Thank you for coming back; no pun intended. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get started making your back feel better.
Are you sitting down? I am willing to bet you are. Since you are sitting down, lets start there. People who sit in the same position for three or more hours a day typically have lower back pain. Is there any wonder? Look at how you are sitting now-no don’t change anything yet because the key to making any needed changes is to clearly understand how you are sitting now. Here are your postural questions.
- Are you sitting with your back straight or are you slouched?
- Are you shoulders back and down or hunched forward?
- Are your legs comfortably placed on the ground shoulder length apart or hanging off the edge of the chair, or are your legs crossed?
- Is your head leaning forward or is it erect and upright on your neck?
- Is your belly button pulled in?
- Are your arms comfortably supported by either a good ergonomic chair or a table or are you having to support the weight of your arms?
- And, lastly, how does your back feel? Tight, painful or strong? Do you have pain or numbness anywhere along your legs or in your buttocks?
We will stop right here with questions today and start on suggestions. I purposefully waited until late in the day to do this article so you would be suffering from lower back pain from sitting, if you were going to suffer.
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No let’s address the issues we uncovered as the first step in your back health.
Sitting Position Action Items/Activity Triggers
- Sit up erect in your chair with your back straight and your shoulders should be rolled back, down and square.
- Your Buttocks should be touching the back of your chair.
- Your feet should be firmly planted on the ground with your knees at the same height as your hips or slightly higher. A footstool or footrest is a very simple thing.
- Your legs should not be crossed.
If you have been sitting for a while, stand up like I just did and stretch. As, a matter of fact, try to stand up and stretch once every 30 minutes. We will cover stretching over a few different blogs a little later as part of the back series.
Take care and enjoy the first steps, or sits, to a better feeling back!