Posture is the way the body assumes itself. Sitting, standing, walking, bending, and sleeping are all aspects of posture. No matter what position the body is in, it is essential that we are aware of our posture and maintain it to prevent various health issues. Many people neglect posture and ignore the importance of maintaining good posture. Most of us do not even realize its implications for our health. This is why we must learn the importance of maintaining correct posture.
What Is the Importance of Maintaining a Good Posture?
Our brain is the control center of our bodies and controls the rest of our body via our spinal cord. Our spinal cord is a dense system of nerves that runs from our brain all the way down to our tailbone and helps carry out all our voluntary and involuntary actions. A strong system of bone and cartilage protects our spinal cord. Our spine is naturally curved in an S shape, which is its neutral state. We must always maintain this shape to prevent postural problems and spinal misalignment. Attempting to flatten out the spine or to overbend the spine persistently is not recommended for the spine. The following unexpected problems can occur when you don't maintain good posture.
Indigestion
Heartburn and indigestion are common with slouching and incorrect postures. Slouching and hunched postures can pressure the abdominal muscles, causing stomach acid to squirt into the gastrointestinal tract. This can cause acidity and GERD symptoms. Slouching can also result in slowing down the movement of food along the digestive tract.
Breathing Problems
This might come as a surprise, but slouching can cause breathing and respiratory problems in people who tend to hunch their backs. Slouching can result in tightening and stiffening of the chest muscles, making breathing difficult.
Incontinence
Incontinence is the inability to control your bladder resulting in leakage of urine. Slouching and incorrect posture can put a lot of pressure on the abdominal organs, which in turn press on the bladder resulting in loss of bladder control and leakage of urine.
Constipation
Sitting with your knees lower than your hips or a slouched posture on the toilet can result in constipation. This position is unfavorable for passing a bowel movement as it causes the anus to close. Constipation is characterized by fewer than four bowel movements in a week and hard and dry stools.
Steps You Can Take for Good Posture
Since we now understand the importance of good posture, we must learn the steps that we can take to ensure that we do not suffer from postural problems:
First and foremost, we must be aware of what good posture is. Without knowing what good posture is, we cannot correct and maintain it.
Depending on the nature of our work, we must watch the way we maintain our posture at work. We must assume the correct sitting posture if we spend most of our day sitting behind a desk. Here is the correct sitting posture
The Correct Sitting Posture
People with desk jobs spend up to 8 hours a day or more behind a desk in the sitting position. This can be highly harmful to the body and the posture and is the most common cause for early onset of chronic back and shoulder pain in office goers. You must maintain the correct sitting posture while at work and invest in a good-quality ergonomic chair to sit on while in the office.
Sit with your feet firmly and flat on the ground
Sit with your hips and thighs completely resting on the seat
Your knees should not be bent more than 90 degrees
Your ankles should be situated behind your knees
Do not cross your legs
Rest your arms at 90 degrees to your body on an armrest
Your shoulders should be relaxed and not raised or rolled forward
Your feet should not hang above the ground
You should look for an ergonomic chair that provides adequate back and lumbar support. The seat should be comfortable and cushioned to support your hips and thighs, and the chair should have a height adjustability function to ensure you are working at the correct height. You should not bend your head or upper back while working.
How to Maintain Good Posture at Work
Good posture is the kind that is ideal for your body and ensures that there is no strain or tension in any part of your body. You must maintain good posture so that your spine, head, shoulders, neck, arms, and legs are in perfect harmony and a relaxed state. Here are the correct postures that everyone should be familiar with and should be aware of at all times. When you feel that your posture is incorrect, you must make an effort to correct it and invest in aids that can help maintain and correct your posture. It also helps to get support from family, friends, and work colleagues who you spend the most amount of time with so that they can constantly remind you to correct your posture as well.
The Correct Standing Posture
Stand straight and tall with your head held high and look straight ahead as though focusing on something at eye level in the distance
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
Keep your back straight, and your tummy tucked in
Keep your shoulders relaxed and not raised or hunched
Your arms should be relaxed and hanging by your side
Your knees should not be bent
Your neck and upper back should not be bent
The Correct Bending Posture
If your job requires you to do bending and lifting tasks, then you must do them correctly. This is the proper way to bend:
Often we drop something and bend to pick it up; we bend to pick babies up or even lift weights or boxes while moving. You should always remember that there is a correct way to bend and lift heavy objects. Ignoring this important point can result in serious injuries.
Stand near the item you need to pick up
Maintain feet at a distance of shoulder width
Bend your knees down until you are at the same level as the object you have to lift
Hold the object with both hands, do not bend your back, and keep your tummy tucked in.
Hold the object close to your body, gently straighten your knees, and get up.
You may now place the object where it needs to be placed or walk with it.
If you are a student and spend a lot of your time sitting at your work desk studying for your exams or working on school projects, you must be careful to watch your posture. Invest in a good-quality ergonomic chair to maintain the correct sitting and studying posture for optimum studying and enhanced focus and concentration.
Ergonomic Chair
Whether it is exam time or you are working on a school paper, if you or your child prefers to work on a study desk, their workstation must be as comfortable as possible. Ergonomic chairs are designed to reduce fatigue and pain and give students a productive and comfortable experience while studying on their study chairs.
The following features make the perfect study chair:
It can be raised or lowered according to the user's height to ensure that the feet rest firmly on the ground
It has a seat that is big enough to accommodate users of all sizes
The seat fabric is made out of mesh or breathable material so that the user is comfortable and doesn't feel too hot
The seat should have adequate lumbar support for the spine
The seat should have a swivel and movable function for easy access to the workstation and the room
The seat should have armrests to allow the elbows to rest at ninety degrees
The Final Word
If you are struggling with maintaining good posture and are unaware of what good posture is, speak to your healthcare provider or a chiropractor to help explain this to you better. If you spend a lot of time sitting behind a desk in the office or at home, be sure to invest in good quality ergonomic furniture to maintain the health of your spine. Flexispot has fantastic office desk options as well as an office chair and study chair options. Be sure to invest in quality ergonomic furniture to avoid postural and other medical problems.
