How to Stand Up Straight - For People Whose Back Pain Is Caused by Poor Posture

How to Improve Posture and Stand Up Straight

The answer's obvious, isn't it? You put your feet on the floor and just, well, stand? If that was true, there would be very little point in my writing an article about it, so needless to say, there is more to it than that.

Before discussing how to stand up straight, let us first consider why it's important that we should, for if we understand the why, the how to is much easier. Standing straight, and so improving your posture, will put your body back into natural alignment, which in turn places less stress on your joints. It will also help to protect your spine, and opens up your chest cavity so that breathing is much easier.

Poor posture, on the other hand, means your body is out of alignment, and creates uneven pressure on your joints. This can lead to chronic conditions which may manifest themselves, for instance, as an inability to sit or stand for long periods of time.

So How Do You Do It?

The first and most important thing is to ensure that you have a good foundation. By this, I mean that your feet are placed firmly on the floor with your toes pointing forward. Next, tighten your stomach muscles, and rock your pelvis gently back and forth. This will help you to find your neutral position, that is your most ergonomic and balanced position. Then, to check your posture:

Stand next to a wall with your head about an inch from it, your shoulder blades and buttocks touching it lightly, and your heels slightly away from it.Spread your weight evenly over both feet. Your spine has a natural s shape, so do not force it flat back against the wall
Centre your ears over your shoulders and your hips over your knees. These points should form a straight line down the side of your body
Keep your knees straight but not locked
When standing correctly, there should be just enough space between your lower back and the wall to fit your wrist

Having found your perfect posture, the key is to retain it. Initially, this may be quite tricky as you will have to keep reminding yourself which muscles to contract or relax. There are many exercises, known as core stability exercises that you can do to strengthen the muscles in your abdomen which are responsible for enhancing posture. Targeting these muscles will help good posture become more natural.

Additionally, consider reviewing your diet and weight. Being over weight may subconsciously make you alter the way you stand, placing too much strain on your lower back, and leading to chronic conditions in the future. Good posture needs to be learnt, and practiced every day. So why not make a start now and stand up for a bighter future!

Visit http://www.victoriasback.com for more advice on posture and core stability exercises.

By Victoria de Brun