How to Overcome Modern Challenges to Posture

We recently came across a great article in the Boston Globe, "The Proper Balance".

Many studies are being done to show just how harmful it can be to sit for long periods of time.The majority of our patients are aware of the dangers of sitting but aren't sure what they can do. It's tough to maintain good posture considering today's technology-driven and deskbound lifestyle.

This article offers some good tips on how you can practice good posture even if you are unable to escape sitting at a desk for 8 hours every day.

DON'T:

Sit with head forward (like a turtle), back rounded, and elbows flexed past 90 degrees.

Pick up something without bending your knees

Cradle the phone with your neck when you're multitasking. Use the speaker mode or a headset device.

Wear high heels if you're going to be walking or standing for more than a few minutes. You can throw off your posture by forcing the lower part of your body forward and the upper part backward to maintain balance.

Overload your purse or backpack. If your shoulder starts to hurt after 10 minutes of toting your bag, it's time to unload excess stuff, like that ton of spare change.

DO:

Get up from a sitting position at least once an hour.

When standing, check yourself in a mirror at least once a day to see if you're standing straight with your shoulders back, pelvis tucked under, and head aligned with torso.

Distribute the weight of your backpack evenly by wearing on both shoulders.

Follow a 20/20/20 rule for computer work:
Take a 20 second rest break every 20 minutes and look at something 20 feet or more away from the monitor.

Comments

Your posture affects your mood

Poor Posture, Poor Mood Whenever you’re sitting at a computer, be conscious of your posture and keep your feet evenly planted on the ground. As many people are finding themselves spending more time sitting slumped behind a screen or standing on their feet for hours on end without a break, paying attention to your posture is more important than ever. If you’ve never thought much about whether you’re sitting or standing stance is doing harm to your health, you might want to start before you find yourself in a bad mood. Whenever you’re sitting at a computer, be conscious of your posture and keep your feet evenly planted on the ground. Each time we lean forward 60 degrees, the stress placed on our neck is increased dramatically. This can lead to numbness, pain, pinched nerves and improper breathing—none of which are good for your mood! Stress on your neck can also lead to tense upper back and shoulder muscles, resulting in headaches which can be very frequent for som...

What’s Bringing on Your Back Pain?

Struggling to find the source of your back pain? Schedule a visit with our practice. Many people with sudden, acute back pain think, “But gosh, I didn’t even do anything!” What many folks don’t know, or understand, is that it’s not always a case of what you did five minutes ago, or what you did yesterday, or even what you did last week that’s causing the current problem; it’s more a case of “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” no pun intended! Discovering the Cause Sometimes it’s chronic stress that wreaks havoc on your nervous system and finally causes your back to “go out” or a “pain in your neck” because of the strain of carrying the weight of all that stress on your back and neck. Let’s use an everyday example to demonstrate. You go to the local eatery and put your purchase on your bank debit card. All of a sudden, bells and whistles go off because you didn’t have enough money in your account to cover that charge. It’s not this charge that “broke the bank,” it’s all t...

Why choose chiropractic?

If things aren't moving the way they are supposed to, it will have a negative impact on your ability to function. That's why most people find routine chiropractic care to be very beneficial. Physical or psychological stress, accidents or bad positions can affect the musculoskeletal system. They can cause pain or local deterioration of nerve function, and affect vital organs and respiratory, circulatory and nervous systems.Chiropractic focuses on correcting the cause of your problem, not just on suppressing your symptoms. Ultimately, the goal of receiving chiropractic adjustment should be to restore the body to its natural state of optimal health.

Diamond Chiropractic

Search This Blog