If you have Spinal Problems (Neck or Back) you have bad posture! Have someone video tape you sitting on the sofa, working on your computer, eating dinner, just the everyday activities you do all day long! Then watch that video and you’ll be amazed at how you slump, move, sit, etc.

Correcting bad postural habits will stop and may even reverse spinal problems. But the battle is difficult if your furniture is not designed with Ergonomics in mind. Most sofas, beds, chairs, etc. are NOT designed for proper posture. So the more you use the non-ergonomic disaster the more your spine has to compensate, and the more difficult it will be to ever recover proper posture and live pain free.

Videos to Introduce You to Ergonomics

This video is primarly about lifting properly

Selecting Ergonomic Office Furniture

Ergonomics Matter!

You can do every kind of therapy and/or treatment but if you continue on with old poor postural habits and non-ergonomic furniture, you’ll just fall into the same old trap that ruined your spine in the first place.

Ergonomics is simply a term to describe making your environment “spine friendly”. You simply can not underestimate the importance of keeping your spine in correct posture through the use of ergonomic furniture and office equipment. How many hours a day do you spend sitting or sleeping? During these times it is essential that you provide your spine the optimal correct support so it can heal, and to prevent further injury.

Use a lumbar pillow on your chairs or better yet purchase truly ergonomic chairs. A cervical injury will be made worse if you do not correct your lumbar posture (the spine and body work as a whole!). Steelcase™ Humanscale™, Bodybilt™ all build truly ergonomic office chairs; while the $200 OfficeMax chairs that claim to be ergonomic are NOT ergonomic at all! Sit in a well designed chair and you will immediately “feel” the difference.

If you are a computer user a LCD flat panel and invest in a moveable monitor arm. If you are a laptop user you should do this and hook your laptop up to the larger monitor and monitor arm. Make sure you take breaks from your chair every 20 minutes to stretch and change position. You need to move your spine and shift those discs!

Make sure you have a good bed. Avoid the Tempurpedic™ or Memory Foam Mattresses (The toxins emitted from these materials are very unhealthy). It’s all marketing hype. Buy real cotton or invest in a Talay Latex (Natural Rubber) mattress. Royal Pedic in Los Angeles makes outstanding beds (but they are expensive) and offers excellent information on their website about natural bedding materials. Yes some of you will have Latex allergies and will need all cotton mattresses, but otherwise Talay Latex is wonderful!

Purchase the proper back supports for you Car, Truck, or RV seats (It’s cheaper than purchasing new seats) It’s your health. Fix your posture or continue to pay the price. Yes it can be expensive to buy all these things, but can you afford not too? What is the true price of pain? How much is your health worth?

This article points out that 80 percent of Americans have not only endured back pain, but contribute to it in the way they sit, exercise, work and sleep.

Alexander Technique and How it Will Teach You to Correct Your Own Posture

Many swear by the “Alexander Technique” as a method of making ourselves aware of how we use our bodies in day to day activities. By creating awareness we can self-correct the damaging postural habits that lead to spinal problems and overall poor health.

The Alexander Technique addresses both the musuloskeletal and nervous system, and is used to alleviate back, neck and joint pain.

Enjoy these Videos as I can not explain Alexander Technique as well as the Instructors.

Posture and Your Health

Across the “pond” in a related April 2005 article from the British “ResponseSource.com” comes the headline, “Work May Be Hazardous to Your Health.” This article also highlights the dangers of workplace posture and its effect on health. In this article the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) joined forces with Targus, a leading supplier of mobile computing cases, to conduct the research that showed that a third of office workers make no adjustments to either seating or computer equipment when switching desks. The article noted that the same percentage of office workers say they currently suffer back pain – and experts believe there may be a link.

The American PR Newswire article noted that the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) was declaring May to be “Correct Posture Month” and is using this event to highlight the relationships between posture and health. Spokesperson for the ACA Dr. Jerome McAndrews stated, “Once established, poor posture creates a chain reaction throughout the body. The digestive and respiratory systems will be affected by poor posture, especially poor sitting posture. And in more serious cases, where poor posture has had major effects on the musculoskeletal system, there can be a resulting negative impact on the vascular system.”

In the British article, Tim Hutchful from the British Chiropractic Association commented, “Whether at work or at home, computers have begun to dominate our lives, yet what we don’t realize is that they in fact have the ability to damage our health. The nation is suffering from an epidemic of back pain and our working lives could be contributing to this. By taking time to adjust your chair and by taking regular breaks can help protect your spine and prevent the onslaught of back pain”.

Both Chiropractic organizations released a series of recommendations to help deal with the posture issue. Similarly, The International Chiropractors Association also released recommendations related to posture and sitting at work. These include:

When sitting – use a chair with firm low back support. Keep desk or table top elbow high, adjust the chair or use a footrest to keep pressure off the back of the legs, and keep your knees a little higher than your hips. Get up and stretch frequently–every hour if you sit for long periods of time. Do not sit on a fat wallet; it can cause hip imbalance!

When working on a computer – take a one or two minute task break every 20 minutes when you work at a computer screen. Keep the screen 15 degrees below eye level. Place reference materials on a copy stand even with and close to the terminal.

Editors Note: Please heed this advise. I know from my own degenerative disc disease and 3 level Cervical Disc Herniations that my bad posture habits aggravated and may have created my condition. I used to slump for hours on end in front of the computer screen. I worried about carpal tunnel and even my lower back (I erroneously assumed I would feel some kind of pain BEFORE any damage occured), but never even considered the effect it had on my neck. Ergonomics are essential. If you are an office worker insist on a properly designed workstation. My preference is for the Steelcase “Leap” series seating.