the head to protrude forward, the shoulders to curl forward and a reversal of the curve in the low back. This type of posture causes a slow migration of the discs in the spine to a backward position. When this happens, the discs put pressure on nerves and we feel pain. UGH!
It is important to understand that we can (and do) practice poor posture habits for many years prior to the onset of pain. Postural pain is not a one time event. It is a culmination of many years of silently hurting ourselves. Compare postural pain to heart disease. Heart disease builds up quietly over many years before revealing itself in the form of a heart attack. Postural pain slowly builds up in much the same way.
Let’s get back to holding ourselves like we did when we were children! Look at a child and notice how straight he holds his back when sitting.
We can re-train ourselves, it just takes some effort. Remind yourself to sit up straight throughout the day. Set your computer to “ding” every hour as a reminder to sit up straight. Set your rearview mirror to a good sitting posture. Every time you look in it you will be reminded to return to good posture.
Try performing chin tucks in an upright position every hour.
Pull your shoulder blades down to force yourself to sit up straight.
Work on it for a couple of weeks and you will notice those aches and pains you get while sitting are greatly reduced.
Chin tucks: Sit up straight and move your head backwards. Your head goes straight back, do not tilt up or down. Hold for 10 seconds. You may feel a pull, but no pain.
This exercise helps align the spine and tuck your neck discs back into place.
Shoulder blade pulldowns: Sit up straight. Pull your shoulder blades straight down, like you are going to tuck them into your back pockets. Hold for 10 seconds.
This strengthens the shoulder blade muscles which assist you holding good posture.
Low Back curve: As you pull your shoulder blades down you should notice the inward curve of your low back return. By sitting with this curve, you will prevent disc pain down the road.