SIT UP STRAIGHT ................OR NOT ?

We have all heard that we must have good posture to avoid aches and pains. What exactly does that mean ? Most people equate good posture to sitting up straight. Well, thats what your mother or grandmother told you or rather always nagged you to do. But in the postural restoration world, we tell our patients that is is okay to slouch a little. Yes, you heard it right, " slouch" . Now, don't get me wrong, that does not mean that you slump right over. It just means that you keep your mid and lower back relaxed, keep the rib cage down and not elevated. When we try to sit up too straight, we arch our lower backs too much, push the ribs up and out, elevating the ribcage and upper chest, tensing up the muscles in the back of the neck and lower back. This creates unwanted muscle tone and shortening and tightening of the muscles in the back and the neck, which can in turn lead to pain. One of the most common problem area we see in patients with complaints of back or neck pain is a stiffness in the mid back area or an inability to bend at the mid spine along with an inability to keep the rib cage in the correct position ( rotated down). One way we check for this is by having the person bend forward and try to touch their toes keeping the knees straight, and check to see if they are able to round the mid back area ( and not keep it straight). We also look if they are able to expand the upper/mid back area when they inhale instead of extending/straightening the spine in this area. We see some amazing results and frequently instant relief of pain when we try to get this area of the back to move like it should and get the ribcage in the correct position. I recently had a teen patient who had chronic neck pain ( for over 2 years) while she was trying to do what she thought was the "right thing to do" by sitting up straight, but had persistent pain until she followed my advice and yes, "slouched" a little and was able to be free of pain much to her surprise ! Again folks, its all about, you guessed it, "Position" and by that I mean the "Correct position".