Rounded shoulders. Hunched back. Forward head. Slouchy. Low confidence. Flatback. Swayback.
All of these terms are associated with one thing, poor posture.
Have you caught yourself in the mirror or saw a picture of yourself and didn’t like what you saw? Do you find yourself correcting your posture constantly only to find yourself in the same slumped position minutes later? Or do you have chronic headaches, neck pain, or back pain while sitting all day? Then you could benefit from posture training!
The good news is that correcting poor posture isn’t that difficult, but it does require some consistency to get the results your are looking for.
First, it is important to evaluate what is the cause of your poor posture. Some causes can be your work chair, work desk set-up, weakness at your back muscles, or the physical tasks you do during a typical day. Sometimes, it can be a combination of factors. Determining the cause is one of the most important factors that will lead to success in improving your posture.
Once you known the cause(s) of your poor posture, you can come up with a plan on how to address it. Here are a couple ways to get started:
- Arrange your work desk and chair for your body height. A couple quick fixes can be found here from a previous blog post.
- Set a reminder every hour on your smartphone to correct your posture or cue you to get up, move around, or just change positions.
- Strengthen your upper back muscles. One easy exercise to start with is the row. Be sure to work with your physical therapist for a custom program to address your deficiencies.
Give these ideas a try and let us know how it goes! And, as always, if you need any help or would like a custom solution, set up an appointment here to get started right away.
