Information You Should Not Ignore If You Are Worried About Poor Posture Causing Your Back Pain

Information You Should Not Ignore If You Are Worried About Poor Posture
Causing Your Back Pain


Proper posture is important because it keeps your spine in
a more neutral position that does not put pressure on
bones, muscles, disks, soft tissue, nerves and other
structures in the back.

Now I know what you are thinking already. "I practice good
posture and I don't need to read this." Ahhh...but do you
really pay attention to your posture? Can you honestly say
when you sit down or take a walk that you are reminding
yourself about your posture?

I bet the only time you really pay attention to your
posture is when you sit up after slouching in your seat and
then tell yourself, "I am practicing good posture." Now
think about all the times that you practice bad posture and
don't even realize it.

And you wonder why you have back pain? Look, unless you
are a robot, you can't practice perfect posture all the
time. Whether sitting or standing, just try to be more
aware of your overall posture.

But what can you do to practice better posture besides just
sitting up straight?

One of the easiest ways to fall into a habit of poor
posture is typing at a computer. Your hands reach for the
keyboard which causes your shoulders to slump forward.
This promotes poor posture and can lead to back problems.

Here's a trick. Get a yard stick and place it across the
center of your sternum just below your clavicle bones. As
you are sitting and holding the yard stick (or you could
have someone hold it for you) try to keep your shoulders
from touching it. You shouldn't feel like you have to hold
your shoulders back either.

Good posture should always be comfortable. This will teach
you to keep your shoulders from slumping forward and
causing you to have poor posture. Practice this a few
times with the yard stick. Do it long enough until it is
reinforced in your mind and you are trained to keep your
shoulders back without having to use a yard stick.

Also, try not to lean to one side while either sitting or
standing. It's so easy to just lean to one side and let
your elbow rest on a table while sitting or lean your body
weight to one side while standing in one place. These tiny
shifts albeit small and seemingly insignificant put a
gradual strain on the muscles, ligaments and vertebrae in
your back.

You can also analyze your own posture while sitting in
front of a mirror. Look in the mirror and see if you are
sitting all the way back in your chair. See if your
shoulders are slumped forward? Does the lower lumbar area
of your back fit snug up against your chair if it has a
lumbar support? Are you sitting straight in the chair
instead of at an angle? Are you leaning too much against
the back of the chair which can promote the sagging of back
muscles and poor posture? These are just some of the
observations you can make to better analyze faults so you
can make the necessary adjustments for better overall
posture.

Do you own a good pair of shoes?

It is so important to have a relatively new pair of
comfortable running shoes or casual shoes or boots to
maintain good posture. I once owned a pair of rubber-soled
boots that I wore for about 2 years. One of the rubber
soles of the boots was completely worn down making one of
my legs essentially longer than the other and throwing my
spine completely out of alignment.

Moral of the story: Check your shoes and make sure you
don't have the same problem. If you have a pair of running
shoes, you might want to consider buying a new pair every
3-6 months depending on how much you run.

One more thought that immediately comes to mind while we
are on the subject of leg length is short-leg syndrome.
Many people may have one leg slightly shorter than the
other and not even know it. If you suspect this might be
the cause of your back pain, you might want to see a
chiropractor or an orthapaedist to make a proper
evaluation. A simple lift or insert in your shoe might be
all you need to correct this problem and end your back pain.

If you really have a hard time maintaining good posture you
can try a support or lumbar device such as a lumbar roll.
Since many sofas or pieces of furniture are so poorly
designed for your back anatomically, a lumbar roll should
certainly be used on a chair or especially a couch that
really doesn't offer any lumbar support.

When it comes to preventing back pain, proper posture is
one of the best ways to maintain a pain-free back. Getting
in this habit offers your spine more of the benefits of a
neutral position that takes pressure off vertebrae,
muscles, disks, nerves, cartilage and other structures in
the back.

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Mike Saros is a former back pain sufferer and author of The
No More Back Pain newsletter found at
http://www.BackReliefElite.com
He will instruct you how to end your own lower back pain at
http://www.SecretsToAPainFreeBack.com/Secrets_Discount.htm

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