Do you suffer from persistent lower back pain? Or feel it nagging you every now and then but you can’t seem to find a way to get rid of it?
After trying all of the pain killers and home remedies you can think of, improving your posture might just be that golden ticket you've been looking for.
All day long our spines are being loaded with pressure from sitting and standing, causing your back's complex network of muscles, discs, and joints to be frequently under stress. Stress can be a great thing as it makes us physically stronger, but it’s important to know the difference between good stress and bad stress in order to not cause damage and therefore pain.
Good stress comes from activities such as exercise and stretching, these are both fantastic to ensure healthy back bones and muscles. Bad stress can come from things like performing repetitive tasks without regular breaks, such as using a computer mouse, typing, grasping tools, working on an assembly line or sports training, and most commonly, sitting with incorrect posture for long periods of time.
These habits cause the loads on your spine to disperse incorrectly, weakening the tissues in your lower back and causing your posture to suffer as a result. This poor posture then creates that persistent lower back pain you have been feeling.
Maintaining good posture often requires less work than maintaining bad posture. It could take time and ongoing awareness to break a habitual bad posture, but it can be done and it may not be as difficult as you may think.
So how can you begin?
As mentioned earlier, regular exercise and stretching are both great ways to ensure your back stays strong and healthy, but improving your posture will take your road to pain-free days to the next level.
We have many great articles at Posture Pal about how to improve your posture, but if you are new here, try some of simple these techniques to begin your great posture journey:
Change up your workspace
Make sure your screen is at eye level and your elbows are at a 90° angle.
If you are able to, try to change up your workspace every few days so your body doesn't get used to being in the same area.
Get up and stretch every hour
For every hour that you're sitting or working, get up and do some stretches to re-set your body.
We have some great stretching resources throughout our page to check out for some ideas!
Invest in a quality posture corrector
Wearing a posture corrector is the easiest way to train your posture without doing anything at all!
Wear it while working, exercising and relaxing, and over time your body will know how good posture feels and you will be able to wear it less and less! Check out the Pro here, NZ's number one posture corrector!
