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Did you know that there is a correlation between your posture and level of alertness and ability to concentrate? With better posture, not only do you look better and feel better, but you have the ability to sit upright and be more engaged in conversations and learning experiences. You are more alert and aware of your surroundings, and are in a posture or position to make quicker and more precise movements. Just think, when you look around a classroom full of students, you can easily spot the students who are paying attention and learning, compared to those who are disinterested just by observing their sitting posture.  What postural presentation do the students (or worker) who are falling asleep have?
They are slumped forward on their desk in a flexion dominant posture, or they are slouched low in their chairs with anterior pelvic translation. What postural presentation does an alert student (or worker) maintain? Alert students are sitting high in their chairs. They are seated upright and engaged. Their level of engagement is much higher than the students who are half asleep with slumped posture. Because of the connection of posture and consciousness, research also demonstrates that with proper posture there is better cognitive performance (Muehlhan, 2014). Not only are students who have proper posture in class taking care of their spine, joints and muscles, they also have a higher level of engaged learning and cognitive performance. The same is true for modern day office workers. While sitting at their desks performing work, by shifting their posture to be more upright, they will be that much more conscious of the work they are doing and engage at a higher level of productivity. Their concentration is improved, as is their lung capacity and circulation. It's a win-win.
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Correct posture and alignment, especially while sitting for prolonged periods, is essential for office workers in order to prevent work related pain and injuries. Admittedly, most of us sit with poor posture at some point, but when a person has to adopt their sitting position for long periods of time, often day in and day out, poor health issues can result.  Some consequences of prolonged incorrect sitting posture…
- Headaches - Neck pain and spasm - Interscapular/thoracic pain and stiffness - Lower back pain - Muscular tension throughout the shoulder girdle - Wrist, forearm or elbow pain - Potential for lumbar disc irritation/bulging What to do about it… Many people admit they know they have poor posture, but don’t know what to do about it. This is where education becomes crucial. Correct workstation setup is very simple to teach and the most effective preventative tool we have in helping people avoid the above potentially disabling problems. At Better Posture Perth we are well trained and experienced in educating patients about workstation setup, postural corrective exercises and manual therapy that will alleviate any problems that may have arisen from poor office work habits. We use a combination of soft tissue massage, trigger point release, spinal mobilisation, dry needling (acupuncture) and exercises to stretch and strengthen anti-gravity muscles as well as improving alignment when we are faced with these workers. As usual, early detection and referral for treatment is the key. If I asked a group of people if they suffered from any pain or discomfort, the majority would say ‘yes’. Pain is so common these days and I constantly encounter complaints related to the lower back. Without some solid prevention strategies, the number of people suffering from this problem will continue to grow. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, a study examining mortality or poor health as a result of diseases placed low back pain as the sixth most troublesome condition in 1990. As of 2010, low back pain jumped to third place. Most other western nations are no different. You read that correctly, as of 2010, low back pain ranked 3rd!  I'm going to jump right to it and mention 3 habits you need to change if you want to reduce lower back pain. While this isn’t the only list, nor does it completely cover everything involved it’s a great start to get you on a mission toward a more comfortable, pain free future.
