Naturopathy

Prolonged sitting whether at a desk, in front of a screen, mobile, or any number of forward-leaning activities will affect your posture!

Sadly, a quick stretch every now and again isn’t enough to offset the damage caused by prolonged periods of sitting down. Maintaining good posture, needs strengthening of the muscles that hold your shoulders and spine in the right position.

In this blog I will share with you an easy exercise that you can do during the day anywhere you happen to be, as many times a day as you like, to counteract the effects of your desk job or whatever forward-leaning activity you might engage in.

Personally I was guilty of rounded shoulders from leaning forward for long periods, till I started to study bones, crucial postural muscles can weaken and stretch, making it harder to correct posture. For that reason, exercises that strengthen these muscles are essential.

While not present in all osteoporosis diagnoses, Dowager’s Hump, or kyphosis, is associated with low bone density.

Good posture helps strengthen and align the bones of your upper back and shoulders, building bone strength.

There are other compelling reasons why correct posture is important. Chronically poor posture can result in painful nerve inflammation such as sciatica and carpal tunnel syndrome. Headaches, neck pain, and back pain can also result from poor posture, which puts strain on your muscles, ligaments, and joints.

Posture also matters with regard to balance. Poor posture throws your body off balance, increasing your susceptibility to falls that could result in a broken bone.

While posture influences your entire skeleton, the vertebrae deserve special mention with regard to this topic. Specifically, the vertebrae in the neck suffer significantly when posture is poor, this sets the stage for disc degeneration, bulging discs, and inflammation.

Correcting and maintaining good posture is a very important weapon in your fight against low bone density.

No equipment is necessary to perform this exercise; you don’t even need much space!

1. Stand straight and tall with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Don’t force your posture forward by throwing out your chest – think “up” rather than “out.”
2. Hold your arms straight down at your sides with your palms facing back.
3. Keeping your elbows straight, push your arms back as far as you can.
4. Bring your arms back to the starting position and repeat about 10 times, rest, and do another set of 10 (always working within your comfort level of course).

Tips:

• Don’t lean forward as you reach your arms back; your torso should remain as still as possible.
• Move deliberately, using the muscles in your upper back and arms. Don’t just swing your arms back and forth.