The importance of a good posture and how it does not limit to just having an impressive gait. Well, it does take some self-effort and attitude to improve your poor posture so you could live healthier and longer. Improving your posture improves health
It’s pretty saddening to see back and leg pain not only a senior’s complaint today but even the young guns suffer from it. Internet addiction, mobile phones, junk food, late night or insufficient sleep and various other reasons could be blamed. However, the question is whether our young children are ever going to change their posture and be the ideal generation for the future one. If not, we’re soon going to have the biggest killer of our population, putting behind cancer and smoking. Improving Posture Improves Health
What’s the big deal if I have a poor posture?
Seriously? Sure it will not kill you or something, but can your body really handle this…? And what if it does kill you? Improving Posture Improves Health
- Repetitive pressure on your muscles can cause muscle spasms. Chronic stress on your ligaments and tendons can give birth to painful trigger points.
- Joint degeneration and soft tissue injury (STI) are a surefire if weak posture is forcing other parts of your body to compensate.
- If you’re not a fan of the Quasimodo character in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, you will want to avoid abnormal spine curvatures, such as kyphosis, which comes with poor posture. By the way, the condition is actually named as “Quasimodo back”.
- Chronic headache and jaw or neck pain are common.
- You don’t want to look dejected or pessimistic by slouching or stooping forward all the time. Having a negative self-image can also lead to depression and other mental problems.
- Do you lean on your computer screen or hunch while typing? The way you sit and walk can really affect your digestion, blood circulation and breathing.
Okay, so how do I improve my posture?
That’s like it! If you don’t want to blow your desire to enjoy independent living in your older days, you’d especially monitor your “posture muscles” and “head alignment”. Keep your posture muscles on the rear of your legs active and strengthened with leg or lower back exercises. Also, keep your head up and shoulders back as you walk or sit straight enough to imitate the posture of someone who’s proud of his achievements the entire life.
First, accept you have a bad posture
Do you need to be told you have it? If yes, this is your confirmation: Improve your posture for Christ’s sake! Regularly check your posture by trial walking or sitting in front of a mirror or have someone observe you in your daily, natural posture when you’re not aware.
Move it!
The human body is designed to move, walk, jump and enjoy, not to sit for 8 hours in front of a computer screen. But you can’t help, that’s your bread and butter, and we doctors understand it. That’s why we recommend practicing simple stretches and exercises while taking short breaks in your work shift. It’s also not a bad idea to approach a physiotherapist to learn some good posture changes to manage pain.
Use an ergonomic work chair:
New things always come up in the market, but not all are good. However, ergonomic equipment such as this will help to maintain a good sitting posture as mentioned by physiotherapist Joanne Gough. Don’t forget to align the ‘G’ button of your keyboard with your belly button, sit right back filling the whole chair and adjust the chair height to have your knees somewhat lower than your buttocks. Improving Posture Improves Health
30 minutes, 5 days a week:
There’s a lot of hype around this. But it’s worth taking the challenge. The challenge? Improve your heart rate with a cardiovascular routine, which could be anything from Zumba to quick jog, of 30 minutes for 5 days in a week. Improving Posture Improves Health
Try a sports massage:
This will relieve pain in your neck and back due to years of incorrect posturing. Besides, it will help to determine the source of the pain so you could bring changes to your lifestyle and your posture. You need not be a sportsperson to be qualified for it, just find an experienced sports massage therapist to do the job. Improving Posture Improves Health
Leaving you with a tip:
Stronger muscles is key to enjoying a good posture. Invest in weight training, it will pay you off healthily and healthfully in the long run. Improving Posture Improves Health