1. You sit too often Most of us know that sitting isn’t our friend. The problem is we still do it for long periods because life often demands it. You may sit during your meal times, on the ride to work, and while at your job. Like many, you may be sitting for 8-10 hours or more per day. If you’re concerned about your lower back, you need to start standing and moving around more often. If you are sitting in poor alignment for this amount of hours, your risk of incurring a serious problem increases. 2. You exercise with poor form or not at all Whenever you exercise, pay attention to the way you’re performing your techniques and the position of your body. There’s a good chance the way you’re exercising and the kinds of activities you might be doing in the gym are contributing to an insidious problem. If you don’t exercise, this is your invitation to get cracking because exercise in proper alignment is beneficial for maintaining the integrity of your spine, as well as the rest of your body. It can also improve coordination, and develop proper posture and muscle balance. 3. You don’t pay attention to your body alignment during your daily routine Sleeping, eating, washing the dishes, walking, and a host of other regular activities are often done in poor alignment. You should start thinking more about what you do on a consistent basis. What position do you sleep in? When you eat do you hunch forward? What is your body doing while you’re working? Pay special attention to anything you do daily, and mind your body alignment. While this short list is not a call for you to scrutinize every little activity, I implore you to pay closer attention to what you’re doing and start making changes today. Lower back pain is unpleasant and far too common. Small but regular changes can make a big difference! An article in Spine Health by Vijay Vad, MD, a sports medicine physician, states that "unsupported postures cause the loads on your spine to disperse incorrectly, weakening the tissues in your lower back. As a result, the intricate network of muscles, discs, and joints in your back tend to be pushed beyond their tolerable limit, causing pain." Likewise, a sudden injury from lifting a heavy object incorrectly or in bad alignment can cause immediate back pain and dysfunction.  When you have poor posture, several areas of stress may develop within your muscle tissue, spinal joints (lumbar facets), and discs. These stresses may be relieved once the offending posture is corrected or may continue to accumulate, slowly weakening the affected structure, for example:
Changing from a habitual incorrect posture may take time and mindful awareness. Here are a few tips on how to maintain good posture while walking, sitting, and lifting... Walk tall. While walking, it is important to look straight ahead and to keep your head balanced above your spine. Keep your spine straight and relax your shoulders. Make sure to land on your heel and then gently roll forward to push off the front of your foot. With each step, a gentle spinal rotation must be achieved by reaching the opposite arm forward. Sit with support and get up every hour. While sitting and working on an office chair, keep your back flush against your chair, your head over your spine, your shoulders rolled back, and shoulder blades down. Bend your arms at a 75 to 90-degree angle at the elbows. Your legs should be hip distance apart with both feet flat on the floor. If you are unable to reach the floor, use a footrest. Place a small pillow or rolled-up towel to support your lower back and maintain the lumbar curve. Aim to get up every hour and walk a short distance to relieve pressure from your spine. Lift carefully. To lift a heavy object from the floor, squat down in front of the object by keeping a straight back and bending your knees. Hold the object close to your chest while you straighten your knees to stand up. To lift lighter objects, take support from a table or a counter with one hand, bend down at your hip (keeping a straight back), and raise one leg backward for counterbalance. Use the other hand to lift the object. This technique is called the golfer’s lift and is especially useful for repetitive lifting activities. This is an excellent question. Think about how you sit during the day. Is your head forward or over your body? Are your shoulders and spine rounded forward, or back and straight? Are your feet flat on the floor under your knees or out in front of you? It can be hard to notice the positioning of your body throughout the day, so you'll need to think about it. Another question is, after sitting or standing for a while, do you start to have aches and pains in your back, neck, or shoulders? If yes, then it could be posture related, and be worth getting assessed professionally.  My back aches when I sit for a long time, does that mean I have bad posture?
Possibly. Back ache can be an indicator of bad posture, but not always. Back ache or back pain can be caused by many things and is unfortunately very common. Bad posture itself can be contributing factor to many issues, from headaches to back pain, and breathing problems in some cases. To determine what is causing your back ache, several factors would need to be considered. What type of chair are you sitting in and how supportive is it? How strong are your stabilizing muscles and are they properly supporting you? What position are you sitting in? Are there any other contributing factors to your back pain? As you can see, this can be a complex question to answer. Can I improve my posture? Absolutely! Posture can be improved with a combination of strengthening weakened muscles and stretching tight muscles. The trick is knowing which muscles to focus on. As a general tip for strengthening, exercises that generally have a pulling motion, like rows, can be very helpful in bringing the shoulders back to improve posture. Pulling exercises focus on back muscles which tend to be weak in people with bad posture. Weak back muscles in combination with tight chest or front of the shoulder muscles tend towards a more rounded shoulder posture. If this is you, you can try to a back exercise every other day to maintain strong postural muscles, and stretch your