Posture Fixes that Won't Make You Look Ridiculous at Work

The following is a version of a talk I gave at Fidelity Insurance about the importance of proper posture and spinal awareness (I don't know if thats a real term).  It has been edited.

There is no such thing as perfect posture.  Everyone has different bone structure, muscle lengths and insertion points.  

There is no one “right way” to hold your body, trying to do so can cause problems.  Sitting and standing can be equally bad or good depending on the time spent in each position and the quality of each.  Standing with an intense lean to one side is just as bad as sitting for a prolonged period of time. It is impossible to sit perfectly all day every day.  

Bad posture is a position that hinders the natural movement and/or position of your spine.  It forces your body to compensate by limiting ROM or transferring force to another part of your anatomy.  For example if your hips slide forward on the chair it will make your upper back round, pushing your shoulders and scapula out of position causing you to look like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

There are three areas of the spine.  They are all differently but equally affected by bad posture, and bad physical habits.  These problems cause pain and/or performance issues in the gym.

The cervical spine is your neck and extreme upper back.  

The thoracic spine is your mid back, between the shoulder blades.  

The lumbar spine is your lower back including your pelvis and hips.

Some common examples of postural related problems are:

1. Tight pec minor from hunched shoulders

2. Tight Hip Flexors from hips sliding forward

3. Rib cage locked from hunched shoulders

4. Lack of rotation in both hips and upper back

5. General lack of stability throughout the body due to reinforced poor posture and mechanics

How to Easily Fix These Problems

 Step 1 is always awareness.

You have to be aware of a problem to fix it.  Indicators you have an issue could be pain, feeling “locked up” or hearing weird noises from that part of your body.

 Step 2 is breathing, but both breathing and movement work in tandem.  

Proper movement and breathing patterns are the goal.  Many of the “desk problem” areas are also highly involved in respiration.

Your upper back takes a beating from hunching over a desk.  Those small but important bunches of muscles are also heavily involved in stressful breathing patterns.  Mental stress causes a physical reaction like your shoulders rising towards your ears, and your upper back muscles tightening.

Having poor breathing patterns reinforces that position, and strengthens the muscles while they are holding that compensatory position.  You get stressed, you get tight and then you breathe into the tightness.

Step 3 is movement.

Movement of your body and movement of the soft tissue within your body.  Soft tissue refers to the muscles and the fascia surrounding the muscles.

The goal is to incorporate proper movement patterns throughout your day.  You want to perform a proper hip hinge when picking things up off the ground, not letting your back round into extreme flexion.  

Another aim is to also make sure your soft tissue (muscle) is able to move without any compensatory patterns, knots or other issues blocking it.  We’ll do this by introducing a concept called self myofascial release or instrument assisted myofascial release. They both just mean that you’re going to learn how to massage trouble areas with simple things like a pen or your thumbs.

How to incorporate these strategies for each “Problem area”

Cervical Spine

Breathing:

This is a strategy called parasympathetic breathing.  Essentially you want to control the placement and tempo of your breath to relax your stressed out muscles and convince your Central Nervous System to relax and begin the process of recovery.

In the video I demonstrate on my back but this can be performed in any position.  

Place one hand on your abs and one hand on your chest.  Breathe deeply and slowly, each inhale should be about 3-5 seconds.  Concentrate on breathing into your abdomen.  Only the lower hand should rise, the hand on your chest should not move.  Hold that breath and exhale just as slowly.  Perform as long and as often as needed. 

This is the only breathing strategy you need.

Movement:

1. Desk Scalene Stretch.

2. Desk Neck Rolls

Myofascial Release:

All of these videos utilize an Accumobility ball, but you can use your fingers or something non threatening in its place.  You also do not need to use a wall.

Thoracic Spine 

Movement:

1. Desk Lat Stretch

Here is an additional article on shoulder rolls and scapular retraction strategies. 

Lumbar Spine.  

A big problem today is Anterior Pelvic Tilt.  It’s a situation where your hips rock forward and place a ton of pressure on the lumbar discs.

Hips and glutes are the most common culprit when it comes to lower back pain.  If you can implement proper movement of your hips, and strengthen the glutes 9 out of 10 times you’ll fix your lower back pain.

Most recent studies have shown that strength training properly is the most potent “cure” to lower back disk degeneration and other problems.

Movement:

1. Hip Flexor Stretch

Here is another article with many more strategies for fixing your pelvic position and beating lower back pain for good!

Posture throughout the day and ingraining proper movement patterns is an essential aspect of high performance in the gym and pain free life outside of it.

All of these will help, but the only way to truly be pain free is to get stronger and improve the quality of both your soft tissue and joints.
 

Check out our Online Offerings

If you're ready to train fill this out