I heard an instructor once share in a course that if all of my tools as a Physical Therapist were removed and POSTURE was the only thing I could use to help a patient, I would have one of the most powerful tools.

As we find ourselves at home and in perhaps more relaxed postures, our bodies may begin to speak up. You see, Posture is key to truly caring for and respecting your body.

Are you experiencing neck, back, hip, shoulder, or knee pain? Let’s see if some simple posture correction can help!

Most of us know we can have poor posture in sitting but did you know you can have poor posture even in standing?

Many people with back pain have transitioned to standing desks. This seems like a good idea until they fall into poor posture, like the girl on the left demonstrates here. In an ideal world, we would not spend more than 45 min in any one posture before getting up to move!

Your posture is your first line of defense against most musculoskeletal pain. Keeping your skeleton in good alignment reduces the stress and strain on your muscles, tendon, discs, etc. Most injuries or pain can be linked back to micro trauma over time… aka disrespect of our soft tissue.

To find your best upright standing posture, follow these steps:
📌 Stand up tall, feet shoulder width apart, palms facing your thigh.
📌 Imagine you have a string coming out of the top of your head and someone is pulling your head straight up toward the ceiling.
📌 Now draw your attention to your breastbone, or sternum. Imagine you are proudly displaying a pin or tie tack for all to see. Your chest rises a bit as you boast this object and your shoulder blades get a bit closer together as a result. Keep the shoulders relaxed and not lifted toward your ears.
📌 Tightness in the front of the hip often draws the pelvis forward and increases the deep curve in your low back. Tucking your tailbone underneath is often helpful to find a more neutral spine position. (Let me know if I lost ya there 😉).
📌 From the side, we should be able to draw one straight line from your ear, to the shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle bone.
📌 Work to stand evenly on both feet. Standing asymmetrically on one leg adds stress to one side, often pulling the pelvis out of alignment and causing a stretched out a weak hip.
📌 You’ll notice it takes some use of your muscles to hold yourself here and it will feel very abnormal at first. You can gain strength by using these muscles instead of just hanging on them! Keep working on this and soon your new posture will feel much more normal.

Does anyone feel like they have good sitting posture already?  My bet is not really. Perhaps you try but find yourself slouching forward as the day goes on. Or maybe now, in light of working or homeschooling, you are camped out on the couch, bed, or oversized chair like my kids are?!

A little bit of poor posture is fine. Your body can tolerate some relaxing. But spending hours slouched over, with your big heavy head hanging close to your chest, followed by sleeping all curled up in the fetal position, is simply a recipe for disaster and pain for your spine.

Use the image below as something to work towards as you sit and work today. A support, or lumbar roll (a hand towel rolled up works fine) in your low back will help immensely. You head and upper back follow what your low back does so support yourself there first. Your ears should be in line with your shoulders. Your shoulders should be over your hips. Your elbows, hips, and knees should be at right angles. Your wrists should be neutral (straight), not cocked up or down)! Your eyes should be level with the top of the computer screen you are looking at.

And then most importantly, get up and MOVE every 45 min to hour. This is good for your physical body as well as your mind!

We simply cannot sit all day in slouched posture and then sleep all night in the fetal position and expect our spine to thank us. We need to work on approaching a more neutral spine in order to balance the stresses we are asking it to sustain.

We will begin with side lying as there are just a few simple tips to help make huge impact. Begin by lying on your side with one pillow under your head. In this position, your head should be level (parallel to the ceiling). Have someone check you out and make sure your head is not tipped up or down and your ear is relatively in line with your shoulder.

Now this is the best pro tip I can give! Instead of assuming the fetal position, simply straighten your bottom leg. That’s it. By making this simple change, you straighten out the low back and reduce the forces acting on those discs and muscles. Many people find placing a pillow between the knees helpful (like when we were pregnant ladies).

If you would like help with your side lying posture, take a picture of your best attempt and send us a message. We will give you feedback to help you sleep in your best posture so you can wake and live your best pain free life!

How does this sound friends?  Achievable?  Let’s chat posture.