Taking care of your posture is essential to good back health, and it can impact your general wellbeing. There are two types of posture – dynamic posture is how you hold yourself when you’re walking, running, bending over; and static posture is how you sit, stand and sleep. For good back health, you need to take care of both of these or you could be risking a number of health issues.
Bad posture can lead to back, shoulder and neck pain; affect your balance; decrease your flexibility; impact your movement of joints, and it can impact how you digest food or breathe. It can also create long-term impacts on your spine, making it more prone to injury, and misalignment. So, how can you maintain good back health?
How To Take Care Of Your Posture
You want to take care of yourself, while at the same time maximising your comfort. The following tips will help you take care of your posture, reducing back pain and promoting better health in general.
Get Active & Healthy
Exercise, in general, is perfect for improving your posture, and there are particular exercises you can take part in that are specifically designed to focus on the musculoskeletal system. Yoga, for example, can help with balance and breathing, while Pilates is ideal to work on your core strength. Both of these are highly beneficial to your posture.
Along with exercise, eating right can also improve your posture. If you have extra kilos, this can weaken your abdominal muscles and cause lower back pain – which in turn, can impact your posture. Eating good food and maintaining a healthy weight will not only improve your back health but your general wellbeing overall.
The Right Chair For Relaxing
The first step to ensuring your back is taken care of is to invest in quality chairs that are specifically designed for good posture. Recliners and power recliners are designed to help ease back pain, and let’s face it – they help you to relax as well. Quality recliners provide good lumbar support – which means that when you recline with your feet up, there’s no gap between your lower back and the chair itself. You want your recliner to elevate your feet above heart level – this helps reduce stress and inflammation in your legs and sends blood to the muscles and tendons in the lower back, giving your back time to rest. It also gives you comfortable downtime, which is essential to the health of both body and mind. Finally, your recliner needs to mould to your body perfectly – when you sit in the chair, you want to feel as though you’re blending, rather than floating on top. Power recliners have the added advantage of being easy to manage via remote. Your best bet is to test a few out in person and see what fits your body.
The Right Chair For Work
If you work at home, you want to ensure you have a quality chair that can cater to having you sit for long periods of time. Whether you prefer to sit on an armchair, a modular, or at a desk, take time to test your chair before you buy – that way you can make sure it is suited for the purpose, and seating positions required to maintain good posture. Speaking of how to sit, follow these tips:
Sitting Positions
To start with, ensure your back is straight and your shoulders are back. Your tailbone should be touching the back of the chair as well. Your back has three natural curves – these should all be present while you’re sitting. If they’re not, grab a small towel or lumbar roll.
Make sure you’re sitting evenly, so your weight goes across both hips, not just one. Bend your knees and keep them slightly higher, or even with your hips. Keep your feet flat and don’t cross your legs. Get up and take a walk every 30 minutes. When sitting at a desk, make sure you can rest your elbows and arms on the desk or your chair to keep your shoulders relaxed. And when you stand up from any seated position, move to the front of the chair, then stand by straightening your legs – try not to bend at the waist.
With the above advice, you’ll be enjoying less back pain, more relaxing and better productivity than ever. The right chair, good health and posture, can make a world of difference.
