Jun 30

Written by:
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 

Assume a slouching position. Some of us are already in that position, right? See how your lower back is rounded and your head and neck are falling forward? See how your head is forward of the center of your shoulder and your center of gravity has shifted. Now your upper body moves backward to compensate for that. Look out... your hips have moved forward to compensate for your upper body moving backward. Test time. Try to pull your head and neck backward while in that position. Stop! That is not comfortable at all and you do not want to force it.

You just confirmed something you already knew. How you sit is important. Do you already have neck pain? Do you wake up in the morning with a stiff neck and blame it on how you slept? Do you have shoulder and back discomfort as well?

Obviously, you cannot avoid sitting, but you can be more aware of your posture. As you sit, your muscles have to hold your neck, shoulders and trunk in a fixed position. That results in decreased blood supply to your muscles and eventually they become fatigued. Add that head forward position and you are demanding that your muscles work even harder. Over time your body will rebel.

However, there are four easy things you can do to help yourself.

• Take a break every hour.
• Stand up and take a short walk if you can.
• Do some stretching exercises.
• Be mindful of your posture.

If you are at the point where you need some temporary relief, make an appointment for a massage. Your therapist can release the tension from those areas giving you trouble.