Poor Seated Posture
Poor seated posture (including slouching in the chair) is one of the most common causes of back pain. Most people have a tendency to lean forward and slouch their shoulders, which puts stress on the spine, ultimately causing back pain and fatigue. Repetitive activity, such as typing and seated filing, can also contribute to back pain by placing your body in unusual positions. This also puts a person at an increased risk of muscle strains in the back.
Research shows that sitting for long periods of time can create back pain and a bunch of conditions that include obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat and abnormal cholesterol levels.
Poor Standing Posture
A poor posture is not only unhealthy but it also gives off the image of poor self-esteem (or lack of confidence). It is hard to feel great about yourself internally when your head is slouching and your shoulders are rounded. In addition to back pain, maintaining a bad posture can cause serious irreversible physical problems including herniated discs, spinal cord issues, bone spurs, headaches and more. Consistent bad posture will alter your bone structure. In the shorter term your muscles get stiff, sore and stressed from being held in an unnatural position. This improper posture also puts pressure on the surrounding arteries and veins (stressing and ultimately weakening them). Research has shown that having a bad posture leads to an increase in blood pressure.
Signs of a poor Standing posture:
- Head protruding forward (past midline)
- Shoulders roll forward
- No ache in your feet (collapsed)
- Ankles rolled down (inward toward midline)
- Knees rotated inward
- Over-arched low back
- Protruding stomach (due to hyper-lordosis rather than excess fat)
- Butt stick out (hyper-lordosis)
The moral of the story – with a poor posture you are damaging to your bones, muscles, ligaments and joints – So Don't allow yourself to do it.