Posture 101
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 4:52PM The majority of us spend most of our waking hours seated, whether it be at work in front of a computer, driving your car, around the dinner table, or at night on the couch, it is important to recognise that when sitting we are placing stress on our spines and the muscular systems supporting our spines, this can result in pain and injury to the overloaded structures. Here are a few simple tips to help improve your posture:
1. When seated your feet should sit flat on the floor, and your knees should be slightly lower than your hips
2. The weight of your head and neck should be directly balanced above your spine rather than your neck poked forward
3. Your shoulders should be relaxed and down
4. Avoid prolonged sitting, not only does it place strain on your musculo-skeletal system, but recent research has also linked it to increasing rates of lifestyle diseases. At the very least stand up every 20-30 minutes
5. Posture is a habit. It takes time and effort to develop the core strength to maintain good posture without fatiguing – persevere!
Reader Comments (2)
I constantly catch myself sticking my neck out so it is poked forward! Any advice for correcting this bad habit?
Catching yourself is the first step! Posture is a habit, so the more often you catch yourself and correct it, over time and as your muscles become stronger you will more automatically hold good posture for longer. Setting an alarm to go off at regular intervals as a reminder can help also. To strengthen the muscles that control the head position you can do some chin retraction exercises. Pull your chin towards the back of your neck gently, hold for 3 seconds, then repeat 10 times. This will help to activate the postural muscles in your neck.
Good luck!