How to Improve Your Back Posture in the Workplace

You spend so much time at work, it is absolutely imperative that you maintain good back posture habits at all times. Failure to do so can result in bad posture with painful consequences. Back pain is one of the most common work-related injuries and is often caused by ordinary work activities such as sitting in an office chair or lifting heavy items.

There are typically two types of situations that cause people to start having back pain or to sustain a back injury while on the job:

1. Non-accidental injury, where pain arises as a result of normal work activities. People who sit for most of the day (such as those who work at a computer while sitting in an office chair) and who do not pay careful attention to good back posture, are at high risk for non-accidental back injury.
   
2. Poor body mechanics (such as slouching in an office chair or not sitting correctly).

Prolonged activity, repetitive motions, and fatigue are major contributors to these injuries.

If you want to improve your back posture in the workplace, you should pay particular attention to:

• Your sitting posture while working at your desk
• Your computer posture if you work at a computer for long periods
• Your standing posture if your work demands a lot of standing. Have you noticed how many postal workers have developed bad forward heard posture from looking down all day long?
• Posture and ergonomics while lifting and carrying boxes and heavy loads
• Taking periodic breaks
• Wearing the correct shoes (high heel shoes contribute to bad posture)
• Stretching regularly – this is the key to posture improvement

One of the best ways to stretch is to use a posture cushion. They improve your back posture and slouching, reduce forward head posture and they stretch the front upper body tissues. A good posture cushion will also increase blood circulation and respiratory functions, relieve muscle tension, and improve posture by aligning your head, neck and upper body.

Remember that there is a direct correlation between bad posture and poor health. Good posture in the workplace has enormous benefits for you. It will lead to improved energy levels, increased productivity and a decrease in bodily aches and pains.

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The Correct Sleeping Posture is Important

The correct sleeping posture is important if you want to develop good posture in general. We sleep for approximately one third of our life. Obviously, the way we sleep will have an effect on whether or not we end up with good or bad posture.

Have you ever woken up in the morning with a stiff neck, back pain or a headache? If you have, then it is probably due to poor sleeping posture.

Even gorillas understand good sleeping posture

The correct sleeping position is on your back. While sleeping, your spine should be in a normal curve. Sleeping on your side is your next best position. Sleeping on your stomach is the worst position and is not recommended.

Sleeping on your stomach can damage your spine and nervous system. It turns your head in an extreme rotation and it puts your head back in extension. This interferes with the blood and oxygen flow to and from your brain.

Sleeping on your back is the best because it provides the most neutral position for your spine. To achieve the best sleeping posture while on your back, use a pillow or pillows, but ensure that they are not too high. You want to keep your head in a neutral position. You also want support under your knees.

If you choose to sleep on your side, make sure that you keep your knees bent and have your pillow at the right height to ensure that your neck is straight. Avoid tucking your neck and chin into the fetal position. Again, your neck should be in a neutral position.

Be sure to change your sleeping position throughout the night.

By following the suggestions above you will soon experience the benefits of the correct sleeping posture, waking up refreshed with fewer aches and pains.

To learn more about improving your posture, please visit http://www.posturepal.com/

Posture Support Braces do not Correct Bad Posture

Based on the number of Google searches for “posture correctors” and “posture braces” there is obviously an increasing number of people concerned about their bad posture. Unfortunately, posture support braces do not correct bad posture. In fact, they could do more harm than good.

Posture support braces are mostly cosmetic. Wearing them may make you look better, but they do nothing to help develop the muscles necessary for good posture.

Weaker posture braces are totally ineffective. Your body adapts to them in minutes and then assumes the normal posture slump to which it is accustomed.

Stronger posture support braces do not resolve the problem either because they inhibit free movement. This leads to muscle atrophy, the wasting or loss of muscle tissue, which can start within twenty four hours. More specifically, the condition is known as disuse atrophy and it occurs from a lack of physical exercise. Your muscles start to shrink. Disuse atrophy will create even bigger problems for you.

After wearing your posture brace for a while you will find that when you remove it at night, your posture slump will be worse that it was originally. This is because your muscles have become weakened and cannot provide adequate support. Apart from being uncomfortable, posture braces sometimes also cause rashes.

When it comes to posture correction, most attempts are directed toward the spine, shoulders and pelvis. These are important, but the position of your head is the most important. Your body follows your head. Your entire body can be aligned by first aligning your head. In other words, if you do not correct the forward head position, your attempts to improve your posture may amount to nothing.

Poor posture is the result of bad habits that end up weakening your core posture support muscles. Invariably, you end up with an element of forward head posture, a potentially serious condition that cannot be remedied by posture braces.

For every inch that your head moves forward, it gains about ten pounds in weight. Gravity starts pulling at your head and over time your forward head posture gets worse, placing an ever increasing strain on your body. The result is a significant deterioration in your quality of life with not only head, neck and TMJ problems, but also mid-back and low-back problems.

If you insist on buying posture braces, do so for the right reason. Do not expect them to improve your posture.

To learn more about improving your posture, please visit http://www.posturepal.com/

How to Improve Bad Posture

Bad posture does not happen overnight. It is a gradual process. Bad posture is a response to how you hold your body in various positions, such as sitting, slouching and standing. After a period of time, your posture muscles become weak and other muscles take over the work.

Perfect posture IS possible

If you want to improve your posture, you need to be aware of bad posture habits. Here are some examples of common behavior and poor ergonomics that need correction to improve posture and back support:

• Slouching with the shoulders hunched forward
• Cradling a phone receiver between the neck and shoulder
• Keeping the head held too high or looking down too much
• Sleeping with a mattress or pillow that doesn't provide proper back support, or in a position that compromises posture
• Slumping forward while sitting in an office chair and not making use of the office chair's lumbar back support

You can improve your bad posture as follows:

1. Identify your bad posture habits and take steps to prevent such habits. Check your posture throughout the day.
   
2. Pay particular attention to your computer posture.
   
3. Examine your sleeping posture. The correct sleeping position is on your back. Sleeping on your side is your next best position. Sleeping on your stomach is the worst position and is not recommended.
   
4. Most importantly, stretch regularly. Stretching will help lengthen both your muscles and tendons. This will increase your range of movement which means that your limbs and joints can move further before an injury occurs.

Stretching is the key to posture correction and one of the best ways to stretch is to use a posture cushion. A good posture cushion will allow your head to assume a neutral position in relation to your shoulders. The contours of the cushion should be such that it pushes your thorax forward, stretching the muscles in the front of your chest and relaxing the muscles in your mid and upper back.

It is never too late to improve your posture. Just because you have bad posture right now does not mean that you have to stay that way for the rest of your life. Follow the simple guidelines set out above and you will be well on your way to improving your posture.

For more information on how to improve your posture, please visit http://www.posturepal.com/