Stop Slouching!!

“Stop slouching!” All of us heard this wisdom from our parents once we were children. Now as adults, that advice is a lot more relevant. Between working at a table, taking care of children or housework, and hanging out on our cellular devices, our spines are under more stress than ever! Pair that with less time for quality sleep and increased mental stresses and it's a surprise that our anatomical bodies work at all!

Thankfully for people, our anatomies are wonderful biological instruments. We were designed to adapt and made to last. By correcting a couple of bad habits, we could ease a few of the stresses we place on our bodies and make our lives a little bit easier.

First action to take would be to indeed stop slouching. Good posture while we stand, sit, and sleep is extremely important. Maintaining good posture helps us with good balance and the most efficient use of our energy. Good posture can improve your mood and allow you to happier too! In addition it helps maintain correct form while exercising and performing physical activities. This contributes to fewer injuries and greater gains. Taking care of posture and balance will strengthen core muscles and improve abilities in pretty much every daily activity you take part in, whether that be work or play, or both!

One of many biggest items that sticks out for most people is the capability to move. You may be young, old, rich, poor, if you fail to move, you aren't likely to be happy. Rising from the chair, using stairs, turning to look behind you, they're all basic functions that may severely affect your quality of life in the event that you lose the capability to perform them.

The Good News is that there is hope Pain Management Clinic! Habits may be changed, it just requires a little bit of work. First move to make is know what good posture is. This means…
When standing
-Chin parallel to the floor
-Shoulders even with ears
-Neutral spine
-Arms at sides with elbows straight and even
-Abdominal muscles engaged and braced
-Hips even and not tilted forward or backward
-Knees even and pointing towards the leading (not one or both off to the side)
-Weight distributed evenly across both feet

When sitting
-Chin parallel to floor and eyes straight ahead
-Shoulders relaxed and arms supported
-Low back supported and neutral curves maintained
-Body weight evenly distributed on hips and buttocks
-Knees at right angles (do not cross legs)
-Feet flat on floor
-Get up to move around one or more times every hour

When sleeping
-Pillow under head, not shoulders
-Curve in neck ought to be neutral, not exaggerated or diminished
-Do not sleep on stomach
-Do not sleep with knees drawn up toward chest
-Do not work with a mattress that is saggy or too soft
-If sleeping on back, use pillow under knees to take pressure of low back
-If sleeping on side, use pillow between knees to keep hips neutral
-Most importantly, sleep in ways that can make you feel great rested. Finding a good night's sleep is certainly one of the main factors for your overall health.

After recognizing what good posture appears like, take time out to notice your personal posture. Research exercises and ask for a professionals help with postural re-education. Bad habits could be changed and good habits can quickly take their place. You must make-up the mind to commit to changing and stick with that decision. Quick posture checks in the mirror, hourly reminders to go around at work, stretching before getting away from bed, they're just a couple examples of approaches to reinforce positive change. A health professional will help you decide what'll work best for the individual needs.

If you learn breaking habits difficult, do not get discouraged. Just take a deep relaxing breath and keep at it. When you will find yourself in poor posture, recognize it and readjust to improve it. With time, your system will begin to develop muscle memories that keep you in a wholesome posture. So take that first step at this time when you are looking over this and Stop Slouching!

You can certainly do it! We believe in you!