Straighten Out Your Life: Tips for Better Posture
Modern life can create habits that lead to poor posture. Between long hours working at computers, texting on phones, or standing in queues, our spines seldom get the care they need to keep healthy alignment. There are many good health-related reasons to straighten out your back and embrace good posture habits throughout your day. If you’ve been struggling with posture-related pain, read on for some better posture tips provided by Vertos Medical Denver.
1. Good Posture While Sitting
To maintain good posture while sitting, you’ll need a chair that gets you sitting at the right height that your thighs are parallel to the floor. Your chair should give you the right amount of back support in the lower spine area.
The table or desk you work at should be at the right height to allow you to sit with your spine in a neutral position. Choose a table style with legs that come in different heights, such as industrial box section legs. Sitting for long periods of time can also cause tight hip flexors which will prevent good posture when standing.
2. Healthy Spine Standing Posture
Maintaining good posture while standing for long periods becomes a fight against gravity. As our muscles get tired, it becomes easier to slouch and lose our upright neutral position. This causes pain in the back, neck, and shoulders.
To enjoy the benefits of good posture while standing, make sure your weight is on the balls of your feet, evenly distributed. Avoid locking your knees back, keep them softly bent with your feet shoulder-distance apart. Think of pressing your feet into the floor and lengthening your spine until your head, shoulders, hips, and knees line up.
3. Straighten Out in Bed
It’s relaxing to lie in bed and channel surf with a snack in one hand and the remote in the other, but your neck and lower back might take the strain. When you lie down on your back, avoid propping your head up with many pillows but rather tuck pillows behind your back and under your knees. Choosing a pillow with the right thickness to support a healthy neutral spine is important.
4. Back-Safe Heavy Lifting
Bending at the waist to lift heavy things puts immense strain on your lower back and can cause injury. Rather squat down using your legs to take the strain as you lift the object. Make sure you tighten your abs to brace and support your spine as you straighten up. If you need to turn, use your feet and avoid twisting at the waist while holding the object.
5. Healthy Driving Posture
Car seats are not always conducive to great posture. As they are usually molded, there is little you can do to adjust them. Try a flat pillow in the lumbar region to create the right shape to allow you to drive with good posture. Position the car seat to ensure that your knees are higher than your hips.
If you find yourself stuck in heavy traffic, simple stretches can help you straighten out your tired spine. Stretching the sides, rounding your spine forward and back, as well as rotating at the waist from left to right a few times can help your spine stretch out and stay limber.
If you found this article helpful, browse our other useful health information under our lifestyle/health tab.