How Bad can Bad Posture be?

Whether it is spending a lot of time sitting on your desk looking at a computer, driving, or standing up, holding a bad posture can have a significant effect on our bodies. Especially during this pandemic where many people are working from home or simply spending a great amount of time indoors, chances are you spend most of your time hunched down on a desk looking at a computer screen. Regardless of your work schedule and the activities you do throughout the day, during these months of social distancing or simply, in your routine, it is very likely that you spend plenty of time slouching, in particular now that probably no one can see us, but a bad posture affects more than just how we look.

Having a bad posture can have a variety of negative consequences that can deeply affect our body:

• It can cause neck, shoulder, back, and even knee pain. Gradually, this soreness could deform our spine if we do not fix our posture.
• Since you use more muscles to hold your head when hunching, this creates tension which can naturally lead to multiple symptoms such as bad sleep and headaches.
• The natural shape of the spine has three curves: one in the neck area, a second one around the thorax, a third one in the lumbar zone, and at the end of the spine, the pelvic curve. When we spend a lot of time sitting or standing in a bad position, we alter these curves. For example: when we are slouching on our backs, we straighten the lumbar curve. This can affect our spine functionality in the long term.
• The tension in our muscles when we hunch can also give symptoms that are like the carpal tunnel condition.
• Even digestion can be affected by a bad posture. When we sit in a slumped position, we naturally contract our digestive organs causing the intestines to work more slowly, thus making it harder for our digestive system to carry out its functions effectively due to the lack of space.
• Finally, the deformation that we can cause to our spine by holding a bad posture for too long has more evident effects at an elderly age, where balance and strength can be compromised.

These and many more effects come from a bad posture, but fortunately, there are different tools we can take advantage of to prevent this. One very accessible option is doing exercises. Some movements that can help us correct our posture include planking, back extensions, neck, shoulder, and chest stretches, and many others. Another key factor to consider is our chair, if you spend most of your time on a desk, your chair must have the appropriate height for it, so as arm supports at an adequate height and preferably back support that does not alter your spine curvature. Additional supporting tools include corrector devices, but please, make sure to use one following your doctor’s recommendations.

Orthopedic Corner | Leon Mead MD Orthopedic Doctor | 730 Goodlette Road North, Suite 201  Naples Florida 34102 | Phone: (239) 262-1119