The Connection Between Posture and Pain

The Connection Between Posture and Pain

How does posture affect low back and neck pain? 

Let's take a minute to assess your posture right now and see if it could be contributing to your chronic low back and neck pain...

Are your neck and shoulders tense?

Take a deep breath and slowly roll back your shoulders. Stretch your arms overhead and then behind your back as far as they will go. Do the same thing again, but this time try rolling the shoulders forward. This will release any tension in the neck and shoulder blade area which frequently contributes to neck pain.

Are your shoulders slouched forward?

Try this quick exercise to straighten up your spine and decrease neck pain and low back pain. Reach up with both hands towards the sky as far as you can go and hold that stretch for 7 seconds. Bring your hands back down to your sides. Repeat this exercise three times. This releases tension in the muscles that run from the neck and mid back down to the low back where chronic tension can be stored. Stretching these muscles can help release the tension which leads to neck pain and low back pain.

Are both your feet flat on the floor? Do you tend to favor one side more than the other?

Force your spine to straighten up by planting both feet firmly on the floor. This make sure that the weight is distributed equally on both sides. Putting more weight on one side or favoring one side (whether you're standing or sitting) can contribute to chronic low back pain.

If you frequently work with a computer, is your computer screen at I level?  Is your mouse close to your body?

Making sure your workstation is ergonomically correct can decrease the risk of injuries, including chronic neck pain and low back pain, which can result from bad posture. Our spines do not like to be in one position for a long period of time, so this is especially important if you work for long periods at a computer.

Author

Mauna Radahd, MD