We have all had our Mom tell us to sit up straight and stop slouching at some point in our life. The reality is, Mom was right. Go figure! When you have poor posture there are a couple of effects on your body.
Starting with your spine. When you slouch or lean forward while working on your computer at a desk you causing increased strain on your back and neck. This increased strain causing wear and tear damage. If left untreated it could lead to pain, degeneration/arthritis and muscle spasms. There was a study that came out a little while back that showed how prolonged sitting caused pressure on the spine. This is why sitting at an office chair for hours on end can be seriously bad for your health. Not only are you inactive, and we all know the benefits of exercise, but you are also causing damage to your vertebral discs. So what is the solution to prevent this. Simply stand up about every 45 minutes and move around. Reset your posture, march in place and do some stretches. Then you can sit back down and get back to work. A short break will make you healthier and more productive.
The second factor is your heart and lungs. When you are slouched down you are compressing your rib cage, this inhibits your chest expansion and puts extra pressure on your heart and lungs. By making these two vital organs work harder you are decreasing your life span. Look at it this way. Your heart is just a muscle and having more pressure on it will make it weaker and wear out faster. Much like if I asked you to hold a book out in front of you with one arm extended. Sure it’s ok at first, but eventually you get tired and the muscle wears down. Now imagine that was your heart.
If you start to feel your shoulders, neck and back tensing up, or feel you are slouching and leaning forward with your head you need to take a short little chiropractic friendly stretching break. Your heart, lungs and spine will thank you in the long run.
If you already have pain and tightness from prolonged sitting and poor posture give me a call and I will get you right in and get you feeling better again. You only get one body so take care of it.
