Back Pain :. Better posture makes lesser back pain

Better Posture Can Lead to Less Back Pain

To assess your posture, look at yourself in the mirror standing how you would normally stand. If you are standing straight you should be able to see an imaginary line running from the atlanto-occipital joint (where you head sits on top of your spine), passing through your shoulders, hip and knee and ending at your ankles (Position C below). In position C, the weight of the head is passed directly down through the spine to the floor and this requires the least amount of muscles activity to balance it. Many people cannot do this which means that you can not hold yourself in the correct position. This leads to your muscles holding themselves at the wrong angle and possible future backaches. This can be why you suffer intermittent or chronic back pain. Position B illustrates what happens when you are asked to straighten you posture and you over compensate. Position A is commonly referred to as the slump position.
 

Sleeping and sitting are things we spend a lot of our time doing so we need to make sure that they are done right. Sleeping should be done on a firm mattress but not too hard. Even thought a soft mattress may feels good, does not give you enough back support. If you have a soft mattress you needn’t replace it, simple purchase a piece of plywood board, about one that is a 1/2 to 3/4 inch in thickness and place it under the mattress. Posture boards are also commercial available. These will greatly improve the firmness of the mattress you will be sleeping on and help to improve support your back. Also ensure that you use only one good pillow that is not too hard to support your head.

Those whose jobs require they to sit for a long time also must be aware of things to improve their sitting posture. Try to sit straight in your chair, use a pillow, rolled up towel or specifically designs orthopedic cushion to give your back extra support. For every hour you are sitting, you should get up for 15 to 20 seconds and then stretch for 30 seconds. Special ergonomically designed chairs are great and with the regular stretching you will feel much better. Human beings weren’t meant to be sedentary creatures and we sit too much and exercise too little. That’s why we’re so prone to back pain and why you must conscientiously working on our posture. The picture below illustrates the correct sitting position when working at a computer terminal.

Ensuring that you have naturally good posture now will aid you when get older as to how easily you can move, the type and frequency of backaches and pains you may experience and you overall activity level as a senior. Doing things now will ensure those senior years are good ones.

top of page