Good posture is a good habit that contributes to your overall health. Alternately, poor posture is a bad habit that can contribute to aches and pains that can become an injury.
Perfect alignment of the body may not be attainable for a variety of reasons (injury, accident, the way your body was formed etc.) but it's the standard toward which we work.
Why does posture matter?
In short: Our bodies are created for movement and our sedentary and desk-based jobs have us stuck in static postures looking at screens for many hours. It takes a lot of good quality movement to mediate those awful postures that we are stuck in for hours every day.
Your body will adapt to what you often do. If you are sitting immobile at a desk for 10 hours, driving home and then sitting on your couch, your body will reflect this. Muscles will tighten and lengthen into those postures, and your postural muscles (the ones that help you stand up straight and support your spine and organs) will weaken. This then becomes the platform from which you initiate the movements of everyday life.
If you have tight hips and weak core muscles and then you pick up a child or a basket of wet laundry you are likely to strain something. This then compounds the postural issues you already have and down the rabbit hole you go. I have seen this time and again over my 20 years as a Personal Trainer. Lifting the young child or the laundry basket is the “straw that broke the camels back” but the postural decline had been happening over many years.
I want to stop that. It is far more cost-effective (and pain saving) to preserve your body and learn how to use it well, than try to fix it when it's broken. The way back from injury can be long.
What influences our posture?
May originate in childhood due to shyness, trauma and body changes
Imbalanced or inappropriate exercise choices
Ladies: breast size/motherhood
Work postures/workstation set up
Emotional state (we close inwards)
Biomechanical: stiffness or injury in one place may cause a change in load/movement somewhere else
Efficient Movement
Each part must do its job, or you will need to adjust your body to obtain the movement elsewhere. What does this mean?
Tight calves will cause you to adjust your walking pattern to get around your lack of ankle flexibility = sore back, sore hips
Tight thoracic spine = excessive movement in your lumbar spine or neck - but that’s not the origin of the problem, just the squeaky wheel.
Good exercise choice + perfect posture and execution = Healthy functional (happy) body
Good exercise choice + poor posture and execution = Possible injury, pain & dysfunction
Poor or inappropriate exercise choice + poor posture & execution = your orthopaedic surgeon buying a new car.
If you’ve been thinking about your posture and doing something to mediate being stuck at a desk, you will be in a much better position.
What can you do (even if you’ve had poor posture for years)?
It's never too late to make some improvements. The older you are, the more challenging it can be. If you are concerned that you have any physical aches, pain, restriction or injury (old or current), I recommend that you seek professional advice with a Physiotherapist, Chiropractor, Osteopath, Myotherapist, Massage Therapist, Exercise Physiologist or qualified Personal Trainer. If you haven’t exercised for a long time, or haven’t done anything other than walking, commencing an unsupervised exercise program (even Yoga or Pilates) may inflame or aggravate stiff, injured or immobile body parts. It's best to get it checked and get the okay to commence your preferred type of exercise.
Posture needs to be considered both statically (standing still, sitting) and dynamically (moving) and under load/tension (lifting a child, moving furniture, unloading groceries). Practically this means:
Static: Stand tall, lift breastbone, relax shoulders and weight bare evenly on both feet.
Dynamic: Practice postural awareness in everything – driving, sitting, activities of daily living
Under load: think about “setting up” your body before you load it (i.e. before picking something up consider how you are doing it) and maintain good posture throughout the activity.
Isn’t walking enough to maintain our posture?
In my opinion, NO. Walking is a fantastic, healthful way to move your body. But I don’t think it’s enough. If you have tight hamstrings from sitting slumped all day, you are likely to limit your stride step to the length of your hamstrings (which may be contributing to back pain). I know, now I’m making it sound complicated. I’m not trying to – just wanting us to think more broadly about how we need to move our bodies for health.
Well, what should I do?
A fantastic question: my recommendations are always "do something you enjoy". People are much more likely to move their bodies often (every day is best) if they do something they like. I would recommend something cardiovascular like walking, cycling, swimming, running PLUS some load-bearing exercise across your entire body. WHAT is that you ask? That could look like: resistance training (weights), Yoga, Pilates, bodyweight exercises (like pushups & squats).
This type of exercise stresses your muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones and makes them stronger. Importantly for this article, these activities encourage movement and full range movement of your entire body (preferably in good posture). I always tell my clients "you can do any exercise or movement. You will always find a way to do it, but, like your diet, it will have either a positive or a negative effect on your body".
(book a discovery call with me to see how I can help)
TOP TIPS FOR BETTER POSTURE
AWARENESS: think about your posture. Eventually, I want you to be able to adjust your posture before your conscious mind has even become aware of it. If you're at your desk, doing the dishes, hanging out the washing, driving-be aware. Has your chest dropped down and your chin poked forward? Visualise that you have a string attached to the top of your head and you are being cinched toward the ceiling.
START BREATHING PROPERLY! Breathing is essential to both oxygen intake and stability and function of the body. In the absence of proper breathing, there is a loss of efficiency and an increase in compensation patterns. Commonly this is people breathing only into their chest instead of diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing). This contributes to tight chest, neck and thoracic spine muscles. This pattern can change how you use your body as well as contribute to headaches and a tight upper back and neck—lookout on my website and Instagram page for my guided breathing and mind mapping meditation.
TAKE BREAKS: Try for every hour. Stand up, roll your shoulders, gently turn your head side to side, walk, do a couple of stretches.
DESK SET UP: I know you are not experts, but you can still have a general look at your desk and see if it’s serving your body optimally. Sitting is the new smoking in terms of health risk so take regular breaks and, if possible, consider and sit/stand desk. Officeworks have them here: https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/c/furniture/desks-tables/sit-stand-desks Check this out for some fantastic tips: https://ergonomicshealth.com/ergonomic-workstation-setup/
Disclaimer: These recommendations do not replace medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or professional advice from your Medical Practitioner or Allied Health Professional. If you have any concerns about your health, you should book an appointment with your Health Practitioner.
