Posture, Why is it so important?

Look around today and many of us have poor posture when doing things while at work, school or just hanging around. Over the years, our mothers, teachers and random people have told us to sit up straighter and taller.  Posture is so important because it can lead to many different pains and discomforts as we grow and perform different activities.  Besides talking posture, we should also mention ergonomics, which is the use of good posture while working.

What is good posture?

Well, there are different positions for posture, including standing and sitting positions. Let’s talk about standing posture first since we are moving  and walking in today’s fast paced style of living. We will look at it from a lateral or side view and then from a front view. Then we will discuss sitting posture, which we do a lot of today.

Lateral view, Standing posture:

A person’s ear, shoulder, ball of hip and lateral knee/ankle should line up. When looking in a mirror, look for your shoulders to line up with your hips and make sure that your head and neck are not protruding out and making you have an outstretched neck.  This leads to forward head carriage and rolled shoulders, which can create more arthritis and muscle pain in your shoulders over time.  The hips should be parallel with the floor and a slight arch present in the lower back.

Front View, Standing Posture:

When looking at a person either from the front or the back, imagine a line splitting the person right down the middle. They should appear as a mirror image on each side. The shoulders and hips should be level and your knees should be hip width apart and draw a line to the middle of your feet, right behind your toes.

Sitting Posture:

Sitting while at a desk or working is actually pretty simple with some easy tips to follow. We can sit up to 90 percent of our days and that can be very bad for our health, so sitting proper can help improve our health.

So when sitting, follow this tips from your feet to your head. Feet should be flat on the floor with a 90 degree angle at your ankle. knees and hips. A bigger than 90 degree angle at the knee or hip is okay. Having a slight lordotic curve and sitting up straight is also important.  Your shoulders should be back and when looking at your hands, your thumbs should be straight forward and you should have a rest for your wrists and elbows.

The hardest part will be your head and eyes.  Make sure that your screen, including your cell phone screen is eye level and make sure that your head is level and you are only trying to look by moving your eyes.

These are just some helpful tips for good posture while sitting and standing. If you have any questions, let us know. Have a great week and work on the posture.