In the information age, few people in the United States can avoid prolonged periods of sitting. Even if you do not use a computer at work, you probably use one at home for research, banking, shopping, playing games or communicating with family and friends. Watching television adds to the time we spend sitting, as does driving. Because of the problems that bad sitting posture can create, knowing how to properly position yourself in a chair is crucial.
Requirements
Certain parts of your body need to be working properly in order to support proper posture. Muscles that are flexible, joints that have proper motion and postural muscles that are reasonably strong are requirements, according to the Mayfield Clinic, as is a balance of muscles on both sides of the back. If your attempts at improving your positioning lead to pain, put the efforts on hold and see a medical professional such as a doctor or physical therapist, the clinic advises.
Solution
To get positioned in an office chair, the Mayfield Clinic recommends you "sit up with your back straight and your shoulders back." Your buttocks should make contact with the chair back. To help you maintain the natural curves of your spine, you can use a lumbar roll or even a rolled towel. Your knees should be at a right angle or slightly higher than your hips. Your feet should be flat on the floor, or on a footstool if need be. The same basic positioning goes for driving. Place the seat sufficiently near the steering wheel that your knees can bend as you touch the pedals.
Expert Insight
One general cause of bad posture, writes John Schubbe, a chiropractor in Appleton, Wisconsin, is tight muscles, which lead to deviations from proper body alignment. To remedy the problem, he recommends both mental and physical relaxation techniques, including meditation, tai chi, yoga, chiropractic manipulation and osteopathic manipulation.
Benefits
Though sitting for long periods can contribute to a hunched posture, sitting for certain tasks has several advantages over standing, according to Alan Hedge, a professor of ergonomics at Cornell University. To do a given job, he says, you need about 20 percent less energy if you are comfortably seated than if you are standing. You also save wear and tear on your back muscles and discs. And if you are doing something that requires fine motor control--such as writing or sewing--a sitting position is your best bet because of the postural stability it provides, according to Hedge.
Risks From Poor Posture
Years of ignoring your posture can stress the spine. And that can lead both to pain and to structural changes in the spine, according to SpineUniverse.com. Constant poor positioning while you are seated can cause disc degeneration, wear of the cartilage and changes--either lengthening or shortening--of the back's muscles and tendons.