chest/pectoral muscles daily. Of course, for a more specific exercise program for your particular posture, you would need to be properly assessed, preefrably by a posture specialist. Do I have to keep my back straight all the time to have good posture? In a word, no. Nobody has perfect posture all day. The trick is to practice sitting in a good, comfortable position throughout the day. Set an alarm on your phone or computer to remind you to practice good sitting posture every hour. For five minutes at a time, try to maintain that position. Also, there is nothing better for your posture than to get up and move, so get out of that desk chair every 30 minutes. It is natural for you to slowly go back into your default posture because that position is more familiar to your body and requires much less effort for you to stay there. But by practicing a good posture throughout the day, you are slowly creating a new default for your body. You become better at maintaining that new position for a longer period of time, particularly if you also exercise to strengthen those postural muscles. For most of us, screen time and sitting go hand in hand and both are only increasing as our lives move more online. While short periods in any posture aren't harmful, a lack of movement combined with long periods spent in hunched positions can lead to spinal pain, headaches, shoulder pain and more. If you're needing to spend more time in front of a screen, here are a few tips that can help you to keep flexible and avoid pain.  Set movement breaks
Posture in itself isn't always a problem. Spending long periods of time in these postures without taking breaks is the problem. When your body is so used to one position, muscles may become shorter and joints stiffer, making it harder to move out of this posture without pain and discomfort. You can break up your day by setting a timer to move and take a break every 20-30 minutes. Using these short breaks for movement is a great way to both help focus at work and keep your body more flexible. Setup your work and home environment properly Adjusting your work station or setting up a place to relax at home where to you can avoid a hunched posture can help you to reduce time in the same posture. Your physiotherapist can give you tips for how to setup your home and office environment correctly. Take stock of your time spent sitting Time in the car, time on your computer and time on the couch can all quickly add up without you realising. By accounting for the amount of time you spend sitting, you can find more ways to move. For example, if you notice that you're sitting down as soon as you get home, try swapping out watching an episode on TV to going for a walk while listening to a podcast. Ask your physio or posture specialist for specific stretches If you can identify the posture you spend the most time in, your physio or posture specialist can help you to develop a specific exercise and stretching program to counteract these positions most directly and keep you strong and flexible. Forward head posture (FHP) occurs when a person is leaning their head forward, out of neutral alignment with their spine. When the alignment of the head is off, it can cause a variety of problems, including stiffness in the neck, pain, and balance issues. The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) define FHP as holding the head out, in front of its natural position over the cervical spine. A person with FHP also typically tilts their head back in order to look forward. This posture puts a strain on the muscles and bones of the neck. It can also lead to muscle imbalances, as some muscles support more of the load than others. According to a 2014 study, the forward position of the head puts increasing amounts of weight pressure on the spine.  People often associate FHP with using electronic devices for a long time, such as mobile phones or computers. However, any activity that causes a person to lean their head forward for a prolonged period of time can lead to chronic FHP.
Some other potential causes of FHP include:
Prevention If a person sits at a desk for long periods of time, they should focus on maintaining proper posture. This includes:
Given that FHP results in a combination of some tight muscles groups, along with some underacyive, or weak muscles, the best corrective or prevntative program you can do is a series of stretching and strengthening exercises. This will help to correct your muscle imbalances around your neck, shoulders and upper back, which will then make it much easier for you to stay in a better alignment, or posture. For more specific information on which exercises are best for you, and indeed whether you actually have FHP, it's best to contact your posture specialist or physiotherapist. Good posture is about more than standing up straight so you can look your best. It is an important part of your long-term health. Making sure that you hold your body the right way, whether you are moving or still, can prevent pain, injuries, and other health problems. The key to good posture is the position of your spine. Your spine has three natural curves - at your neck, mid back, and low back. Correct posture should maintain these curves, but not increase them. Your head should be above your shoulders, and the top of your shoulder should be over the hips.  How can I improve my posture in general?
How can I improve my posture when sitting?
How can I improve my posture when standing?
If you have spent any time searching for ways to improve your posture online, you have almost certainly come across a number of posture braces that claim to be able to help solve your bad posture. In today’s culture, people are always looking for the newest and easiest way to fix our problems. But do these devices really work?  When it comes to posture braces, most products claim to improve posture by pulling your shoulders back. Although forward rounding shoulders are indeed a sign of bad posture, they are not the only contributing factor. Poor posture usually consists of a combination of factors including forward head position, rounded shoulders and pelvic alignment. A posture brace usually only affects the shoulders, only one component of bad posture.
