Posture, its not what you do its the way that you do it!
Today I’d like to discuss posture and back pain, in fact you’ve probably heard me or one of the other therapists discuss posture in detail, there are very few people/patients I don’t discuss it with.
Posture affects the whole body, though people often only associate it with lower back pain.
For a healthy body, posture is important and critical to reduce pain – particularly back pain.
Supporting the back is vital particularly for anyone who spends many hours sitting in an office chair or standing.
Poor posture over time can lead to strain being placed on the back, this strain can also change the anatomical characteristics of the spine reacting to blocked blood vessels and nerves, joints and muscles.
What is good posture? It means structure and function in alignment; proper posture keeps all parts balanced and supported in as near a neutral position as possible (that’s a mouthful). Large chunks of our time are spent sitting, standing, bending and lying down so it is important to give your back proper support.
When it comes to posture the first step is to understand what the difference is, simply by identifying what positions affect your back, this can go some way to understanding how you use your body, and what tensions build up in which way. You could try to take a selfie or video with your phone, this can go some way to understand position and movement.
Poor posture and strain can be placed on the body when you:
• Slouch watching TV
• Sit playing on the games console
• Using the phone i.e scrolling Facebook
• Walking or playing sports
• High heels
• Poor mattress when sleeping
How do you improve your posture?
Firstly keeping the body mobile, flexible and strong and not just in a few movements but the whole body. This means a variety of exercise and maybe cross training.
Once the body is mobile and strong your habits have a better chance of sticking.
Try and monitor your body, noting what you are doing and the position you are in when you feel discomfort or pain.
With any prolonged periods of activity or inactivity there can be a build up of tension so breaks or change of movement can be really useful.
Use any helpful devices or ergonomic services to help keep the back supported to minimise the tension build up.
With all this talk I need you to look at the video link below, it’s really interesting and very informative, let me know what you think!
And on that note keep well and keep moving 🙂
Deansgate Osteopathic Clinic
