5 Tips for better posture!
Our posture is constantly affected by our everyday stressors. It could be a repetitive motion at work, long periods of desk work at school or work, improper technique while working out or extended technology use. These are just some of the many stressors that affect the posture of our spine. Poor spinal posture is often associated with degeneration of the spine, neck pain, back pain, headaches, muscle tension and tightness and many other symptoms and issues. Posture is important factor when we want to maintain a great level of health and wellness.
From a chiropractic approach of working with the spine and nervous system and helping people manage and adapt to the stressors they deal with in their lives, I’ve created a list of my top 5 ways to help your body deal with postural stressors more effectively.
My first tip is to evaluate your work place ergonomics. This is so important if you are a student or office worker that finds themselves spending a lot of time working at a desk or computer. The ideal posture while working at a desk is 90:90:90. In this position you would have your feet flat on the floor with ankles and knees at 90 degrees. Adjust your seat height so that your hip angle is at 90 degrees as well. Your desk/keyboard height should be positioned so that your elbows can be at a 90 degree angle as well. If your forearms and wrists are to high or low you will cause extra strain on your wrists and hands and shoulders. the last key piece to optimal posture while working at a computer is to make sure your screen is elevated to at or slightly above eye level. Often times our screens are to low and we cause strain on the back of the neck and shoulders, and overtime causes forward head posture. Standing desks or laptop platforms are a couple ways to improve the ergonomics of your workstation.
My next tip is applicable to any postural stressors whether it is long periods of sitting, desk work or repetitive motions and activities with our job. The best way to offset these stressors is to take a break periodically and incorporate movement into your break. For long periods of sitting I recommend standing up and walking around, it could be taking a quick lap around the house or taking a quick walk out the door and back. Be intentional about looking up at the horizon or across the room to alleviate the stress on the shoulders and neck. If you don’t have the ability to take a quick walk, stand up walk in place, bend down to touch your toes or incorporate a dynamic stretch that offsets your repetitive activity. Motion is your friend and it doesn’t take anything special/intense plan to make a difference. Taking a brief couple minute break to move every 20-30 mins is most beneficial however more infrequently throughout your day will still be effective.
My next tip pertains to the rest periods we have. Oftentimes it’s at the end of the work day when we sit down to decompress from our busy day we may be on our phones or watching TV etc. Sometimes these rest activities can be causing more stress on our spine and posture than we realize. Evaluate how your sitting on the couch or chair. Are you sitting up strait with your feet in front of you in a neutral posture. Or are you laying to your side, have your feet underneath you or head and neck kinked. It’s important to sit up strait in a neutral position, no slouching or leaning. Also be aware of your head position, are you looking down at your phone or have your neck twisted to look at the TV for extended periods? This can cause strain on the muscles and ligaments of the neck as well as cause misalignments to the vertebra of the neck. Keep your head looking straight forward at your screen by raising your phone up or if you are laying on your side make sure your head and neck is supported and is straight with the rest of your spine.
Keep posture in mind throughout the day. Evaluate how you are sitting or standing. Do you find yourself slouching or slumping forward in your chair, always leaning on your desk or a work counter or are your shoulders forward and you struggle to keep them back? All of these are signs that your body is struggling to adapt to the stressors of your day. Bringing awareness to the changes that are happening is the first step. Noticing these changes multiple times throughout the day can cue you into trying the tips mentioned above. The more you incorporate those throughout the day the more you can support your body in adapting to the posture stressors in your life.
My final tip is to get chiropractic adjustments regularly. No matter your age or your stressors you can benefit from regular chiropractic care that addresses postural stress on the nervous system and spine. We commonly work with entire families to improve posture. Even though the source of postural stress may be different for each person everyone can benefit from chiropractic adjustments that are tailored to their spine and nervous system needs. In the Mercer community we see many different benefits for family chiropractic. Sometimes its school age kids that spend many hours working on schoolwork on a laptop or tablet. Sometimes they are dealing with symptoms of pain, headaches or they just want to see their posture improve so they don’t have to deal with the symptoms of degeneration later on. Other times it’s the adults that have a busy job that keeps them at their desk all day or a job that has many physical stressors that wear there body down every day. In either case chiropractic has helped them get their spine and nervous system in better shape allowing for them to adapt to the stressors they face and start the healing process for the degeneration that has occurred.
Regular chiropractic care is the key. Posture changes take time to occur, it’s difficult to eliminate the stressors entirely. So it’s a slow process of improving how your structure and nervous system adapts to stressors. The goal is to improve the function of the nervous system and correct the misalignments of the spine so that your body can start to improve it’s ability to maintain ideal posture throughout the day. Whether it’s your kids or yourself, nervous system focused chiropractic care could help you!
Do you know someone that could benefit? Share this with them or tell them about our office! We love providing the residents of Mercer Pa with Family Chiropractic Care!
