“Sit!” Postural Awareness

Posture is the positon of a person’s body when sitting or standing. Your body is holding you upright against gravity; and this takes work! Proper or “good” posture requires training and attention. For efficient and effective posture one wants the least “strain” on supporting ligaments, joints and muscles. Simply because you are maintaining an upright posture does not mean that you are in effectual alignment and this could be putting unnecessary stress on certain structures. It is important to learn and commit to muscle memory correct alignment to keep bones and joints health and to ensure muscles are being used properly. Correct posture helps to decrease the stress on ligaments that hold joints and the spine together, it helps to decrease abnormal weight bearing, and prevents the spine from moving into abnormal positions.

At first “correct posture” may seem difficult to maintain; and this is because your body has learned to compensate and certain muscles have “turned off” since they have not been asked to do their job. Through facilitation from a physical therapist and persistent work posture can be corrected and in turn will eventually prevent fatigue and pain as muscles are being more efficient and allowing the body to use less energy. It is important to bear weight appropriately on pelvic floor, to have both feet weight bearing, and to maintain lumbar and thoracic spine in the proper neutral position. During a physical therapy session; manual/physical cues will be provided by your therapist, visual feedback in front of a mirror will deliver beneficial information, and specific exercises will be given to train the correct muscles to work functionally. Learning or re-learning effective posture takes specific training and dedication but is worth it!

Incorrect Sit:

Getting Better: