How many times have we been told to stand up straight? Or that slumping is bad for us?
All too often, ‘poor’ posture is blamed for back pain – by sitting, standing or bending ‘incorrectly’. However there is an absence of strong evidence to support this claim.
So now we’re going to go through some surprising facts about posture, that may change your mindset on the ‘perfect’ posture…
- There is NO single correct postureThere is no strong evidence that one, single optimal posture exists or that by avoiding ‘incorrect’ postures we will prevent back pain from occurring. Back pain is influenced by a multitude of different factors, including your physical activity, stress and sleep, to name but a few. Back pain is common and normal – around 80% of us will experience back pain. So why we may not like it, know that most of us will likely experience it and it will not be purely down to your posture!
- Differences in posture are normal!People come in different shapes and sizes, with different variations to the curvature of their spines. There is no single variation that is strongly associated with pain.
- The spine is robust and can be trustedOur spine is an incredibly strong and stable structure, that is designed to move. However, pain can cause us to fear or avoid movement and sit in an upright, tense posture. This is a natural protective mechanism, however, this tends to guard and ‘brace’ the spine to movement, which in turn can cause more muscle tension and often more pain. Often, making sense of your pain, relaxing and learning to move in a better, more fluid way can ease back pain and allow you to get back to the things that you enjoy.
- It is safe to adopt more comfortable posturesWe’re often told to avoid slouching, however this is often where we feel comfortable! Trying to ‘sit up straight’ for long periods of time is hard work! Think of slouching and sitting up straight just as variations to your spines normal movement. It is completely safe to adopt these postures but the key here is to listen to your body and to move often! You may notice aches and pains occurring when you’ve been sitting but this is completely natural. It’s your body’s inbuilt building system sending you signals to ask you to change position.
There is not a ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to posture and positioning. There is no such thing as perfect posture. If you’ve been used to sitting or standing a certain way for a long period of time, then it may feel unusual and potentially uncomfortable to start off with, to sit or move in a different posture or position. This doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is wrong or that you’re causing damage, it’s just that your body is not used to it.
The key is to have variations in your posture, being able to move from one position to another, and feeling relaxed doing so. Sometimes we slump. Sometimes we sit up straight. And that’s ok! Moving, changing position and being physically active are much higher predictors of reducing and preventing pain, than trying to achieve that ‘perfect posture’.
