In a modern world, due to the great improvements in informational technologies and digital technology in general, the number of office jobs has grown almost exponentially.
One of the most important health related characteristics (if not the most important) is that it heavily reduces worker’s movement compared with the workplaces in the past which demanded higher level of physical activity. The lack of physical activity is number one reason behind the rise of today, one of the most common health issues – bad posture.
Why is Having a Good Posture so Important?
Poor posture usually means unused and weak muscle, especially referring to the back muscles. As these muscles are not strong enough to carry the body weight, other body parts have to take this weight on themselves. Unfortunately, this is not without a consequence.
It is important to clarify that a posture refers to a body position whether in the sitting or standing form. You may wonder why is so important to have a good posture?
To answer this question, the best way is to go “via negativa” approach, underlying the possible consequences of a bad posture, which are as follows:
- Pain in the neck and lower back
- Developing a Hunchback or Dowager’s Hump
- Difficulty standing up straight
- Chance of developing chronic pain
- Increased pressure on joints and ligaments leading to a variety of related health issues
- Low spine mobility
- Hip Injuries
- Mental distress due to the unnatural appearance of the spine
Out of the consequences of having a bad posture described above, the two most important (and the most common) ones are lower back pain and a development of a hunchback.
Lower Back Pain
Having a bad posture does not necessarily means that you must experience lower back pain, it simply means that this group og people have a high risk of developing it over time.
Lower back pain is usually felt in the lumbar region, but due to the nerve connectivity it can radiate through the full length of a leg. As any pain it can be acute and chronic.
Acute pain usually last of up to three weeks and a person gets better “on its own”, while the chronic pain often has a more complicated cause behind it and lasts for a longer period of time.
In the case of the latter, it is highly recommended to see a medical professional.
The best way to get rid of lower back pain is to perform certain stretching exercises specifically designed for this purpose. The full list of exercises can be found here.
Hunchback
Bad posture combined with sitting long hours (normal office work) leads to the shortening of the pectoral muscles and stretching of the back ones. In plain English, it leads to a development of the hump on your back. Moreover, hunchback does not only mean having a hunch, it also describes thoracic kyphosis, a state of the spine where the spine curve gets to small compared to the normal state.
Like the lower back pain, the best way to get rid of the hunchback is by physical activity. Here you can the best exercises to achieve it.
About the Author
Toni is a full-time writer for wellbeinghacks.com, a site dedicated to providing high-quality health articles in a simple and understandable way so that people without medical knowledge might be able to understand it. His aim is to educate the readers in terms of health and advise them that the best health care is self-care.