In modern days, people increasingly suffer from neck, shoulder and lower back pain. As they spend longer hours on computers and looking down at their smart phones, more people fail to have upright postures either when sitting or standing; bent necks and twisted lower backs are common in many people. Over time, their incorrect posture puts more pressure on their neck and lower back, and eventually will lead to decline of overall body balance and health.
Here are some simple but effective tips to keep the right posture and recover the balance on the body. If you keep it in mind, it will definitely help you.
<Pulling Your Chin Down>
Especially when working with a computer, people tend to stretch their neck out without realizing it. Also, when using a personal device like a smart phone, their eye level goes down dropping their head, which puts undue stress on the neck.
If the head stays in front of the shoulders, the overall balance of the body breaks. Moreover, muscles on the neck get stressed as they have to hold a heavy head up, which in turn causes pain on both shoulders. If the spine sits in an unnatural shape it will bring fatigue to the body. The chest and upper belly get overloaded and it eventually causes indigestion.
A simple way to relax your neck and keep the right posture is to “pull your chin down”.
Relax your neck and tuck your chin slightly toward your chest. Then, your lower back and chest automatically straighten.
When reading books or using a computer or a smart phone, keep it at your eye level so that your head does not drop down.
<Standing Upright>
The following are bad habits that can ruin the balance of the spine: to stand on one leg, to carry a bag on one shoulder, and to put stuff only in the pockets on one side of the body.
A good standing posture is not to totally relax your body, but keep your chest upright and stretch your lower back backward. When the lower back looks like “S”, it is the best posture.
<Avoid these Familiar Postures>
1.Cross your legs
It is already well known that this posture must be avoided as it twists pelvis and pressures the spine. It even makes ligaments, muscles and nerves around pelvic bones swollen. It is a dangerous posture that it might cause a herniated lumbar disc and scoliosis.
2. Cup your chin in your hand
If you repeatedly cup your chin in your hand, asymmetric force is applied to the neck bone and thus twists the neck bone joints. It might contribute to cervical disc problems and also twisted jawbone and set of teeth.
3. Sit back (rest your lower back too much on a chair)
If you sit back and rest your lower back on a chair, it stretches your spine straight. This might lead to a herniated lumbar disc and scoliosis.
Do you feel more comfortable when you have incorrect postures?
This is because your body got used to incorrect postures as it has been cognized in your brain and has already become a habit. From now on, let’s change our habits and try the correct posture every day for our healthy and balanced body.
