Maintain Your Posture

The best way to improve or maintain your posture is to always practice good posture, when sitting, standing, or moving. Practicing good posture is not always as easy as it sounds, especially for some of us who have forgotten what good posture feels like. The following two exercises can help bring back that good posture feeling.


Tips for maintaining good posture while sitting:

Sit with back firmly against chair; chair should be low enough to allow placement of both feet on the floor with knees slightly higher than hips.
Keep your head up and avoid leaning forward. If you work long hours at a desk or typewriter,keep your chair close-in to the desk top to help maintain your upright position.
If you feel your low back arching forward while sitting, cross your legs or put your feet up on a stool.
Other Exercises You Can Do:
O nly after a complete postural evaluation as provided by a physical therapist can you identify your particular postural problems. At that time you may be given specific exercises to correct them. One problem common to most people with poor posture is weakness of the lower abdominal muscles. If your lower abdomen sags and bulges, you can be sure the muscles there are weak. The best way to strengthen these muscles is to participate in an exercise that isolates and actively uses them. Contrary to popular belief, sit-ups do not always accomplish this goal. In fact, sit-ups, when done improperly, often cause unnecessary strain on back muscles and may cause additional complications. The following exercise, although not as vigorous as a sit-up, is perfect for tightening the lower abdominal muscles.

Good Posture For Life
Changes occur naturally in your body as you grow older. These changes can influence your posture and make it more difficult to maintain a good posture or correct a poor posture.
Some of the physical changes that occur:
The disks between the spinal segments become less resilient and give in more readily to external forces, such as gravity and body weight.
Muscles become less flexible.

Compression and deterioration of the spine, commonly seen in individuals with osteoporosis, cause an increased flexed, or bent forward, posture.
Lifestyles usually become more sedentary. Sitting for long periods of time shortens various
muscles, which results in the body being pulled into poor postural positions, and stretches and weakens other muscles, which allows the body to slump. Despite the changes that occur naturally with aging, good posture can be maintained and, for many, poor posture improved. In individuals with severe postural problems, such as poor alignments that have existed so long that structural changes have occurred, the poor posture can be kept from getting progressively worse. In any case, all of us must consciously work at achieving and maintaining good posture as we grow older.

Tips for Maintaining Good

Posture Throughout Your Life

Throughout each day, concentrate on keeping your three natural back curves in balanced alignment.
Keep your weight down; excess weight exerts a constant forward pull on the back muscles and stretches and weakens muscles in the abdomen.
M Avoid staying in one position for long periods of time; inactivity causes muscle tension and weakness.
Sleep on a firm mattress & use a pillow under your head just big enough to maintain the
normal cervical-neck-curve. Avoid use of oversized or several pillows.
Exercise regularly; exercise promotes strong and flexible muscles that keep you upright in a proper postural position.
Protect your back by using good body mechanics;bend your knees when picking something up or putting it down; carry a heavy object by using two hands and keeping the load close to your waist.
Wear comfortable and well-supported shoes. Avoid continuous use of high-heeled or platform shoes, which distort the normal shape of the foot and throw the back’s natural curves out of alignment.
Walk with good posture; keep head erect with chin parallel to the ground, allow arms to swing naturally, and keep feet pointed in the direction you are going.