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This information is very helpful specially for people who work sitting for 8 - 10 hr a day. I would like to throw some light as what Chiropractic Health Care System thinks about it.
When our spine is in line and feeling fine, we can comfortably carry on with a busy and active lifestyle. When our spine is not well however, crippling back pain or nerve disorders like sciatica and weakness can result. Less obvious conditions like digestive difficulties, headache or respiratory problems may also be a result of poor spinal health.
Souching, as you have explained, can affect the spine adversely and cause many spine related disorders including low back pain, herniated disc, neck pain, headaches, pinched nerve, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, sports injuries, work injuries, whiplash, fibromyalgia and many other ailments.
source:
[url= http://www.vancouverspinecarecentre.com] Chiropractor Vancouver [/url]
People often think that if they just "straighten up", they are effectively addressing their poor posture. Working with clients, students and patients has taught me that the condition of muscles significantly contributes to long term slouching habits, and to a great extent you have to untrain, and retrain the muscles. There are some great movement therapies to help with that. If a therapy or exercise program works with the placement or alignment of the pelvis and other bones/joints of the body, strengthens the deep trunk, aka core posture muscles, it will probably help reverse long standing back pain. Another component is the neuromuscular. Systems like Feldenkrais can help one unlearn habits that cause joint and muscle strain, and allow you to return to your natural alignment. Here are a few of my favorite things to do to align the spine:
Feldenkrais
Alexander Technique
Pilates
Anusara or Iyengar yoga
Laban Bartineff
Thomas Hanna Somatics
There are a lot more too!
Anne Asher
Posturally! www.posturally.com
Your Gardening Body www.yourgardeningbody.com
Clear the Blear www.cleartheblear.com
Back and Neck Pain http://backandneck.about.com
Hi Anne, Thank you for your comment. There are many different techniques that one can employ to "Straighten Their Posture"-
Simply making changes to one's workstation can also help one acheive better posture, better breathing and less pain at the end of the day.
Thank you for letting us know other ways to improve one's posture.
- NJ
HI, Nav,
You are welcome. I agree with you about the workstation idea, too. Keeping the joints centered and in neutral position goes a long way toward avoiding those nasty muscle strains and spasms!
Cheers.
Anne
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Posted by Nav J.
How often have you been told that you are slouching? That you should straighten up?
Well, When it comes to preventing tension headaches, perhaps they were giving you excellent advise.
Why is slouching so bad?
A Slouching position puts pressure on your bones, thereby causing discs to become compressed and making you vulnerable to back pain. Also, it causes your pelvic muscles to go slack, which makes it progressively harder to support a well-aligned stance.
Nerves in your neck get pinched as well, causing tight muscles...and tension headaches.
In addition, this posture can cause other problems:
How to check to make sure your posture is normal:
If so, pull your shoulders back, tuck your pelvis forward and make sure your head's not jutted out (I'll bet you look taller now!).
If this exercise shows that you're out of alignment, correct your stance using the string as a guide. Now, simply remember the feeling and adjust your stance whenever you sense that you're posture's out of whack.
You should also check for a proper sitting posture, especially if you spend most of your days at a computer terminal or other job that forces you to sit a lot.
If you're like many people, you probably often cross your legs while you lean forward. You may well find that your head is often jutted out toward your computer screen, which results in your shoulders being rounded and your back being stretched out.
To break these habits, follow these simple tips to have proper posture while sitting:
position: shoulders back, head up, chest out, stomach tight
a. With your hands behind your back, gently pull your shoulders back and maintain this position for one to three minutes
b. Turn your head halfway to the right (or left), then drop your head forward until you feel slight tension. Let the weight of your head gently stretch the neck muscles. Go slowly - no pain! Hold this position for up to two minutes, then turn to the opposite side and repeat.
Remember, an ounce of prevention - in this case, good sitting and standing posture - is worth a pound of cure...especially when we're talking about tension headaches.
To get more information about Tension Headaches read:How to Get Permanent Relief From Chronic Tension Headaches. It will give you several easy-to-follow stretches to do that gradually retrain your muscles to adapt to a proper posture.