Your Guide to Good Posture

It can be difficult to achieve correct posture, as many of our everyday activities can unfortunately lead to poor long-term habits that cause our bodies to become misaligned. Some of these include too much heavy lifting, too much physical exertion or — one of the most popular nowadays — too much time spent hunched over at a desk. Poor posture is a common cause of stress and strain on the muscles, ligaments and tendons, which quite often leads to back, neck and leg pain.

If you suffer from the above-mentioned pain, there are some ways to help with the alignment of your spine and improve your posture. In this article, we’ve listed some of our best tips on how you can truly achieve better posture in your day-to-day life and activities.

“Standing tall” is perhaps one of the best stretching exercises there is. As the muscles you use to stand are the same ones you use to improve your posture, it’s one of the key ways to exercise said muscles and kick them into perfect alignment.

Here are some good posture exercises to follow while standing:

• Keeping your chin tucked in (while trying not to tilt your head too much to the front, back or side).
• Lining up your earlobes with the centre of your shoulders.
• Keeping your shoulders held back.
• Keeping both your knees and back straight.
• Standing with your feet slightly apart (not too close together).
• Making sure the arches of your feet are in a neutral position.
• Allowing your arms to naturally hang on either side of your body.

Many of us fall victim to sitting for extended periods of time each day, which can subject us to a range of various pains, strains and other symptoms. Staying in the same position for long intervals without changing positions can be highly detrimental to your neck, back, legs, eyesight and mental well-being.

As such, it’s highly recommended by physicians and ergonomists alike to take regular stretch breaks throughout the day. Some suggested tips include:

• Starting with stretching the neck and working your way down the rest of your body.
• Stretching to the point of slight tension, but not to the point of pain.
• Holding each stretch for a maximum of 10 to 20 seconds.
• Spreading each stretching exercise to each part of the body (a minimum set of 3 to 5 stretching exercises is recommended).

Worried about finding the time to take breaks throughout your day? Even just 10-15 minutes of stretching each day can make all the difference!

If your work or home life requires you to do any heavy lifting, it’s crucial that you practice proper lifting techniques to best support your spinal and lower back health. 

To ensure that there is minimal strain on your lower back or your spinal discs, some tips for proper lifting include:

• Making sure your feet are shoulder-width apart, with one foot a little ahead of the other.
• Keeping good posture (as we mentioned above).
• When squatting down, making sure you are only bending at the hips and knees.
• Lift any objects slowly, straightening your hips and knees while keeping your back straight.
• Holding the lifted object as close to your body as possible.
• If you need to change directions while holding the load, using your hips to lead and keeping your shoulders aligned with your hips during movement.
• When setting down the lifted object, doing so by squatting with only the knees and hips.

Many of us have now spent an entire year of working at home, having been forced to come up with at-home work setups that may not have been configured with the right ergonomic proportions. When it comes to your dedicated workspace, everything about your necessary tools — including your chair, desk setup and technology — can have significant impacts on your overall posture, neck, back, eyesight and more.

To ensure your workspace is ergonomic (whether it’s at home or in the office), here are some important features to consider:

This includes a desk that allows you to sit with your feet flat against the floor, that you can comfortably fit your legs under and that will properly support your arms, allowing there to be an angle of around 90 degrees to 110 degrees between your forearm and upper arm.

You should select a chair that, like your desk, allows you to sit with your feet flat on the floor and that allows your thighs to be parallel with the floor. Chairs with a built-in curve at the back are also great for supporting your lower back while you work (or if you don’t have one of those, consider investing in a lumbar pillow).

Where and how you place your screen setup is just as important as your choice of furniture. You should make sure your dedicated computer screen or monitor is placed at least 20 inches in front of you. To avoid neck strain, your screen should also be positioned at eye level.

Experiencing symptoms of stress and strain as a result of long sedentary work periods or challenging physical tasks? While all of our above-mentioned tips are great ways to ensure your posture is on-par, one of the best ways to achieve better alignment is to receive treatment from an experienced and licensed chiropractor. 

At Dahl Family Chiropractic, we treat a wide range of postural imbalance symptoms and are on hand to help. To learn more about how we can help you achieve proper alignment again, call us at 608-829-0074 or fill out our contact form and we’ll be in touch with you as soon as possible!