"Sit up straight and stop slouching". Why Mums are always right!

As children we've all been told to 'sit up straight', 'stop slouching' or 'pull your shoulders back'. So, was this our parents nagging us for the sake of it or were they doing it for our own benefit? To be honest growing up I knew nothing about posture really, nor did I particularly care - I wasn't particularly aware of my own, or anybody else’s. Since studying Physical Therapy, however, I am now constantly looking at peoples' posture and how they 'carry' themselves!

So, what is Good Posture??

“Good Posture” is defined as the position in which the body can function most effectively, while under the least amount of strain.

Two of the most common faulty postures are known as Upper Cross Syndrome & Lower Cross Syndrome, where simply there is an imbalance in the musculature.  

Having bad posture will inevitably lead to aches & pains, increased stress on your joints, overall poor health, affecting breathing, the digestive system, circulation and more. And now with an ever increasing number of people spending some 30-40 hours a week in front of a PC, the importance of our sitting posture and ergonomics is of huge importance. It can have a profound effect on your health & ability to function pain free. It’s great to see that there are a number of companies realising this, and so they are placing a bigger emphasis on their employee workstations and also offering on-site treatments to promote a healthy work-life balance.

There are so many areas that can be discussed in relation to posture, so I am going to touch on two areas that are of interest to me as a Physical Therapist, and a Mum.

Posture & Ergonomics in the Workplace

Having treated in a corporate environment for the last 7 years, I have come across many postural related conditions suffered by office workers. I have treated neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist pain, and lower back pain from sitting incorrectly. Luckily the employees I treat are entitled to a full ergonomic assessment of their workstation - their monitor is checked, the angle of their screen, the height of their chair & supports offered, the use of mouse & keyboard pads to support the wrist and arms, foot rest, & the use of headset while on the phone. While this service is available, I often have people still come to me for treatment as they must work off 2 screens, or on a laptop, and are sitting for long periods of time with their legs crossed, straining their lower backs. If you are in work reading this blog, have a quick check of your posture & the workstation that you spend so much time at!

Some tips on how you can improve your posture in general:

• Have a postural assessment carried out & be made aware of how you’re holding yourself
• Do the following simple exercises under the guidance of a practitioner

Correcting Posture

1. Head Position

• Push chin forward fully, then push chin back fully to find extremes.
• Do this a couple of times & then find a position in middle, with chin slightly tucked back and hold that.

2. Shoulder Position

• Bring shoulders up, then down. Bring shoulders forward, then back.
• Do this a couple of times & then find position in middle, with shoulders more towards the back and kept down.

3. Pelvic Position

• Standing at a wall practice tilting your pelvis forwards & backwards
• Picture your pelvis as a bucket, tip water out of the front  & then the back
• Repeat a couple of times, then find a position in the middle and hold the pelvis there
• Your hand should be able to fit between back & wall both at the same time

4. Thoracic and Lumbar Spine (mid & low back)

• Breathe in and lift the rib cage
• Maintain this position and continue to breathe

Now return and check all previous adjustments!

Five easy tips to help you improve your posture in work:

• Take regular breaks from the PC

• Get active (take the stairs sometimes, not always the lift!)
• Sit with your lower back against the base of your chair & don’t slouch
• Keep your feet on the ground, and try not to sit cross legged
• Don’t cradle the phone between your shoulder & your ear

Posture in Children/Teens

The first area of interest to me here is children & teenagers carrying very heavy schoolbags. There is an ever growing number of reports suggesting that carrying heavy back-packs as a child is causing back pain and in some cases significant damage to posture. Some children will try to ease the strain of a heavy bag by dropping their head forward into an irregular posture, straining the neck muscles. Others carry their bag on one shoulder, developing the muscles only on that shoulder. This leads to a slumped posture, compensations throughout other parts of the body and an unnaturally curved spine in children who don't learn to distribute the weight correctly. I came across two very interesting articles, the first from the UK and the second from here in Ireland.  Two stone!!

Other lifestyle activities that affect children’s posture centre around the use of computers and hand held games consoles. In this age of technology it’s not unnatural to find 3 year olds playing with iPhones, 6 year olds hunched over computers and teenagers slouched playing consoles for hours! Again, this is having a long-term effect on their posture and ultimately affecting the function on their muscles, joints and other systems in the body.

As my son is only 9 months old, I have a few years before I have to worry about this (although he already has a fascination for our SmartPhones), but having read what I have  I think I’ll be investing in an Ergonomic Schoolbag. Hopefully they will be cool by then!!

Some tips to help you improve your child’s posture:

1. Set a good example by practicing good posture yourself
2. Limit the amount of time spent on PC’s, consoles, your iPhone and watching TV
3. Monitor the weight of school bags or sports equipment that they carry
4. Have them carry extra books in their arms rather than stuffing them in the bag
5. Get them active to stretch & strengthen their muscles

Therapies that can help with Postural problems:

• Physical Therapy to help correct muscle imbalances (assessment to firstly ascertain the cause, and then treat and provide appropriate exercises to improve posture)
• Kinesiotaping to help correct Upper & Lower Cross syndromes
• Pilates & Yoga classes
• Core Stability to strengthen the back/pelvis
• Alexander Technique

I came across this infographic which gives some more information on posture in general.

More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.