Improve Your Posture

Improve your posture and spinal health at Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy

If you want an example of good posture, just look at a young child – their back shows a graceful ‘S’ curve and their movements are easy and effortless. As we get older, bad habits such as slouching and inactivity cause muscle tightness, joint stiffness and muscle fatigue that ultimately leads to poor posture.

The complications of poor posture include low back pain, neck pain, thoracic pain, headaches, shoulder pain, nerve pain, spinal dysfunction, joint degeneration, rounded shoulders and a potbelly.

Be aware of the early warning signs of postural pain. Check your posture, have a break and stretch, and if the pain persists go and see a physiotherapist at Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy. We will show you how to remain mobile during long periods of sitting, attain optimal standing and sitting posture, and strengthen your spinal stabilisers to allow you to maintain proper posture for longer.

Avoid neck pain with bad posture

 

 

Poor Neck Posture:

  • Protruded chin
  • Restricted neck movement
  • Restricted shoulder movement
  • Rounded shoulders
  • Rounded upper back
  • Upper back pain (thoracic pain)
  • Neck pain
  • Headaches and migraines
  • Cervical muscle fatigue

Poor Lower Back Posture:

  • Slumped sitting
  • Lower back stiffness
  • Low back pain
  • Bent knees when standing or walking
  • Tight hip flexor muscles
  • Weak buttocks and abdominals
  • Increased lumbar curve
  • Potbelly
  • Lumbar muscle fatigue

 

Muscle Length & Joint Stiffness

The old principle “if you don’t use it, you lose it’ holds – poor posture weakens your deep spinal stabilisers through inactivity. Weak muscles tend to tighten and this muscle shortening leads to joint stiffness, making it harder for you to attain the ideal posture position. Our physiotherapists can help you become more flexible with manual hands-on therapy and some exercises, so that you are better equipped to hold the ideal posture position for longer.

 

Muscle Strength

Holding the correct posture requires some effort. If your spinal stabilisers are weak or lack endurance they will fatigue quickly meaning you will fall back into your poor posture habits. Our physiotherapists can help your spinal stabilisers become stronger, so that you can hold the ideal posture position for longer.

 

Listen to your body

In most cases, concentrating on other tasks (such as work) can direct attention away from any feelings of physical discomfort associated with poor posture. Get into the habit of regularly tuning in to your body to maintain correct posture. If you feel muscle tension or fatigue, move around and take a break.

Standing posture

How Sport & Spinal Physio can help your posture

Our physiotherapists can help you attain correct posture with:

  • A physiotherapy assessment of your current sitting and standing posture and correct alignment where necessary
  • Providing advice on optimal workstation set-up
  • Demonstrating correct lifting technique
  • Providing postural exercises to be performed at work
  • Strengthening exercises of your deep lower back stabilisers with dynamic core stability training and real time ultrasound
  • Strengthening exercises of your deep neck stabilisers
  • Stretching and mobility exercises
  • Massage therapy for muscle tightness and physiotherapy joint mobilisations for joint stiffness
  • Orthotics from our podiatrists
  • FREE cervical pillow assessment – we assess your sleeping position and body proportions to determine the ideal pillow for optimal neck position during sleeping
  • Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy has an extensive range of pillows and lumbar rolls to help improve your posture