This is probably one of the commonly asked questions that we are asked by patients being treated for back and neck pain here at Protherapy.
The answer- there isn’t one! Your best posture is your next posture!
When patients see us they often associate their aches and pains with postures they adopt at work, or think that if they change their posture their aches and pains will go away. Pain can be an important cause of a change in posture, but in the short term there is nothing wrong with adopting positions which are more comfortable.
Despite everything we have been told for years about aspiring for a ‘perfect posture’ and a very fixed idea that slouching at the work desk is bad for us, research has yet to find a strong connection between a specific posture and an increase or decrease in risk of pain.
At Protherapy we see lots of people who worry that their posture is causing their pain. We take your concerns about posture seriously, it is important for many reasons. We look at how changing your posture affects your pain and quality of movement. Obviously, staying in one particular position for a long time can make us all uncomfortable, and that’s normal. There is a lot we can do to help you!
What helps the most? It’s simple really, move! Regular movement ‘breaks’ really help. We find the people who are most comfortable are those that shift positions, change postures and move more. This doesn’t mean taking long breaks from your work, but by changing the way you sit, making use of sit/stand desks, moving your laptop to a higher level where you can stand and use it, or a few stretches whilst you sit can have a huge impact on your comfort levels.
We take your feelings about your posture seriously, it can matter for lots of reasons. Aesthetically lots of us like to have ‘good posture’ because it can make us feel good about ourselves and improve our self confidence. Evidence shows that ‘power poses’ have a positive influence on social interactions (Cuddey et al, 2012) and adopting an upright posture when facing a stressful mental task appears to increase positive mood and maintain self esteem compared to slumped postures (Nair et al, 2015)
If you would like help with back or neck pain that is affecting your work or life, then give us a call and we can get you back on track.
To book an appointment simply click on the ‘Book An Appointment’ button at the top of this page.