Sitting at a desk, especially a desk with a computer does horrible things to your posture and your health.  Bad posture not only makes you look unhappy and unhealthy but it also has real negative impacts on your health.  Bad posture causes muscular imbalances that lead to muscle tension, muscle spasms, neck pain, headaches, back pain, pinched nerves, impaired breathing and digestive disorders.  Long term exposure to postural stress will also lead to arthritis. 

Improving your posture will help you relieve stress on your spine and help you respond quicker to chiropractic treatment.   

Improving your posture requires four actions on your part:

1)      Get chiropractic adjustments on a regular basis (at least 2X monthly).  Chiropractic adjustments will help you maintain full range of motion of your spinal joints which will make you feel better and make your stretches and exercises more effective.

2)      Become aware of activities that encourage bad posture and try to make corrections when you catch yourself slouching.  Improving your posture depends on reducing or eliminating bad posture whenever possible.

3)      Since we are always reaching in front of ourselves the muscles in the front shorten up, pulling our heads and shoulders forward.  These muscles need to be stretched.

4)      Since we stretch out the muscles of our backs and necks while we are slouching, we need to exercise the muscles in the back in order to pull our shoulders back and lift our heads up.

It’s time to get proactive with posture correction.

To begin with, we need to stretch the tight muscles in the front.  The primary muscles that are shortened by poor posture are the pectorals or chest muscles.  These muscles are easily stretched with what is known as a corner or doorway stretch.  As with all stretches, the doorway stretch should be held for 60 seconds and performed several times daily.  Stretches in general should not be painful – they should simply feel like a good stretch.  This is a body weight stretch so you have to be careful.  You can minimize the force of the stretch by keeping your feet close to the doorway.  Make sure that you elbows are at shoulder height or a little higher.  If the doorway is too wide to allow your elbows to contact the door jams you should do this stretch in a corner to avoid excess stress on your elbows.  See photos below.

Another excellent stretch for the front of your body and the front of your neck is the anterior stability ball stretch.  These stability balls can be picked up inexpensively at sporting goods stores and are good for many types of stretches and exercises.  The stability ball stretch should also be held for 60 seconds and performed several times daily.  Stretches in general should not be painful – they should simply feel like a good stretch.  Be advised that it will take some practice to feel comfortable with your balance on these balls but the payoff is worth it.

Now we can do a few good exercises to help you regain your posture.  The first exercise is called the “W”.   The “W” strengthens the muscles that lie between the shoulder blades and the muscles that hold your head up.  This exercise should be performed in sets of 10 with the contraction phase of the exercise being help for a ten count.  After the ten count, relax back down to floor for a few seconds then quickly return to the contraction phase for a ten count.  It is normal to feel a burning between your shoulder blades but it should not be painful.  If this exercise feels like it is too much – you can reduce the contraction time down to a five count or simply do sets of 5 instead of sets of 10.  This is an important exercise in your efforts to restore good posture.

The next exercise is the back extension over the stability ball.  This exercise strengthens the low back as well as the muscles between the shoulder blades.  This exercise should be performed in sets of 10 with the contraction phase of the exercise being help for a ten count.  After the ten count, relax back down to floor for a few seconds then quickly return to the contraction phase for a ten count.  It is normal to feel a burning between your shoulder blades but it should not be painful.  If this exercise feels like it is too much – you can reduce the contraction time down to a five count or simply do sets of 5 instead of sets of 10.  This is an important exercise in your efforts to restore good posture.

Improving your posture requires simple persistant application of a simple plan.  Chances are that you will continually catch your self slouching – this is normal – you have to keep vigilant in your efforts to maintain good posture.

For more on posture click here to visit my blog.  If you are concerned about your posture and need help - call us at (619) 280-0554.  We are happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding care for posture issues.