Print This PageGood Posture Isn't Just Cosmetic
Sure, it goes without saying that good posture--head up, shoulders back, rear tucked under--looks great. But good posture also plays a key role in spine health, helping to prevent additional back and neck pain and even injuries to spinal structures. All patients with spine conditions should be aware of their posture and make good posture part of their normal routine. This newsletter discusses ways to incorporate posture guidelines into your day.
Problems caused by poor posture
People with back pain may adopt an unnatural posture to try to limit movements that they think will create potential pain. However, unless there is a fracture or other serious problem, movement should not be limited and stiff postures should be avoided. It is important to be on the lookout for any of the following possible warning signs of poor posture:
- back pain that is worse at certain times of the day or week
- pain that starts in the neck and moves downwards into the upper back, lower back and extremities
- pain that goes away after switching positions while sitting or standing
- sudden back pain that is experienced with a new job, a new office chair, or a new car
- back pain that comes and goes for months
If any of these warning signs apply to you, take a moment to learn more about good posture in Ten tips for improving posture and ergonomics.
Stand and walk with good posture
It's easy to forget about posture when you're on the go, on the phone, or doing other everyday activities. But these times are as important as any other for heightening your awareness of good posture and recognizing when certain postures and back pain episodes coincide. While standing and walking, among other things it's important to keep the head level and not too far forward, feet slightly apart with your weight towards the balls of the feet, and to avoid locking the knees. Read more in Guidelines to improve posture.
Sit with support
Surprisingly, the act of sitting requires an incredible amount of muscular effort to keep the body erect. And given the amount of time most people spend sitting, good sitting posture is vitally important. One common mistake is the 'office chair hunch', a posture adopted by many computer users where they sit at the front of their office chair and hunch forward leaning in toward their computer screen. The correct posture actually requires sitting back in the chair and utilizing the chair's back support. Learn techniques to avoid hunching in Office chair advice.
Another common mistake is to forget about posture while traveling, which can often entail long hours of sitting. In addition to bringing items like a lumbar or neck support pillow, just adjusting the headrest to support the middle of your head and making sure both feet are resting on the floor or footrest can provide postural support. Learn more tips for traveling in comfort in Pain-free travel tips.
Lift and carry carefully
There's more to correct lifting than just remembering to bend the knees! Improper lifting or carrying, especially lifting while twisting, can cause injury to muscles, joints and/or discs. One of the most important tips is to bend at the hips and push the chest out forward (which will keep the back straight, causing the knees to bend, and allowing the muscles of the legs and hips to produce the power needed for lifting.) Read more in Avoid back injury with the right lifting techniques.
And finally, keep moving
Maintaining a static position for too long -- more than twenty or thirty minutes at a time - is hard on the back. Prolonged static posture can slowly deplete elasticity from the tissues. By simply moving -- be it a change of position, a stretch, or a short walk -- the tissue elasticity needed to protect your joints can be restored and the associated discomfort reduced. Learn more in Basic workplace ergonomics.
Best wishes,
Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD, Medical Director
Stephanie Burke, President
About the Spine-health.com Newsletter: Each issue of the Spine-health.com newsletter, SpineNews Update, is written by the founders of Spine-health.com - Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., M.D., Medical Director for Spine-health.com and Stephanie Burke, President of Spine-health.com.The content in the newsletters is not peer reviewed by Spine-health.com’s Medical Advisory Board.The articles to which the Spine-health.com newsletters link have been peer reviewed by members of the Medical Advisory Board.