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How often do you spend working away at your desk or sat down generally? Adults reportedly spend more than seven hours a day sitting or lying down, and the older we get, the higher this figure gets (around 10 hours a day or more).1 Why have we mentioned this? Well, sitting down for hours on end can potentially take its toll on our posture and possibly lead to issues with your back muscles.2
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If your posture’s good, your body is correctly aligned and being supported by your muscle and muscle tension.
Having a good posture can:2
Overall, a good posture enables us to sit down or stand up with minimal effort and without putting strain on our body.3
There are two forms of poor posture. The type that can be corrected, and the type where it’s fixed and restricts people’s ability to move.3
The correctable posture is usually caused by sitting or standing in a slouched position; your postural muscles can get used to being in that position. Repeated coughing can also result in people poor postural positions that can potentially cause their back to become stiff or weak over time.
Fixed bad postures tend to develop in people who have breathing difficulties. This is due to the fact their muscles are having to work harder, so aren’t fully dedicated to helping control posture.
The day-to-day effect of, injury, illness, genetics, and gravity on our bodies can all also play a part in impacting people’s postures.4
It’s certainly possible to do some work to help improve your posture. Whether or not you’re able to ‘fix’ a bad posture very much depends on the severity and what’s causing it.
There are lots of different exercises you can follow and tips you can incorporate into your everyday life to help alleviate muscle tension that’s being caused by poor sitting and standing habits.
A lot of this guidance involves pressing the ‘reset’ button on some of old ways of sitting, standing and walking. These may take a little getting used to, and a lot of thinking about at first. However, the more you practice them, the more they should gradually become more of a natural thing.5
By working on it and, as you do, developing strength, flexibility and balance throughout your body.
The more you work on your posture and become aware of your overall body alignment (or aches and pains that you may not have really given much thought about until now), the more you’ll recognise what’s great and not so great about your posture.
Working on your posture is something that can easily be incorporated into your everyday routine. You just need to get into the habit of doing certain posture-correction exercises or do some all-round good.
What it’s good for:
Stretching and lengthening your spine, glutes and hamstrings and releasing tension in your lower back muscles and neck.6
What it’s good for:
Releases tension in your spine, hamstrings and glutes and stretching your hips and legs.8
What it’s good for:
Strengthening your back shoulder muscles, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back and core muscles.9
What they’re good for:
Releasing tension and pressure in and around your buttocks and lower back.10
What it’s good for:
Balancing out your body, strengthening and aligning your back muscles.11
Whether you work from home or in an office, maintaining the right posture while you’re working is key. So if you’re looking to optimise your desk posture, follow these steps below:12
From releasing tension in the deep muscles of the back to stretching your postural muscles, these exercises should help you to improve your overall posture. Inspired by these moves and stretches? Discover five different yoga sessions and find the best one for you, right here on the Health Hub.
Joined Holland & Barrett: Aug 2020
Master’s Degree in Food Science and Technology Engineering and BSc in Dietetics
Andrea started her career as a clinical dietitian and lecturer at a university hospital, managing the dietetic treatment of patients with various diseases, and giving lectures in nutrition for medical students.
Later she worked as a Product Developer at a sport nutrition company where she developed food supplements and fortified foods, and ensured that the products complied with the relevant regulations.