Posture Tips To Help You Move and Exercise Better

By Lynne E. Baldrighi

Moving properly is harder to do than you think. In today’s world, there’s a lot of sitting – in traffic, at the computer, in meetings, watching TV. You have seen recent new stories about “tech neck” (neck bent, head down, shoulders rolling forward looking at a laptop, or phone) creating tremendous strain on the neck.

Sitting for hours tightens the hip area, called hip flexors, which involve lots of muscles – shortening and getting tight. We’ve all heard about getting up every 30 minutes to walk around to counter some of those effects. Standing desks, or stability balls for sitting at a desk are popular. But these aren’t fixes to the problem of proper alignment – you’ve still got to pay close attention to your body’s posture to even benefit from those innovative approaches.

It’s All About Proper Posture

Here’s why. It’s all about proper posture. Feet straight forward, knees slightly relaxed, hips neutral (this is a tough one – not hyperextended in a tilt up at your rear, or tucked up to the front (posterior and anterior pelvic tilts)) – shoulders neutral on a straight back, head neutral and aligned with the spine. Then, pull in your navel – and in fact, slightly contract your abs. That’s proper standing position. Proper sitting is the same, and a flat back, without overextending, is critical.

This is all absolutely correct technique. But, what people don’t want to acknowledge is, almost all of us are starting with various misalignments. For example, things that impact proper transfer of force when you exercise, lift weights or run.

A curved spine, one leg shorter than the other, flat feet, and injuries that healed changing your biomechanics. All these can be very effectively addressed with a good sports medicine chiropractor. It can be frustrating to think that the treatments extend into months, maybe years. But recall that it took decades to develop your condition, and it’s going to take some time to rectify.

Human movement is something we take for granted. Think about how much better your life would be if you could move – properly.