Earlier this week, we related some of the ways that a poor posture can be diagnosed and hopefully improved. But diagnosing how you sit or stand doesn’t actually solve the problem so much as it lets you know that you have one. Therefore, it your back has started to hurt because of the way you carry yourself, or if you feel pressure on your spine through nothing more basic than sitting in a chair, it’s in your best interest to think about putting into action the advice contained in a new report.
First, you’ll want to identify those areas in your daily life in which your spine is at risk. One physical therapist notes that two places where we tend to grow lax in terms of straightness are sitting in a motor vehicle and relaxing at home in a recliner.
For the former, make sure you adjust your seat to a position that is both comfortable and gives you the necessary support. Your seat shouldn’t be so close to the wheel that you’re hunched over nor leaned so far back that you’re forced to slump down and extend your feet to reach the pedals.
With recliners, the danger is that you’re letting your posterior slide into the opening that can be created when the back of the chair moves away from the seat portion of the unit. To combat this, make sure your back is always flush against the chair.
When you’re walking or standing, you’ll want to carry yourself in a manner that aligns your body in a way that’s basically perpendicular to the ground. You should carry this manner of thinking over to your upper body when you place yourself in a chair. When you reach your arms out to reach a computer, they should run parallel to the ground, something that could require a height adjustment of your seat.
Think about where you position your feet when you’re working. Do you keep them flush against the floor or do you tend to position them beneath your body or leaning on your work station or a chair leg? Try to catch yourself at those times when you move your feet, and put them back on the floor when they gravitate elsewhere.
If all of this doesn’t work, consider investing in an exercise ball to sit on. As the physical trainer at the link above states, you’re going to fall if you don’t achieve proper spine alignment while sitting on such a device. Once you’re able to hold a proper sitting position on this ball, you’ll be able to make the switch back over to a regular chair with your good posture intact.
Finally, don’t stress yourself out. In trying to achieve better posture, you shouldn’t be straining your back and neck to the point where you’re in pain.
While tips like these can be important to anyone avoiding back pain, they're particularly salient to individuals in the midst of their spinal fusion surgery recovery time. During this window, one must work with a doctor to establish habits that will contribute to a successful operation outcome.
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