Posture What are the Facts?

Posture is a highly talked about topic in health. Lots of people talk about what the correct posture is, what it looks like and what we have to do to obtain it. Generally speaking it is something that is misunderstood and lots of the information provided is quite misleading. In this blog I will be discussing some of the common myths relating to posture and its relationship to pain.

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Myth #1 The perfect posture exists

This is completely incorrect. There is no evidence to suggest that the optimal posture will prevent back or neck pain. To give you a practical example generally people who suffer from neck pain will exhibit a “forward head posture” which is extremely common. However, there is no evidence to suggest that by getting people to hold a more suitable posture that this will reduce their neck pain. It is more likely that due to general lack of movement variety that this person is suffering from neck pain.

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Myth #2 Sitting up straight and tall is the best way to sit

Again this is completely incorrect. Sitting is not dangerous and it is ok to
adapt to comfortable sitting positions. The main thing with this point is
that sitting or any movement for that matter should feel comfortable and
relaxed. Generally speaking most people who suffer from persistent back
or neck pain, the muscles of the body are generally tense and overactive.
Muscles should be relaxed and comfortable regardless of your sitting
posture. One thing to remember though is that sitting for too long can
cause issues and again leads to my first point that lack of movement variety is more the issue.

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Myth #3 Bad posture leads to pain

A certain posture does not cause pain. Despite this common belief, there is no evidence to suggest that “bad posture” causes pain. For example, many people with have an anterior pelvic tilt or a “Donald Duck butt” posture. Previously this provided health professionals with the hypothesis that muscles at the front of the hip were tight and the muscles at the back were weak. Now although this may be true based off an assessment, there is no evidence to suggest that this is a cause of lower back pain.

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Now although this is all quite mind-blowing information, considering everything that we have been told there are some simple, easy and practical things to remember when people talk to you about posture.

Firstly, your next posture is your best posture! This essentially means that the more you move the less issues you will have and the less pain you are likely to have.

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Movement and posture should be relaxed. Instead of continuing to search for the proper sitting or standing posture that will keep you pain free, try to alter what is causing additional tension or stress. When we hold ourselves in a static position, tension will build, we overuse our muscles and our body becomes fatigued . Movement will help release that tension and will help ease your neuromuscular system. Remember Motion is Lotion!

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If you have any further questions related to posture or if you have ongoing pain which you believe to be from your posture than please contact me on the details below.

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Chris Pearson 

Physiotherapist & Accredited Exercise Physiologist