Maintaining good posture is an effective way of keeping your spine healthy and straight. When you have good posture, your blood flow and body movements work properly.  In addition, by sitting straight, you can actually prevent stress and reduce possible injuries.

Good posture isn’t always necessarily related to standing or sitting straight, however. The truth is, posture is also about your lifestyle, your daily activities, and how you move in certain situations, like picking something up from the floor, watching TV, and working on your computer. If you move in the most comfortable and least strained way, you can maintain good posture.

Physical Therapy New York teaches patients how to maintain good posture every day. Patients learn how to sit, stand, bend, and even sleep in a way that keeps the body and spine in alignment to prevent potential injuries and reduce stress to the spinal cord.

In order to maintain good posture, it is not enough to know what to do.  You must also know what to avoid. Identifying common mistakes in posture will help you avoid those positions.  Here are some examples:

  • Slouching. Slouching is a common posture pitfall, and it’s easy to not realize you’re doing it, especially when you’re sitting down, under a lot of pressure, or waiting for someone for a long time. Slouching puts more pressure on our vertebrae, which can cause your spine to deteriorate.
  • Sitting with a curved back. This is a very common posture, especially with people who work at desks.  It is also a huge mistake. When your back is curved, it strains the spine, making it more painful afterwards. The same is true when your neck is tilted forward.
  • Putting more weight on one side of the body. It’s likely that you do this when you talk on the phone for a long time, socialize at standing-only events, or rest your head on the palm of our hand when you’re sitting on the couch. When you put more weight on one side of your body, it adds more pressure to that side, making it painful and uncomfortable.
  • Static positions. When you’re busy and have a lot of work to do, it’s not unheard of to be sitting at your desk for five hours straight. But, remaining in that static position is bad for your posture. So, when you can spare a minute or two, stand and move around or change your position at your desk. Coffee breaks are the perfect time for this.

-Dr Sid
Esprit Wellness
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