3 Postural Tips From Your Noblesville Chiropractor

From a young age, most of us begin to develop poor postural habits. Unfortunately, most of us continue to progress to even worse posture as we get older. This is due, in large part, to our mostly sedentary lifestyles. 

Think about it: when we’re young, we sit in school for most of the time, taking tests or listening to lessons. Then, when we graduate from grade school, many of us either go on to college (more sitting) or straight into the working world (with many of us sitting at desks for 8+ hours a day).

The human body tends to stiffen up when it is forced into a seated posture for the majority of our lives. Worse yet, most desk set-ups encourage poor posture while sitting!

In this article, we will outline some tips for you to improve your posture while you are seated. We hope that you can use these tips in your daily life, whether you’re a student, of working age, or enjoying your retirement. No matter what stage of life you are in, good posture is critical for your health!

What Is the Ideal Posture When Sitting?

Intuitively, most of us can assume good posture when prompted. At the same time, most of us can identify poor postures, even if we don’t know exactly why a position is considered to be a “bad posture”.

The ideal posture is one in which all of the joints of the body have minimal stress placed upon them. Often, this goal can be achieved by sitting in the 90-90-90 position.

The 90-90-90 position refers to a 90-degree angle at the hips, knees, and ankles. At the same time, the back should be straight and the arms should be as relaxed as possible.

For many people, their current desk set-up simply won’t allow them to assume this position. For instance, the chair might be too high, the desk might be too low, or there may be any number of other issues. 

Also, when we use our phones for long stretches of time (when texting or surfing the web), we are almost forced into a poor posture. Tons of people spend hours on the couch, using their phones to check out various apps or text their friends. In this position, the neck is usually bent down and the shoulders are rounded while staring at the phone screen.

Luckily, there are some easy fixes for these issues, which we will outline in the next section.

3 Top Tips for Improving Posture While Sitting

It doesn’t take much to improve your posture! Let’s take a look at some simple strategies for tackling rounded shoulders and forward head posture.

Posture Tip #1: Modify Your Chair Height with Pillows

One of the easiest (and most cost-effective) ways to improve your posture is to simply move your chair to the right height. If you’re finding that your chair is way too low, causing your knees and hips to be excessively flexed, you may consider simply placing a pillow or two underneath you while you sit.

This will serve to raise you up, effectively addressing the problem in question.

Posture Tip #2: Use the “Pencil Squeeze” Trick

For correcting your upper body posture, there’s no better cue than to imagine that you are squeezing a pencil between your shoulder blades. This position pulls you out of the characteristic “forward head posture” and puts you in a much better spot. 

Posture Tip #3: See Your Chiropractor Regularly

Last but not least, you should consider scheduling weekly visits with your Noblesville chiropractor at Anchor Health Chiropractic. We will perform specific treatments to the tight or misaligned areas of your spine. These treatments will, in turn, help you improve your posture.

Ready to start feeling better and sitting with improved posture? Book your appointment with us today!