3 Easy Ways To Improve Your Posture
1. Work on Alignment. Great posture is all about training the body to remain in positions that put the least amount of strain on the muscles and joints. Consider how you spend the majority of your time during the course of a day. Are you sitting in a chair at work? Lifting, bending, squatting, or stretching? Do you do certain tasks over and over? How is your posture each time you do these things? While sitting, this means that all three curves of the back should be present with your weight evenly distributed on both hips. Correct lifting positions involve keeping your back straight and bending at the knees and hips. While standing, you should be able to draw a straight line from your head to your feet that touches your spine and runs through your hips. Wearing proper footwear fitted with custom orthotics designed for your work environment can help you maintain your posture while you perform basic tasks over the course of the day. 2. Core Strength is Paramount. The best way to improve your posture is to strengthen your core muscles. Your core is not only your abdominal muscles but also your stabilizing muscles that connect to your pelvis and spine. These muscles control how you bend, twist, walk, run, stand, and lift. Strong core muscles help you remain upright as you age and can even help prevent injury to your back. But a strong core is not born of hundreds of sit-ups or crunches. These muscles are best worked through slow, controlled, weight bearing movements. Yoga, Pilates and weight training exercises are all ideal ways to strengthen your
stabilizing muscles without having to lay on the ground. 3. Physical Therapy. Physical therapy is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when you are considering ways to improve your posture. Most of the time, people visit their physical therapist after surgery or an injury but forget that these practitioners are experts at helping patients develop, maintain or restore function to their bodies. This includes helping patients find their ideal posture for all of their daily activities. Patients who go to PT for neck, shoulder or back pain are often surprised to discover that their problems stem from poor posture. The therapist will assess the ways they sit, stand, walk, and work and begin helping the patient find ways to minimize stress on their body. These may
include balance and strengthening exercises or even recommending changes to the work environment that would promote proper posture. Our bodies, like any machine, are subject to the forces placed upon them. Our posture can either magnify those forces on our joints and muscles or minimize them. Proper posture helps you look better and feel better, but it also helps your body function the way it should as you walk, run, jump, sit, stand, or even lay down. Fortunately, you do not have to tackle perfecting your posture on your own. Your physical therapist can help you find ways to correct your body’s posture that are specific to your needs. Contact us today to begin standing tall once again.
2 Exercises To Help You Feel Better
STRENGTHENS BACK MUSCLES
IMPROVES POSTURE
PRONE BACK EXTENSION While lying face down, slowly raise your chest upwards and off the ground. Then lower slowly back to the ground. Repeat 10 times.
QUADRUPED ALT. ARM & LEG While in a crawling position, slowly draw your leg and opposite arm upwards. Your arm and leg should be straight and fully out- stretched. Do this 8 times then alternate.
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