Back Posture & Chair Sitting Habits To Relieve Your Back Of Pain

« « Spine Stretching Exercises - Relief Of Back Pain | Good Sitting Posture - Five Tips To Sit Pain-Free For Hours » »

Back Posture & Chair Sitting Habits To Relieve Your Back Of Pain

Saturday, September 12th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

We may consider ourselves extremely lucky for having been born in the 20th century. Had we instead been born in Victorian times, we’d have found it nearly impossible to slouch, slump or otherwise adopt relaxed postures without appearing strange to those around us. We would have been sitting at the edge of the chair, with our backs ramrod straight, head looking straight ahead, with absolutely no give to our spinal column. That must have done wonders to our posture, especially if we happened to be corseted, but it would not do anything to make us feel or look relaxed.

This automatic societal postural training, once innately learned and incorporated into daily life, has unfortunately vanished from the usual physical training made available to children both at home and at school. Watching TV while lounging bonelessly on the sofa with the upper torso slumped onto tummy is often not corrected whereas once it would have been, and we carry these habits forth into adulthood.

Fortunately, posture training does not require the pain or discipline used during the Victorian era. A simple routine, ten minutes per day, can do wonders to improve posture, reduce back pain and increase confidence, completely naturally and without drugs or surgeries. You can have great back posture, chair posture, and standing posture.

So to make sure that our neck and spine do not suffer over much in the future because of our bad posture during our childhood and youth, we have to look at the best way in which we can improve our posture, especially when we are sitting on sofas or in chairs.

The moment you sit down in the chair, lift your head high, but not so high that there is a strain upon your neck. This will do wonders to improve posture. Your chin should be at the level of your lap. Do not crane the neck. The head is going to drop into its natural position apropos the spinal cord.

Next, focus on your shoulders. Many people chronically elevate them toward their ears, placing unnecessary tension on the spinal cord. Lower your shoulders away from your ears, letting them relax into a more natural pose. This in turn will likely elevate your chin even further.

Next, focus on straightening your spine. The spine should be as vertical as possible, without much deviation either forward or back, so that its arches provide as much of their natural support to the upper body.

Now is the time when you need to tuck in your tummy. Not only is it not going to show up as a somewhat protruding tumtum, but regular tucking of the tummy, whenever you sit down does wonders for the tummy muscles. Just imagine that you are holding in your breath for a count of 3 with your stomach tucked in. This properly tucked in stomach is going to give support to your upper torso.

Tail bone strain is another factor that contributes to aches and pains, so applying extra pressure to this region should be avoided. This is accomplished by tilting the pelvis forward, transferring weight onto the hips. Ensure that your chair is tilted somewhat forward, and that the back is not concave.

Share and Enjoy: