The Power of Posture: Improving Spine Health

Maintaining good posture is important to keep your spine healthy and avoid developing chronic pain, headaches and general stiffness.

Your spine relies on an array of muscles, ligaments and tendons to keep it well positioned. That equilibrium can be disrupted if you go through prolonged periods of slouching while sitting, having rounded shoulders, leaning your head too far forward or leaning to one side when sitting or standing. Each of these positions affects some part of your spine – compressing joints or putting too much pressure on your lower back, for example – which can result in neck or low back pain.

Do I Have Bad Posture?

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to measure your own posture throughout the day. Sure, you might see a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, though that really just captures a brief snapshot of how you carry yourself. Most noticeable will be rounded or hunched shoulders when sitting in front of a computer or on the couch. Or you may walk or stand your head slightly forward.

Consider that your head weighs 10 to 12 pounds. For every three inches your head moves out in front of your body (as in looking down at your phone), it adds 10 pounds of pressure. With enough improper alignment, you could be putting 30 to 40 pounds of pressure on your cervical spine. That’s the equivalent of having a 4-year-old child sitting on your shoulders.

Often, you won’t even realize you have bad posture unless it leads to pain or functional issues. And not everyone who has bad posture will experience these problems. Here are some examples of how poor posture can affect you:

• If you spend a lot of time working at a desk with poor posture, you may find that your lower back hurts when you stand up, or your neck may hurt later in the day.
• If you walk in a forward head posture, you’ll be putting strain on your neck from constantly lifting your chin to see what’s in front of you.
• With rounded shoulders, you may feel pain or tightness in your upper back and neck.
• If you slouch when you sit, it may result in lower back pain or tightness in your legs and buttocks.

How Physical Therapy Can Help

Physical therapy aims to both stretch and strengthen different muscle groups that control your spinal movements. Over time, bad posture may lead to weakness and tightness in a variety of areas, including your shoulder blades, pectorals, lower back and neck. A physical therapist will work with you to identify which muscles need extra attention.

There are numerous exercises that can help correct your posture. Here are several that may be helpful. Please note that you shouldn’t do any exercise that causes you pain. If that occurs, stop and check with a physical therapist or doctor.

Doorway pec stretch. Begin standing upright in the center of a doorway. With your elbows bent, place your forearms on the sides of the doorway at a 90-degree angle from your sides. Then take a small step forward until your feel a stretch in the front of your shoulders. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, doing three repetitions.

Cat cow. Begin on all fours with your arms directly under your shoulders and knees bent 90 degrees. Slowly round your back up toward the ceiling, then let it sag down to the floor while looking up. Make sure to use your entire back for the motion, while keeping movements slow and controlled. Do three sets of 10 repetitions.

Child’s pose stretch. Start by kneeling and sitting on your knees. Then lean forward – while keeping your buttocks on your heels – and touch your forehead to the floor. You can rest your arms, palms up, at your sides. Or extend them in front of you, with palms down. Hold for 10 seconds, doing 10 repetitions.

Seated scapular retraction. Start by standing or sitting, with an upright and erect posture. Then squeeze your shoulder blades together and down toward your buttocks. Hold for 20 seconds, doing five repetitions.

A Helpful Tip

It’s easy to forget about your posture during the day, particularly if you are busy at work. Try setting a timer on your phone every 45 minutes. When it dings, that’s your reminder to correct your posture.