1. Standing Stand facing a mirror. Look at your shoulders, does one seem higher than the other? Look at your neck, does it tilt to one side or stick forward? Pretendthatan imaginarystring ispullingyouthroughthetopofyourheadgently. Notice how your posture improves automatically when you try to be taller? Keep yourabdominalsslightlycontractedtomaintainthisposture.Whenwalking,make sure that your arms are moving comfortably back and forth, feeling the rotation through your torso. 2. Sitting Sitall thewayback inyourchairsoyou feelyour lowerbackagainst thebackrest. AvoidprolongedsittingonsoftcoucheswhenwatchingTVasthiscausesexcessive slouching. Try to keep your feet flat on the floor and angle your chair so that your knees are slightly lower than your hips. Try using a small rolled-up towel in your low back if you need more support in sitting. If you work at a computer, make sure that your keyboard and mouse are slightly lowerthanthe levelofyourelbow.Youmayneedtoadjustyourseathigher to make this happen. 3. Bending Most back injuries occur when bending and twisting at the same time. When you needtobenddowntogetsomething froma lowsurface,makesureyousquat,keep your abdominals tight as you do so. In addition, if you are lifting something, get your body as close as possible to what you are lifting. Try having one leg forward to use your legs more to lift, rather than your back. As part of physical therapy treatment, we teach you proper posture, bending and lifting techniques to protect your body from future injuries and make sure you stay healthy for the long haul. Call us today to learn more about how we can help you live pain free! 3 Ways To Improve Your Posture
Is Your Digital Lifestyle Affecting Your Posture?
Poor posture is something we normally do not think of as a contributor to neck and back pain. However, in our era of constantly being on smart phones, tablets, and computers, we often put our necks and backs in positions of prolonged stress. Over time, this contributes to increased stress to our vertebrae, disc and muscles supporting the spine. Text neck is the term used to describe the neck pain and damage sustained from lookingdownatyourcellphone, tablet,orotherwireless devices too frequentlyand for too long.Ofcourse, thispostureofbending your neck to look down does not occur only when texting. For years, we’ve all looked down to read. The problem with texting is that it adds one more activity that causes us to look down—and people tend to do it for much longer periods. It is especially concerning because young, growing children could possibly cause permanent damage to their cervical spines that could lead to lifelong neck pain. We often see patients who have suffered from back and neck pain for years who could have been treated very easily when the pain started withsimpleposturalcorrectionsandstretches. Ifyouhavebeensuffering frombackorneckpain,comeseeoneofour therapists foranassessment of what is contributing to your pain.
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� Move without pain � Bend and move freely � Balance confidently & securely
� Sit for long periods comfortably � Walk for long distances � Live an active & healthy life
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This offer expires September 28, 2019.
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