Resolve to Improve Your Posture in 2009
Still looking for an easy New Year’s resolution? One that can improve your health, transforms your body image, and doesn’t require a strict diet or long hours in the gym? Take a look at your posture. We’ve all had someone remind us to sit up straight, but have you ever really thought about what posture is and why it’s important to maintain correct posture?
When most of us think about posture, we are referring to upright posture, which is the normal standing posture for humans. It is the cumulative position of all the joints in our body during stance. Posture is often expressed as being correct or faulty (poor). When viewed from the side, correct ideal postural alignment is a straight line that passes through the earlobe, to the tip of the shoulder, through the lumbar vertebrae, slightly behind the hip joint, just behind the knee cap, and through the outside ankle bone. Correct posture allows for efficient accommodation of gravity, reduces the strain through our joints and supporting ligaments, and provides an environment for muscle groups to work together with minimal effort. Correct posture improves body image. Take a look at some of the before and after pictures of people who have participated in some of the popular diets or the newest appetite suppression drink. One thing in common with all the “after” pictures is that the person is standing with correct posture.
While correct posture is the position that places the least amount of stress upon a joint, faulty posture creates excessive pressure across the weight bearing surfaces of our joints, places undue stress on the ligaments surrounding the joint, requires increased muscular effort, and leads to imbalance. The chronic stress of prolonged poor posture, can lead to overuse and repetitive trauma. Muscles become weak, ligaments over-stretched, bone spurs form, joints become stiff, and injury will follow. Common pathologies that may be related to, or accentuated by poor posture include cervical and lumbar arthritic stenosis (narrowing), knee pain (patellofemoral dysfunction), hip pain (illiotibial band syndrome), shoulder pain (rotator cuff impingement), and even breathing difficulties.
So how do you go about improving your posture? Obviously, not everyone will be able to achieve correct ideal posture. Age dependent changes, genetics, and injuries may make it impossible for some. But, we can all improve our posture, and it doesn’t take long hours in the gym, personal trainers, or even walking around with a book on your head. Postural improvement simply begins as one becomes aware of their posture, correct or faulty. Once identified, simple changes with easy cues will help to correct and maintain an improved posture. The muscles that are responsible for maintaining correct posture are not powerful or fast acting. They are designed to work over long periods of time. They are best trained over long periods of time. Therefore, once posture is identified and improved, simply maintaining that posture will help to train the muscles responsible for improvement.
The description of correct ideal posture above is a good place to start. Have someone look at you from the side to get an idea where that line of gravity falls. You can also stand up against a wall with your back side against the wall and your heels about 2-3 inches from the wall. Do your shoulder blades touch the wall? How far is the back of your head away from the wall? It should be no more than an inch. Is your lower back swayed? Attempt to correct your posture by “feeling tall”. Imagine you’re a puppet with a string coming from the top of your head, pulling you straight up. This will lengthen your cervical spine, and reduce the pressure on the cervical nerves associated with cervical stenosis. Draw your shoulder blades down and back, extending the upper thoracic spine. Engaging the muscles surrounding your shoulder blades, by drawing them down will bring your shoulders back and open the space that can pinch the rotator cuff. Roll your hips back by performing a posterior pelvic tilt, tightening your stomach and flattening your lumbar spine into a gentle curve. This helps to reduce lumbar stenosis and the pressure that can lead to sciatica.
Once you’re in a good or hopefully correct posture, try to maintain it. Start with 30 seconds, and work your way up. Use visual cues in the home, office, or car. A sticker or post-it placed on the computer monitor, the refrigerator, or the dash board can be a reminder to restore that correct posture. The next time you get in the car, put yourself in a good posture and re-adjust all the mirrors. When you feel that you have to strain to see out the back window, correct your posture. Use other people as cues. Look around at co-workers, people walking down the hall, or driving in the car next to you. When you see someone in poor posture, correct yours. The more frequently you correct your posture, the easier it will be to maintain. Your postural muscles will become stronger, you will reduce the stress and strain on your joints, and you will look and feel better.