Working for a better posture? Here are 5 things to avoid.

Wearing high heels regularly changes the body's center of gravity .

Building and maintaining a good posture requires consistent and dedicated work. You would also need to make changes in our lifestyle. There are many small things in our everyday lives, which have a bad impact on our health and posture. Some are so obvious we hardly pay any attention to them. If you want to change your posture habits, however, you would need to consider these. Here are 5 things to avoid as you build your good posture:

High heels and uncomfortable shoes

Тhe Internet is a fascinating place where you can find page long debates on comfy ugly shoes. Tempting as it may be to dive into the debate, we are here to remind you how important it is to wear comfortable shoes. Comfortable shoes engage all muscles evenly without causing tension, unlike high heels. Wearing high heels regularly changes the body's center of gravity [1]. The body puts extra pressure on the knees, tendons, hips, and back to adjust to the new position. This leads to back pain and neck pain.

Carrying heavy load or lifting weights

Working out in the gym is one of the most common sports activities worldwide. Did you know that it is not the best choice for those of us who suffer from back problems or want to improve our posture? The reason is that most of the exercises focus on lifting weights. Back exercises should focus on flexibility and muscle balance. If your back problems come from muscle imbalance they can get worse. If you feel like hitting the gym is your best option, we recommend training with a professional trainer

Back exercises should focus on flexibility and muscle balance.

Leading a sedentary lifestyle

Being mindful of the weight you carry doesn’t mean you need to take a back seat. It is important to be as active as possible, in fact. Find some time to stretch, walk and exercise every day. Also, don’t forget to take occasional breaks at work. Get out of your chair and check the view from the window, take a short walk or even do some office yoga. If exercising late isn’t your thing, then consider waking up early to exercise and take a shower before work. Make it fun, put your motivational playlist on or listen to a podcast.

Get out of your chair and check the view from the window...

Poor sleeping habits

Improving your sleeping habits can do a lot to relieve back pain, sustain good posture, and improve sleep quality. The idea here is to keep the spine in a neutral position and the head in line with the spine. If you are a side sleeper, reduce the number of pillows to 1. Sleeping on your stomach isn’t recommended but you can try placing a small pillow on your stomach. If you sleep on your back, put a small pillow on the back of your knees [2].

Travel adjustments

When traveling, make sure to pack light. If you are backpacking, check that the backpack fits you well and the weight is distributed evenly. If you have to lift, squat and lift the load, use your arm and leg muscles while keeping your back straight. Keep the load close to your body. When traveling in a vehicle, check if your legs are supported. The body can easily get stressed out by continuous traveling and time zone differences. So stay active, drink water and eat fresh food to keep it running.

We hope you learned something new today. Or maybe you realized that common sense is oftentimes good sense. Low back pain relief is a great perk that comes with good posture. It is all in the mindset! So, don’t think of these tips as limitations but more as posture hack tips. Do you have any posture tips you want to share?

Stay active, drink water and eat fresh food!

References:

[1] Weitkunat, T., Buck, F.M., Jentzsch, T. et al. Eur Spine J (2016) 25: 3658 https[:]//doi[.]org/10.1007/s00586-016-4621-2

[2] Trina et a.l Good Sleeping Posture Helps Your Back. University of Rochester Medical Center

www[.]urmc[.]rochester[.]edu/encyclopedia/content[.]aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=4460