Posture Support Resources » Desk Posture

Posture Support Is Just One of Many Ways to Improve Bad Posture

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:00:59 +0000

Who wants to grow old looking like a little old lady–crouched over and unable to stand straight? No one. The bad posture that begins in our thirties or sometimes ever earlier with forward head and rounded shoulders, is not just unflattering, it can develop into a condition known as hyperkyphosis, or forward head posture. We have written about the health problems associated with forward health posture elsewhere in this blog.

If you’re looking to improve bad posture, give yourself a pat on the back. Improving your posture will not just make you look taller and more confident, reversing bad posture can increase your energy and well-being immensely. Here are four ways to improve posture throughout the day without spending any great lengths of time.

1. Adapt posture supportive daily habits . One of the greatest influences on posture is how you sit, stand, and move throughout the day. If you sit a lot, educate yourself on proper sitting habits. Here is a helpful video on proper desk posture.

2. Do corrective posture exercises. Learning proper office posture and integrating active sitting and corrective posture exercises in your daily routine will go a long way towards reversing bad posture.

3. Consider using a posture support brace. While not a panacea in and of itself, a posture brace can be a great reminder to sit and stand straight.

4. Do reverse stretching to reshape bad posture. This is one of the most overlooked ways to improve posture. In reverse stretching, you put your body in the opposite shape of your habitual holding patterns. If you stay in the position for 5-10 minutes, you’ll gradually begin to reshape the connective tissue that keeps you locked into a bad posture.

In our next post, we’ll review some of the different types of fitness equipment for reverse stretching.

Technorati Tags: Bad Posture, Desk Posture, Forward Head Posture, Improve Bad Posture, Office Posture, posture brace, Posture Support

Why Not Use Your Work Hours to Improve Your Posture?

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:00:59 +0000

Few things say as much about you as your posture. The way you carry yourself, how tall you stand, whether your heart and chest area is open and confident or crouched over and closed says a lot about your self-confidence, energy level, and approach to life.

Good posture is not just a cosmetic factor, however. Bad posture has been found to lie at the root of numerous physical aliments. Forward head posture, which in its early stages shows up as rounded shoulders and a head that moves forward of the body’s midline, leads to numerous problems, particularly as we get older. In addition, bad posture is a major factor in the development of back pain.

How does bad posture develop and what can you do to improve it? A major factor for anyone who works long hours at a desk is our desk posture, i.e. how we sit throughout the day. The body is constantly adapting to the influences we subject it to. If you sit for eight long hours at your desk, five days a week, guess what? Whichever shape you put your body in the desk posture you assume will begin to make a permanent imprint on your body. If you sit with your shoulders rounded and head forward staring at the computer screen, what is your body going to look like when you get up? If you’ve ever found it hard to straighten up when you get up from your desk, there you have the reason why.

On the other hand, if you sit upright with a straight back and open heart, that will help reshape your posture over time. If possible, try doing some corrective posture exercises at your desk throughout the day. This will help you strengthen your core muscles for a more permanent correction of bad posture.

To change your desk posture permanently, also look for a chair that offers posture back support. Most chairs used in the work place don’t offer the back support needed and may even encourage you to slump back in the chair with a rounded lower back. This is a formula not just for developiong bad posture, but also serious back problems down the road, including painful disc conditions. Spend some time during the day sitting with the proper posture support in the back and some time doing active sitting, training your core muscles without using any back support.

Learning to sit correctly takes time and patience. Your core muscles need to get stronger, and you need to train your body to adapt a better desk posture over time. But the improvements you’ll notice in your health and energy are well worth it.

Technorati Tags: Bad Posture, Desk Posture, Forward Head Posture, Improve Bad Posture, Office Posture

Posture Exercises

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:00:59 +0000

If you’ve been sitting for a while, these exercises are perfect to get you moving again. Five simple exercises you can do to feel good.

Duration : 0:5:39

Technorati Tags: Bad Posture, Corrective Posture Exercises, Desk Posture, Improve Bad Posture, Office Posture

Posture at the Office: Laptop Tips

admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:40:49 +0000

Even though we know better, we still slouch over our laptops now and then. What about you? Find out how to prevent wear and tear on your wrists and other injuries when we talk to Deborah Read A.K.A. “Ergo Girl” in this week’s show. Watch WhitneyandWyatt.com any time you want to be informed, inspired and entertained!

Duration : 0:5:56

Technorati Tags: Desk Posture, ergonomics, laptop, Office Posture, Posture Support

The ABCs of Sitting: Healthy Office Posture

admin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:41:19 +0000

The ABCs of Sitting: Healthy Office Posture

Given that most of us sit for hours and hours all day, we know remarkably little about how to sit in a way that puts the least strain on our back and how to cultivate the strength to keep a good office posture throughout the day. Having a good sitting desk posture can mean the difference between feeling good at the end of the day or feeling tired, achy, and worn out.

So, what is good desk posture? Well, you don’t need to go out and buy a posture brace to find out, because interestingly enough, good posture with back support is the position that puts the least strain on your muscles and spine.

To find your ideal office posture, try this corrective posture exercise:

1. Position your buttocks at the back of your chair, so your knees bend at a right angle and your feet lie flat on the floor. If necessary, put a stool under your feet to raise them up, so your feet touch the floor and your lower legs are at a ninety degree angle to your thighs. This establishes a solid platform of posture support for not just your spine, but your head and shoulders as well.

2. Make sure you are sitting squarely on your sitz bones, with your weight evenly distributed in all directions. You can check the distribution of your weight by swaying to the front and back, and from side to side.

3. As you sway back and forth, notice how the curve in your lumbar spine deepens and flattens. Look for the “sweet spot” in the middle, where your lumbar curve is not too deep and not too flat. That provides ideal posture back support for your spine. If necessary, you can add a lumbar support pillow to help your spine stay in this position.

4. Keep your knees at the same height as your hips or slightly above. Do not cross them. It is best to keep your knees shoulder width apart.

This desk posture position will help you sit in a way that honors the three natural curves in the spine. Orienting your feet and pelvis properly creates a stable foundation that helps counterbalance your spinal curves. This lends the spine a spring-like quality that efficiently bears the weight of your body, promoting natural posture support.

Technorati Tags: Desk Posture, Office Posture, sitting posture