While a posture brace may help bring your shoulders back, it doesn’t strengthen the muscles in the back of the neck or upper back. So while it may help while it is on, when you take it off your shoulders will likely go right back to their earlier position. Although the brace may help stretch out the muscles of your chest, it doesn’t help with arguably the most important factor in posture correction, which is strengthening your "anti-gravity" or postural muscles that will help you maintain better posture in the longer term. The majority of postural problems, or malalignments that we see are due to muscular imbalances. That is, certain muscle groups are tight or overworked, where other muscles are overstretched and weak. So that means we need both stretching and strengthening exercises to improve, not just one or the other. Preferably, we do exercises specifically targeting the muscle groups that fall into the tight or weak categories in our own body, not just generic advice we find on the internet. So the initial question of should I wear a posture brace? It can help alleviate posture related pain while you have to be in a position to complete a task or your work, such as sitting at a desk for long periods. But a brace will never correct your posture by itself, as it can't help you strengthen the muscles that need it. In fact, wearing any brace too much can have the opposite effect and weaken your muscles, which you really don't want! Any posture improvement program shoulod begin with a professional posture analysis to expose where your own particular issues are, which then leads to a targeted stretching and strengthening program to alleviate your muscle imbalances. A posture brace by itself just can't do this. We constantly tell people to set reminders to get up and move, or take a posture break from their desk to avoid the aches, pains and other negatives that come from sitting in one place for too long. But how do you actually do that? Setting up a reminder on your work computer is essential to keep you on track with this, as it's all too easy to forget, as most of us know. Simple instructions on how to do this are below. Note we generally recommend getting up from your desk, even for a short time, every 30 minutes.  For Windows 11 on PC (2 simple options)
1. Microsoft To Do app This comes pre-installed on Windows, to set up reminders on your PC quickly. The app is free and simple to use. Step 1: Open Microsoft To Do app on your PC. If you can’t find it, download it from the Microsoft Store. Step 2: Sign in with your Microsoft account. Step 3: In the My Day tab, click the ‘Add a task’ button. Type in your task details (posture break) and press enter to save it. Step 4: Next, click on your task and select the Remind me option from the menu that appears on your right. Step 5: You can choose from the suggested options or set a date and time. And that’s about it. Microsoft To Do will remind you about the task at the specified date and time. You can also set a recurring reminder for your task by clicking on the Repeat option. 2. Using the Calendar app Another option for setting up reminders on Windows 11 is to use the built-in Calendar app. This can come in handy if you have already synced your Google account with the Calendar app and want to view all your tasks and reminders in a single place. Step 1: Open the Calendar app on your PC and click on the New event button. Step 2: Enter your task details. Step 3: Use the drop-down menu beside the Reminder to define when the app should remind you. If you want to set up a recurring reminder, click on the Repeat button at the top and specify how frequently the app needs to remind you. Step 4: Lastly, click on Save. After that, the reminder will appear on your calendar app. It’s worth noting that the reminder notification will also appear on your other devices where you’ve signed in with your calendar account. For Mac systems Step 1: In the Reminders app on your Mac, select a reminder list in the sidebar. Step 2: Click the Add button in the top-right corner (or use the Touch Bar). Step 3: Enter a title for the reminder (posture break). Step 4: Do any of the following... Add notes: Type a note below the reminder text. Press Option-Return to start a new line in the note. Be reminded on a date and time: Click Add Date, choose a suggested date or click Custom to use the calendar to pick a date. After you enter a date, optionally click Add Time, then choose a suggested time. If you don’t enter a time, the reminder is an all-day reminder. Be reminded when you arrive at or leave a location: Click Add Location, then choose a suggested location or start typing the name of a location and choose from the suggestions. Tag a reminder: Click the Tag button, then choose an existing tag or click New Tag to create and apply a new tag. Flag a reminder: Click the Flag button. To quickly add multiple reminders to the same list, press Return after you enter each reminder. That should help you set reminders for your posture breaks at work. Remember there really is no substitute for movement! "Your best posture is your next posture..." |