A ‘good posture’ is the standing or sitting position where your body is aligned and balanced with minimal stress on your joints, ligaments and muscles. When sitting or standing in the same position for a long period of time it is important that you have this correct alignment to avoid injury. In addition to preventing joint pain and injury, a good posture brings a number of other health benefits. These include better lung expansion and digestion, an improved mood and higher energy levels.
The correct posture in standing and sitting is as follows:
Standing:
· Ensure you weight is evenly distributed across both feet and that your feet are approximately hip distance apart
· Keep your knees soft, not locked
· Your pelvis should be level and not tilted forwards or backwards
· Your core should be engaged, supporting the spine
· Your shoulder blades should be held back and down keeping the chest open
· Stand up tall with you chin slightly tucked in
Sitting
· Ensure your feet are resting on the floor (or on a foot rest)
· Your knees should be at hip height, or slightly lower
· Sit upright with your shoulder blades held back and down
· Maintain the curve in your lower back to avoid slouching
· Hold your neck in a neutral position with your chin slightly tucked in and with your gaze straight ahead
Maintaining a good posture is important while undertaking any activity, especially at work, where we often spend long periods of time in the same position. If you have a desk based job, then making sure your work environment is appropriately set up to maintain a good posture is essential.
If you have a job where you put your body in awkward positions try and make adjustments where possible to promote good posture. Where this is not possible, ensure you take regular breaks and keep yourself fit and healthy with general exercise as this will improve your core strength and help avoid injury.
If you are suffering with any pain then please discuss this with our physiotherapists who can advise on how to resolve the problem.