If you were asked to demonstrate the ideal posture, you would probably keep your back as straight as possible, your head centred perfectly, with caution against letting it drift too far forward or backward, your chin slightly pulled back, your pelvis tucked under, and your shoulders pulled back. That said, if you’ve ever tried to hold these positions for some time, you’ll notice that they are not comfortable or natural, and sometimes, holding such strict postures can cause new issues elsewhere in the body.
Almost everyone is conditioned to believe that these positions make up “perfect posture.” To date, there is no scientific evidence to suggest a gold-standard posture. We all move differently, and although we resemble each other anatomically overall, there is large variability in our flexibility, tolerance to load, and demands on the body in relation to our jobs or lifestyles.
Instead of looking for perfect positions to sit, stand, or lay in, our body intuitively looks to break up prolonged time spent in any one position. This is the real key to preventing the negative effects of prolonged posture rather than avoiding a specific posture itself.
We believe that a commonsense approach works best when it comes to improving tolerance of different postures. Simply put, if you spend time in one position, it’s a good idea to regularly break that position up with the opposite movement.
Let’s cover some examples!
Disclaimer: These exercises are general in nature, and everyone's presentation is different. They are only to be used as a guide. If the pain gets worse, please stop.
Sitting:
When most of us sit, our hips and knees are bent, and sometimes our lower back is rounded if that chair is extra comfy. When you’ve done this for a while, the muscles and joints that help hold these positions can get tight, stiff, or irritated. Take an entire day of sitting (perhaps at work?) and add the commute home (more sitting), and you’ve accumulated a lot of time with those hips and knees bent. To get relief, you can start by half kneeling, Tilting your pelvis backwards, and moving your weight towards your front leg. The leg behind you will get a good stretch that you’ll feel down the front of the hip and sometimes into the thigh. If you think that is a good stretch, lift the arm on the kneeling side up and lengthen your spine. Side bend towards the front leg side - Feel the stretch in your side and on the front of your hip and thigh.
Standing:
Standing for prolonged periods of time can have varied effects on the spine, knees, feet, and other joints depending on many other factors relating to why, where, and how you’re standing. A great way to help alleviate the discomfort from prolonged standing can be to simply slide the hands down the front of your thighs and reach down toward your toes. Following this, you can place your hands on your hips and lean backwards as far as you are comfortable. Just to even it all out, you can also reach down each side of the leg. If the feet and knees are feeling the pressure from prolonged standing, you can stretch the calves while lunging against a wall or even grab your foot as you kick your heel up behind you and hold it.
Reaching:
Some people reach much more than others. Reaching can look like hands above your head or even out in front of you. Sometimes, reaching can involve one arm across your body or to the side. Either one can leave the shoulders and upper back feeling sore or fatigued, especially if you’re handling items of weight repeatedly. Sometimes, reaching can also impact your lower back. When we reach, our shoulders and arms drive our hands to move in front or overhead, so to counteract these actions, we simply reach down and behind. Try putting your hands behind your back with interlocked fingers and reaching backward, thinking about making your arms as long as possible. You can also play around by looking up or down while doing this.
What do you do if the commonsense approach isn’t working?
Sometimes, postural-related pain can be caused by specific reasons. If generic movements and stretches are not giving you relief, a Physiotherapy assessment can identify a more specific, sometimes unnoticed cause. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists are trained to review your working or home environment, which is referred to as an “ergonomic assessment,” which can reveal any environmental triggers for posture-related pain.
If you feel posture is playing a negative part in your journey to better health, call us to book an appointment with one of our physiotherapists.
You can contact us on 0484 522 073 or email us here: admin@innovaterehab.com.au
(Exercise images sourced from PhysiApp)
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