POSTURE DOS AND DON’TS WITH SOS
1
2
3
A
B
C
Perfect posture is somewhat of a myth, a unicorn that you could chase forever and never truly find. But there are some basic principles that you can follow that will help you take the stress off the joints, discs and ligaments, and use the muscles in your body to keep you where you should be. Sitting Look at Sandro here in the first picture (picture 1), slumped in the chair looking downright depressed and definitely down in the dumps. Rounded back, forward head, shoulders slumped. The stress on his back and neck is intense. He looks like he’s had a tough go at his placement at SOS…..Does this remind you of being slumped over a computer at your place of work? In picture number 2 he’s no better. His buttocks are several inches from the back of the chair and that has allowed his low back to round into curved ugliness. The stress on the discs here is intense and he’s going to need physio shortly! The last picture (picture 3) has Sandro sitting tall and looking good. He’s put his backside right up against the base of the chair and this forces him to use the back rest and sit up straight with a small curve in his lower back. And look closely! Check out that sweet lumbar roll he is sporting to help maintain that lumbar curve. Legendary! Standing Poor Melissa (picture A), her parents must have told her to stand up straight all her life! Not bad advice but her rounded mid back from sitting and writing all those physio notes makes her put a lot of stress on her lower back.
Knees straight, hips locked, weight back on the heels. No muscles in the legs working. See how much she has to curve into her low back to get that upright “military” style posture? Not good! There’s a lot of stress on the joints of her low back here. Now slumped (picture B) is no better! Her rounded upper back puts her neck and shoulders in a bad position and she is just waiting for headaches or a nasty repetitive strain of her rotator cuff (but that’s a whole other article!). To fix this? Get athletic! Now we might not all be professional sports enthusiasts out there but imagine how different athletes play their game. They are bent at the knees and hips, weight slightly on the balls of their feet, torso is flat, shoulder blades engaged (slightly back), and core and abdominals firing. Mind you we’re not going to walk around all day like we’re playing defense in basketball but this idea is not far off. When Melissa demonstrates GOOD posture (picture C) she is just slightly more upright than if she was going to take a golf swing or play tennis! Knees slightly bent, low back is flat with only a slight curve. She looks active here, muscles are firing! Balance is good! Notice her torso is almost leaning forward as opposed to leaning back in picture A. Remember, the best postural position is going to be different for everyone. The key is you have to work at it! If it seems too easy and/or it hurts when you’re there for any length of time, you’re likely not in the best position. Try to use some of the tips above and if you feel you’d like some more help, come in for one of our Complimentary Postural Screens, and we’ll see if we can straighten you out!
Belmont Clinic Belmont Centre for Physical Medicine 564 Belmont Avenue West, Suite 301 Kitchener, Ontario N2M 5N6 TEL: (519) 743-4355
Campus Clinic University of Waterloo Student Life Centre
Elmira Clinic Behind Wellness Centre (Clock Tower) 3 Wyatt Street East, Suite 2 Elmira, Ontario N3B 2H4 TEL: (519) 669-1212
200 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 TEL: (519) 884-0767
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker