Tips & Exercises For A Better Posture
The pandemic has changed how we work. In switching from working from home and working from the office, we rarely get any time to pay attention to our posture. One day we’re working from the living room sofa and the next day we’re back in the office. This lack of consistency makes it easy for us to forget about the importance of maintaining a good posture.
What Is A Good Posture?
A good posture is built around the proper alignment of your spine – to ensure that your tendons, muscles and ligaments are not stressed. Slouching for hours while hunched over a desk can place unnecessary strain on the weight-bearing joints of your body – the impact of which is visible when we see individuals suffering from an unnatural lateral curvature of the spine. Back and neck pain are some of the most common complaints from people suffering from bad posture. These pains only get worse overtime if a bad posture is left untreated.
Bruegger Exercise
The Bruegger Exercise is an easy little exercise you can do at home or at work.
- Sit straight in a chair and relax your arms by your side
- Rotate your arms inward until your thumbs point backwards
- Gently bring your shoulder blades together while keeping your chin close to your chest
- Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds
Repeat this exercise a two to three times during the day. Don’t apply unnecessary strain on your back when bringing your shoulder blades together. Remember to move your body slowly and gently.
Upper Back & Neck Stretch
Upper back and lower neck pain is often caused as a result of unnecessary strain on the thoracic spine muscles. This can happen as a result of the strain of constantly staring at a screen. This little exercise can be done just about anywhere to relieve that pain.
- Sit straight in your chair
- Place your hands on the base of your neck
- Slowly raise your head and elbows together so that you are looking at the ceiling at a nearly 90-degree angle
- Slowly bring your head and elbows back down. Your lower middle and lower back should remain stationary during this motion.
- Repeat this routine 5 to 10 times, holding your head in place for 5 seconds at a time.
This exercise can be done as many times as needed. Remember to move slowly and not to strain your neck too much when looking up.
Get Up & Walk
You spend a large part of your day slumped on your desk and staring at your screen. The fatigue continues to increase overtime and it can become easy to forget that you are straining your back. Set a 30 minute time for yourself to get up and take a small walk around the office. Drink some water or look out a window. This will help you reset and relax so you can get back to work feeling fresh.
Use Proper Back Support
Using an orthopedic pillow is one of the best ways to maintain a better posture. A professionally designed orthopedic pillow will provide the proper back, waist and cervical support needed for a proper posture.
Use one that straps on to your chair so that it stays stationary against your back through the day.
A Good Posture Starts Today
Good posture is extremely important to ensure good health, and continues to become important with age. In addition to helping with self-confidence, a good posture can also help to improve breathing, help with digestion, and reduce headaches.
A few minutes of practice and a little bit of mindfulness can help you develop a healthy habit that will stay with you for years – helping you ward away back and neck pain that would otherwise become a constant bother and aggravate with age.
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