Is Your Posture Causing Your Neck Pain?

“It’s probably my poor posture” – I hear this one about as frequently as “I probably just need to stretch more” (also wrong) from patients as an explanation for their pain.

The answer to this is maybe it is, but also probably not in the way you think! The reality is there is no such thing as perfect posture; and working on “improving” your posture or ergonomic setup is chasing a very elusive goal. In saying that sustaining a particular position or posture for a long period of time could every well be what is causing or contributing to your pain. But substituting that position for another “more ideal” one isn’t likely to help too much.

1. The concept of good and bad posture is unsupported by the current literature.

Specific postural recommendations are usually only required to assist with an injury or specific pain by decreasing load on a particular area to give it a chance to settle. The clinical history is taken into consideration when advice like this is given.

2. It’s less about a particular posture and more about keeping things moving.

Research shows that people who are more sedentary are more likely to experience pain and morbidity in contrast to people who have what is traditionally considered a “bad” posture but keep themselves moving and are more active.

3. Structural ‘abnormalities’ such as with leg length differences and spinal curvatures are not correlated to increased pain.

We actually all have slightly different leg lengths, and everyone comes with their own unique shape and structure; which makes blanket statements such as keep your back straight unfair and irrelevant.

4. The amount of texting your teenager (or you) does is not correlated to their neck posture and their pain.

There is no association between posture and neck pain. This challenges widespread belief that there is a role of “good” posture equating to less pain. In saying that staying in the one position for prolonged periods at the expense of movement and activity might be a contributing factor…

Got some neck or shoulder pain? Come have a talk to one of our physiotherapists to get it all sorted out.