Why is “Good Posture” Important?
Having “good posture” is very important for keeping the body pain-free and healthy. When posture worsens over time, pain and other problems become more common. Abnormal posture leads to increased muscle effort needed by your body to just hold you up. This leads to muscle tension and tightness. In addition certain postural habits (like slouching forward) increase pressure on the discs in between the bones of your neck, upper back and low back. This pressure weakens the disc and leads to disc injuries, such as disc bulges and herniations.
Sitting in a chair actually places more stress on your spinal discs than standing. To make things worse, most people tend to slouch forward when they sit at their desks for an extended period of time. In turn, this can overstretch your spinal ligaments and put even more pressure on the discs in the low back.
Standing straight and tall is ideal to minimize pressure on the discs and joints of the spine. Your ear should align vertically over your shoulder. The shoulder should be directly over your hip… and the hip over the ankle. Sitting posture is also important. When sitting in any seat, you should focus on having your ear over your shoulder and shoulder over your hip. Basically sit up straight! This minimizes pressure on the joints and muscles of the spine, and leads to a future with less pain