Posture and Ergonomics

We offer advice and practical solutions to combat poor posture.

What is posture?

Posture is our bodies position in sitting, standing and lying against the force of gravity acting against it. It is how we hold ourselves in different positions to reduce stresses on our joints and muscles. Adopting a poor posture position will increase our chances of causing injury to our bodies, in particular our spine. Our spine is designed to curve at key areas in order to load our vertebrae and discs evenly. Our muscular system should support this ideal posture, but when we deviate from this ideal, then injury can occur, through abnormal stresses and strains.

How does posture impact on your pain and lifestyle?

When our spine is not in its correct alignment, known as neutral spine then our vertebrae will not align properly and wear and tear can accelerate at the areas that are not loading correctly. Furthermore, muscles supporting that area will be working harder to protect you, usually increasing their tone, which can lead to tension and tightness.If we practice bad postural habits in our life, at work and in our leisure time, then the chances are that we will not be able to function optimally and at some stage we will stress an area enough for it to fatigue or become injured.

What can we do to improve posture and how can it reduce your pain?

Good posture will allow correct alignment, a better overall range of mobility and a normal muscle tone, due to muscles being able to work normally and not being overstressed. In order to assist a good posture we can re-educate you to teach good habits. We may need to use manual therapy to help restore alignment and normalise muscle tone. Exercises to strengthen core are a big part of improving posture and reducing pain. It is thought that by strengthening our core muscles, we can reduce back pain by up to 80%. See our page on exercise prescription to learn more about core strength exercises.