Tips to Improve Posture

It is essential to focus on posture in which we stand and sit while working, when almost every one of us have been spending long working hours on computers these days. Maintaining a good body posture isn't too hard, it's just hard to remember it all the time.

We all pretty much know, or can easily be taught, what a good posture is, and how can we go ahead in correcting bad posture, but there is a difference between knowing and doing things! Unfortunately, most of us don't even notice our posture until we have already done damages to our backs and suffer pain and discomfort. That is particularly the case, if you work on a computer for long hours. We all know that, we should not hunch over the keyboard or slouch down in our seats, but when we usually get engrossed in what we are doing, our posture goes out of the window, along with our energy. Making it a routine to do regular exercises and keeping your body fit, healthy and at an appropriate weight can help as well and prevent in developing back pain, neck pain, RSI and other such ailments.

A wrong body posture can make people susceptible to get aches and pain, but it is never too late to work towards correcting one’s posture and make the spine healthy.

Posture is basically the position in which we hold our bodies upright against the gravity while we stand, sit or lay down. A good posture means positioning the body to stand, walk, sit, and lie in positions, where the supporting muscles and ligaments face least strain.

However, aside from contributing to getting a nice appearance, the long-term advantages of a proper body posture include the following:

- Decrease in the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces,

- Reduction of stress on the ligaments of the spine

- Prevention of the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions, and

- Prevention of the backaches and muscular pain.

Poor posture can develop the loss of shoulder motion, chronic pain, walking problems, neck-related pains and headaches, an inability to exercise, a general lethargy, weakness and much more.

Following are some easy to do exercises and tips that can help you in keeping your spine healthy:

1. Properly check your workstations - A workstation is a place that an individual spends a considerable amount of time daily and for loads of us, our primary workstation is while standing or sitting at a desk. When you are sitting, you need not drop loads of money on an ergonomic chair or a good posture office chair. Instead, you just have to position the chair to provide lumbar, shoulder, and if needed, head support.

2. Do daily exercises - It is recommended that regularly exercising the large muscles on the front and back of the thigh, the abdominal muscles, and performing the following three exercises daily, can help a lot in improving your posture.

a) Pelvic Tilt: While sitting, push your pelvis back into the chair, hold it for three seconds and then relax. This will help in tightening and strengthening of your abdominal muscles.

b) Chin Tucks: Again while sitting, put your pointer finger on your chin and push straight back. Be sure your head isn’t tilted up or down. This exercise will realign your spine and combats forward head position.

c) Lean Back: Finally, It is a likely thing to bend forward whenever we are working at our workstations. To straighten the spine, stand-up, put your hands on your lower back, and lean back. This exercise combats the effects of being in a forward position.

3. Invest in shoes that support your body- Girls fancy Stilettos, and I love them too. However, stiletto heels may look good, they don’t do women any wonderful contributions in the posture department.

There is no such thing as a good high heel shoe. Shoes that cover the top of the foot are good. Every brand fits differently, but the point is to find one, which works for you and that gives the much-needed overall support.

One must also take care while carrying backpacks, which weigh more than 20 pounds. Attempting to lift objects that are too heavy without taking frequent breaks, may result in damaging your torso and spine.

Any one of such actions can lead to the forward leaning motion and result in poor posture and back problems.

A common misconception about a nice posture is that it can be maintained by only doing occasional strength training. Good posture is more than just standing-up straight and holding your shoulders back, and if you do not have the muscle strength, it wouldn’t be possible for you to hold that posture for very long. By maintaining your strength and being properly aware of your posture, you can maintain correct posture and mobility well all the time.