Your Posture and Your Back 

Your Posture and Your Back 

June 17, 2015 Off By Jane
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Back pain can be an expensive problem to fix, and in many cases, it requires ongoing treatment. According to Laser Health Spa (click here), back problems can also drain you of energy, as well as cause you to miss work and neglect other obligations. The classic admonition to “sit up straight” is great advice; good posture habits can help to ease back pain, and they may even prevent back pain later in life. If you have children or know young adults, you might want to discuss with them the benefits of stretching, proper posture, and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Why Good Posture Matters

When you don’t implement proper posture, the muscles that support your spine may become stiff and weary. The simple act of sitting can lead to an increase in pressure on the back, so if you sit for long periods time, sitting properly is even more important. When you sit at a desk, in a chair, or on a sofa, blood circulation in the lower part of your body becomes compromised. When this happens, less oxygen makes its way to the muscles and nerves in your back. This can lead to temporary back pain, and if you sit often and for extended periods, you may begin to experience chronic back issues.

According to Laser Health Spa (www.laserhealthspa.net), proper posture is also important when you are in a standing position. If you don’t stand properly, you could start to experience back problems. Many people stand for long hours at their jobs, and forgetting about posture is not uncommon among such individuals. If you put extra weight on one hip or leg as you stand, you are placing too much pressure on one side of your body. This postural imbalance can eventually cause a strain in your lower back region.  Additionally, standing with the pelvis too far forward or backward may also lead to an aching back.

Proper Posture Basics

Although you may not find it initially easy to change your posture habits, you will ultimately benefit from learning to sit and stand correctly. In the same way that poor posture is a habit, so is good posture. If you practice sitting and standing properly, doing so will eventually feel normal to you. When you’re sitting, your back should be parallel with the upright back of your chair, and your head should be held straight. When you stand, the curves of your spine should all be evenly aligned, with no excessive pressure placed on any particular area.

In order to start practicing good posture, you might consider a few stretching exercises. An exercise to combat improper neck carriage involves gliding your head backward without allowing it to tilt to one side. If you have a tendency to slouch, you might try an exercise that requires you to squeeze your shoulder blades toward each other. To correct pelvic imbalance, you could perform an exercise that involves tucking in your glute muscles.

Helping Young People to Develop Good Posture Habits

Since sitting for many hours has been identified as a common cause of poor posture, keeping children regularly engaged in activity could help them to prevent back problems in adulthood. Teaching children to stretch and warm up before they exercise is also a wise idea. When children are taught to enjoy exercise as early as possible, they could be more likely to stay active throughout their lives. This concept is also applicable to good posture habits. By encouraging your kids to pay attention to their posture and get plenty of exercise, you might spare them from much pain and expense when they are adults. As anyone who has endured back pain might confirm, preventing back problems is much easier than treating them.