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With the new year comes new year’s resolutions. So there’s no better time to talk about having better posture! As a physiotherapist, almost every single client I see will get some sort of lesson on postural correction. Apart from its obvious benefit of avoiding neck and back pain, it also becomes a cornerstone to having good form for both exercise and activities of daily living. The sad part about slouching is that it’s a natural occurrence. If you are sitting in an unengaged manner, you’re bound to fold into a slouchy position. Gravity works against you in this way. Connect that thought with the natural curves of your spine and you may be able to visualize why we collapse into a rounded position. The amount of force required to pull yourself up against gravity is low but the low load is constant as long as you are upright. Imagine if you had to carry a 5 pound box, no problem right? Well, what if you had to carry this weight for 16 hours without any rest? That analogy applies to our spines when we’re upright against gravity. The other challenge with posture is that it requires nearly constant attention. We’ve all had the experience of thinking, “sit up!”, but only to find that you’re slouching again within minutes or even seconds. So to counter the issue, we need to strengthen postural muscles but also find ways to align our spines with support in our chairs to minimize the need for constant attention.

• Use a lumbar cushion to support the natural curve in your low back. This cushion should be thick enough to match your lumbar lordosis curve when you’re standing tall.
• Align your chair so that you’re in 90 degree angles at your elbows, hips, knees, ankles.
• Sit all the way back in your chair. There should be no space between your butt and the back of the chair.
• Adjust the height and angle of your chair so that can meet the above criteria.
• Try to get a standing desk. Fortunately, they are getting more affordable. There are also great new innovations and options.
• Even in the ideal posture, staying in anyone position is fatiguing to the body. Getting up regularly is key. A simple cue of when to get up is when you feel yourself fidget in your chair or if you’re instinctively changing positions.
• Regular exercise that includes a core strength routine helps counter postural fatigue.

Take the time to have a look at your workstation. You can have a friend take picture of you at your chair to see if you’re meeting those 90 degree angles. If you just can’t seem to figure out an aligned yet comfortable set up, contact an ergonomist or your local physiotherapist for help. At PhysioWorks, we offer alignment assessments and also provide customized exercise programs that can target postural muscles. For a little more encouragement to get on it, have a look at our previous blog entry on how “sitting is the new smoking”. Work on that posture, it’s worth it!

Byron Chan, BScPT, GIMS, CAFCI