These days, bad posture across the population is an all-too-common issue. In fact, it’s more common to see people with poor posture than it is to see people with ideal posture. Luckily, there are some easy fixes for this posture epidemic.
In this article, we’ll review the top three ways to improve your posture through tried and true methods. You don’t need drugs and you don’t need surgery; all you need to do is to implement the following practices into your daily routine.
Posture Fix #1: Exercise Often
In your travels, you’ve probably come across the term: “Exercise is Medicine”. This phrase has now become mainstream, indicating that people should treat exercise as if it is a drug or medication, rather than simply a practice that can increase strength, flexibility, and endurance.
With regard to posture, exercise can significantly help to push the shoulders back into alignment, straighten out the back, and keep the hips in optimal position. Best of all, exercise can be thought of as a dose-response relationship. This means that the more exercise you perform, the better the effect will be.
Of course, it should be stated that this dose-response relationship has its limits. If you start lifting heavy weights every single day or running 150 miles a week, you may actually start to suffer ill effects!
For improving posture, you should aim to perform resistance training exercises about 3 days a week, flexibility exercises 5 days a week, and cardiovascular exercise for a total of 150 minutes per week.
The resistance training component should consist of total body exercises that emphasize large movements. This will slowly start to strengthen weak muscles in your body that can help to maintain your posture.
Flexibility exercises for posture can be performed every day, but 5 days a week is sufficient. You should aim to perform stretches that pull you out of your bad posture. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and repeat every movement at least 4 times.
When it comes to cardiovascular exercise, you can really do any activity you like. Walking, biking, swimming; as long as it gets your heart pumping, go for it!
Posture Fix #2: Modify Your Work Set-Up
Ergonomics is a key consideration when discussing posture. The position you’re in during the workday puts tremendous stress on your body. Therefore, you need to find ways to improve your work set-up in order to minimize injuries and decrease the chances of developing poor posture.
When it comes to desk set-ups, you should strive to achieve the 90-90-90 position. This means keeping your elbows, knees, and ankles at 90-degree angles while working. This puts less stress on all involved joints and helps to keep you in perfect posture.
Furthermore, you may need to use extra pillows or pads to keep your back straight while you’re sitting. This doesn’t require any fancy equipment: even a small pillow or towel can be placed behind your low back in order to cue yourself for better posture. Truly, simple, low-cost solutions can go a long way toward improving your postural alignment.
Posture Fix #3: Visit Your Local Parker Chiropractor
Beyond exercising and modifying your desk set-up, you can also help your posture by seeing your chiropractor regularly. You don’t even need to be in pain to visit your chiropractor: they can be a great means of preventative care and wellness for all of your health needs.
If you are ready to see what chiropractic care can do for you, come see your Parker chiropractor at Awaken Chiropractic today. Book your appointment now!
