Back Pain Relief: Posture

[Rachel-Clarkson]

Improve Posture Back Support
Your muscles and ligaments work harder and in continuous stress when you sit with bad posture. As a consequence, muscle strain causes back and neck pain. Almost everybody has suffered from neck pain, which is an indicator of how used we are to poor posture.

Between the vertebras of your spine there are some discs that provide cushioning. These do a great job absorbing shocks, like those produced by the act of walking. When you sit correctly, the torso and head are supported by the lower vertebras in the lumbar section of the spine. Local muscles and ligaments on either side of the column contribute to maintain the spine erect.

However, when you remain seated the wrong way, the misalignment forces the muscles in your lower back to compensate the increased asymmetric tensions.

Muscle strain is evident when you tilt to the left or right, but not so evident when you sit erect.

You probably know you should sit upright. Unfortunately, most office employees have a tendency to assume a rigid pose when they become aware of their improper posture. When they get tired of this unnatural rigidity, they go to the other extreme: they sit excessively relaxed or they tilt the pelvis forward, arching the back.

And you know the consequences.

So, what is the right way?
If you slouch, chances are you are experiencing neck, shoulder and lower back pain. If you stay rigid, you probably are, too.
Why are both extremes wrong? Because the spine is hardly straight, it has three natural curves:
• Cervical (inward)
• Thoracic (outward)
• Lumbar (inward)

Increase or decrease any of these curvatures to unnatural degrees and your related muscles will fatigue, and you’ll feel pain in the region.

• Take breaks; avoid staying in the same position.
• Sit upright
• Keep your feet flat on the floor.
• Use a chair with back support or an ergonomic seat.
• Alternate standing and sitting periods as you do your daily tasks.
• Place shoulders and back against the backrest.
• When you sit, your knees should be slightly below the level of your hips


Stretching Your Muscles For Improved Back Support
Lower back pain. Are you constantly pushing the pelvis forward? Ideally, there should be no more than two inches between your spine and the bricks if you stand with your back against a wall. If more, you are prone to swayback. Begin a gradual stretching session, but don’t overdo it.

Headaches. If you have a tendency to lean the head forward, you will suffer from neck pain, because the muscles in the neck have to work harder to support the head out of its balanced position. Headaches are common, too.

Align To Your Inner Self. Stand up and try to imagine a line that connects the center of your head with the center of mass (behind the navel) and the point between your feet. When you adopt proper posture, these three points determine a straight line.

Feel free to publish this article on your website or blog. If you do, please add this info about the author: "Written by Matthew Frank. You can find more of his articles at Trucomfort .com"

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[seetumail]

hi i am a newbie here. i was glad that i go there as a member

[braincrother]

Hi Rachel,

It's been a great description. Those are some really good tips for relieving from back pain. Thanks a lot for providing so. Hope you would continue doing so. Thanks again.

[braincrother]

Hi Rachel,

It's been a great description. Those are some really good tips for relieving from back pain. Thanks a lot for providing so. Hope you would continue doing so. Thanks again.

[gabrieljosh]

a very impormative post. thanks

[rajagiri]

you can well meet your doctor.

[poised]

Hi Rachel,

Very informative post. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. I've been having back pains every now and then. I work very long hours glued on a computer chair, that's why. I'll try all these stuff you posted.

[Hallamshire Physiotherapy]

Hi
An excellent article by Smith and Osullivan (I would add the link but some message on the forum blocks it and I can't seem to stop it with my limited technical knowledge!) gives an invaluable insight into the problems of posture.
They assessed 800 students and classified them into sway, lordotic, normal or flat. The students who had a spinal position that was classed as 'non neutral' were 20% more likely to have LBP (ie flexed or lordotic).

So how does this help? Dont just tell everyone to sit up unless they habitually sit in flexion and if they sit in a lordotic posture (usually perched on the edge of the chair and 'locked' into this position) tell them to flex and aim for a more normal or 'neutal' posture.

We are all different so give appropriate advice. Additionally I would save your money and not buy a fancy back support. Just move, get out of the chair regularly and exercise outside of work. Develop a bladder problem that necessitates you visiting the toilet regularly or fall in love with someone in a distant office! Just move.

[Canuck Physio]

Hmm... I don;t know.

There is many cases where there is poor posture, or for example segmental stiffness that does not necessarily result in pain.

Pain is the result of structural overload, compression, tearing, shearing, etc. which do not automatically manifest due to poor posture. While the physical limitations of poor posture are various, it is not pain that is the only limiting factor, but the one looked most closely into due to the associated misery.

However, having said that, the reverse of opposite (that return to normal upright posture against gravity) with a subsequent increase in function or decrease in pain appears to be more fundamentally true.

[attatec]

hi
thanks for great information about posture. the posture for working in the office and sleeping in the house is very much concerning in the back pain relief. while the exercising be careful about your posture. if the posture is wrong then the muscles can be stiff.

[Addison0]

This post is really helpful for me. thanks