Remember when your mom told you to “stand up straight!” or “Sit properly”, well she has good reasons behind it. One of the most common problems that we encounter every day is body pain. May it be back pain, neck pain, or shoulder pain it can affect your daily activities. Proper posture is one of the things that Physical Therapists swear by. According to experts, two of the most important ways to manage pain are exercise and postural correction. We’ll be giving you tips and exercises to help you start your journey in correcting your posture and eventually pain as well.
Your physical therapist can teach you the proper ways to sit and stand properly. Let’s face it, maintaining proper posture is a challenge for all of us. Many people forget proper posture especially when they drive when they work- it’s just hard to be mindful about posture. Most people just slip back into old habits of slouching for example and eventually leads to pain and discomfort due to limited movements.
Why is proper posture important?
Aside from looking good, proper posture also helps you to develop strength, flexibility, and balance in your body- being able to achieve this also leads to having more energy all throughout the day and feeling lesser muscle aches. Aside from that it also reduces the stress that your muscles and ligaments might feel and reduces further injury.
Here are some easy postural exercises that you can do at home:
1.Shoulder Blade Squeeze
This probably one of the most common and easiest postural exercises.
How to do this?
- Sit or stand with good posture.
- Reach both hands down toward the floor and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 2 – 3 times
2. Hands Behind Your Head
Think of it as relaxing with your hand behind your head but this time with a healthier purpose.
How to do this?
- Place both hands behind your head with your elbows forward.
- Make sure your hands are just touching the back of your head.
- Do not push your head forward.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together and bring your elbows back.
- Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 2 – 3 times.
3. Neck Turning
Range of motion for the head and neck is also important to avoid strain especially when working.
How to do this?
- Sit with good posture.
- Turn your head slowly from one side to the other.
- Move as far as you can comfortably.
- Repeat 5 times to each side
4. Head Nodding
The purpose of neck and head exercises is to reduce pain by increasing blood flow to the neck muscles, reduce spasms by stretching out the neck muscles, and prevent further stress by building strength and endurance.
How to do this?
- Sit or stand with good posture.
- Slowly nod your head as if you were saying “yes.”
- Move as far as you can comfortably.
- Repeat 5 times.
5. Corner Stretch
This is a basic exercise that is important for stretching the chest and shoulder muscles.
How to do this?
- Face the corner.
- Place one foot forward and one hand on each wall.
- Continue to maintain good posture and lean in until you feel a stretch in front of your shoulders and chest. Hold for 10 – 30 seconds and repeat 2 – 3 times.
- Place your hands higher or lower to vary the stretch.
So you see, improving your posture helps you to become more aware of your muscles. As you work with your Physical Therapy with these exercises, they will also teach you to do it safely at home provided that a complete evaluation be done. You might also notice that as you continue with the exercises some of the pain and tightness will wear off.
REFERENCES:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4499985/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/simple-ways-to-maintain-perfect-posture-2696224
