I know, I sound like your second grade teacher, or your mother at the dinner table with those constant, nagging phrases that used to drive us nuts, “Sit up straight!” I remember hearing a friend’s mother exclaim, “You’re going to miss the man of your dreams if you keep slouching over, looking at the ground.” Now, I hear patients coming into the clinic complaining of their spouses getting on their last nerve because they’re not standing up straight. But, if your spouse is telling you to sit up straight, he/she could be saving your body from many issues.
There’s no question that we all sit too much. We sit when we commute. We sit at work. We sit to read. And we sit to watch TV. We sit in chairs that are not made to fit us, desks that are too high, and work on laptops that are not meant to be worked on all day long. People spend a majority of their day at a desk and get so consumed in work that they don’t realize they’ve been in a horrible position for over an hour. From elementary school through grad school, students are sitting for up to 8 hours, in poorly structured chairs, hunched forward or with their bottoms half off the seat. And what’s with those chair-desk combos in classroom settings? Who made the assumption that every single student is identical in size and will fit in these torture devices? They promote poor posture, and are unrealistic.
So, we sit too much, and we do it very poorly. What a mess!
I know it’s highly unlikely that people would follow a movement changing everything about their day at work or school by standing for half of the time, so instead, maybe we can find a way to sit up straighter. The body is a complex, dynamic system and is meant to move - so get up! Move! It will change your spinal alignment and improve your posture. Set a timer to remind you to get up. Link it to your mobile phone or your desktop, so you get a reminder to change the way you’re sitting or to stand at your desk for just a minute. Most of the time, we don’t want to have bad posture, we just don’t realize that we’re in a bad position. If you have the opportunity to work in a standing position, then do it. There are several ergonomic/adjustable rolling desktops that allow you to work at while standing up straight.
Also, think about where your shoulders are positioned. Are you pinching your earlobes, hiking up your shoulders, or are you rolled so far forward that your chest is caved in? Your shoulder blades should be down and back, heading towards your back pockets. The head should be over the top of a tall spine, not in front of it. Having bad posture can lead to shoulder injury, poor breathing, cervical pain, changes in circulation, muscle spasms, headaches, and numerous other conditions.
Post a reminder at work, and try these simple techniques throughout your day, 1-2 times an hour. Keep it simple. If you have no other conflicting injuries, these can help you to sit up straight!
1. Backward Shoulder Rolls 5 times.
2. Stand up and take 3 deep breaths.
3. Reach up and overhead, hold 10 seconds.
4. Stretch your chest by reaching behind you and lacing fingers together, hold 20 seconds.
If you’re interested in learning more about changing your posture and need guidance due to another injury, please contact Joint Ventures Physical Therapy & Fitness at 617-536-1161. You can also reach me via email, at JessicaS@JointVenturesPT.com.