We've all done it - whether we're on the train on the way to work and staring down at our phones to check social media, or whether we're at our desk working, typing, reading and staring at our monitors (guaranteed you're doing one of the other right now!). The consistency of us doing this, without us knowing, is ruining our posture. Every time we slouch over at our desk, every time we dip our head down to look at our phone screens, as we're spending more and more of our day in these positions we do more and more to ruining our spine and overall posture. Let's look at what this could create in the long term:
Your muscles become inflexible or unbalanced - when you're in positions which are adverse for your posture, there's an imbalance of muscles working harder than others to keep you upright. This means the muscles working harder will become tight and inflexible, where the muscles which aren't being used as much become weak and stretched
Inflicts wear and tear on joints and ligaments - these are what hold your muscles and bones together. Wear and tear on these will being to affect movements and weaken your body's support structure. This increases your chances of damage within your body and also affects certain organs within your body
Scoliosis, lordosis and Kyphosis - these are exaggerated, unnatural curves of the spine which are caused from poor posture control. Kyphosis is more common to get if you are slouched over all the time (e.g. when looking down at your phone or monitor screen) and so is more likely to create a 'hunch back'.
Chronic muscle and back pain - This is likely to happen as your muscles aren't contracted enough when you are sat down for long periods of time.
Diabetes, Cancer and other potential illnesses - overall strain on posture, muscles and bone can impair the body's utilisation of blood sugar, decrease insulin levels and slow down the clearance of fat - all which can lead to illnesses from blood clots to cancer
So if you have a desk job, what can you do to help better your posture? Definitely start to incorporate these steps when you're at your desk and keep a daily habit of it:
Standing instead of sitting - Use a higher table or ledge to put your laptop or computer on and try standing instead of sitting down while you're working. This doesn't have to be all day, but at different times throughout the day. Standing will also burn more calories and keep you awake while you work (I can't tell you the amount of times I dozed off momentarily at my old office job when I was sat down for 8 hours a day!)
Keeping your phone, laptop or monitor screen at eye level - This will ensure that your posture is correct as you'll be looking straight into your device rather than looking downwards
Using headphones to communicate - If you need to take a call or listen to something on your device, try using headphones more as it'll stop you from compromising your posture
Stretching constantly throughout the day for 5 minutes at a time - going for a walk or stretching every so often ensures that your muscles are still active, ensuring you keep the best posture possible
Drink water - Always have water at your disposal! Not only will it help you maintain concentration, but it'll keep your joints lubricated and avoid stiffness in your body
If you have any questions, send an e-mail to MOB FIT at mobfituk@outlook.com