Ballet dancers have excellent posture, but what about the rest of us?
Most of us spend hours every day sitting. We’re slumped over computers and phones. Then we slouch on the couch watching Netflix. All that slouching affects our breathing, energy levels, and yes, contributes to neck and back pain.
Here’s why.
Imagine sitting in one position for a long time, for example, hunched over your computer. You’re cutting and pasting, typing, rushing to complete a project. If you do this day after day, then your body eventually adapts itself to the posture.
For many people, that means your head juts out slightly forward and your shoulders do the same. This puts constant pressure on your spinal column and muscles and eventually leads to pain because your body isn’t meant to hold such positions for long.
Does this sound familiar?
Ergonomics (and Chiropractic Care) Can Relieve Your Pain
Ergonomics is a term that’s applied to workspaces and it relates to having a healthy environment. Part of a healthy environment is having a work area that’s comfortable for your body. For example, you’ve probably heard of raising your computer monitor so it’s eye level. That’s because the positioning of the monitor at eye level helps your head remain in its natural position rather than bending forward for hours. This shift can improve your posture right away.
There are also ergonomic keyboards, desks, chairs, and mice. They’re all designed to help your body maintain better posture.
For example, having your chair at the right level ensures your hands and arms are able to rest in a natural way and still type while having your computer monitor at eye level means your neck is straighter.
Put them all together, the height of the chair, desk, and computer monitor can improve your posture so that you feel less neck and back pain.
Posture extends to other activities that find you hunched over for long periods too, like gardening, golfing, or gazing at your tablet or phone. If put yourself in the habit of thinking about your posture (thinking about it is half the battle), then you’ll straighten up which will help relieve any pressure in your body. See, habitual patterns of sitting and standing change your anatomy and can cause muscles to put pressure on your nerves.
It’s not uncommon for your hips to be slightly uneven which affects the way you stand and walk. Over time, your body will make minute corrections which can lead to chronic back or neck pain (or both.) If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor, you may remember they’ll look at the length of your legs. The reason is that most people have one leg a little longer than the other. However, a chiropractic adjustment can even them out. As a result, you stand straighter and you feel less pain.
The spinal column is a complex structure made up of over 300 bones, discs, tendons, and thousands of nerves. You may have pain because a muscle is pressing on a tiny nerve. Your chiropractor can help that muscle return to its proper place and free your nerve. Through a simple series of manipulations, you can feel relief from your neck and back pain.
Once you find pain relief, you can do some simple exercises and adjust your habits to help you feel better more often.
Most people don’t think much about their bodies until they’re in pain, and then it’s common for someone to pop a pill for immediate pain relief. Of course, that doesn’t work in the long term.
Chiropractic care helps your body heal itself including your neck and back pain. Ergonomics helps you maintain better posture which also frees the pressure on your neck and back.
Together, you can feel less pain and do the things you want to do. If you’re in the Doylestown, PA area and you have neck and back pain, why not schedule a free consultation to find out how we can help?
