It is a basic rule of thumb that maintaining a good posture can save you from lots of pain as improper posture often becomes the cause of back, knee and joint pain. Standing up straight is a good way to keep your knees, lets and back safe from stress.
When you slouch, this increases the stress on your joints and the closer your knees are to the ground, the more stress they bear. So, when you stand, ensure there is no incline and you are standing straight to minimize stress on your knee and joint. Whatever you, however, it is important to have a proper posture to keep your back muscles and knee joint safe. For instance, if you a student and you need to hold your backpack for a long time, sling it over both your shoulders rather than just once. This thus divides the stress instead of concentrating it only on one side. Also, if you carry a handbag, make sure you keep changing your arms after a few minutes instead of concentrating it only on one arm. If you sling it only one shoulder for a long time this can damage the hinge joints in the region. Proper posture is essential as it keeps your bones and joints aligned. If you have a bad posture, this alignment gets disturbed and causes the joints to rub against each other and if this keeps happening over time, wear and tear will start to take place. In addition, your spine takes the stress and will start presenting issues that might seriously result in knee, joint and back pain. If you work in a job where you need to sit for many hours, make sure you have a proper posture in addition to ensuring you get up at least once every 30 minutes to stretch your whole body. Your shoulders should be over hips and you should have good lower back support, also your computer screen should be at eye level so that you don’t have to put a strain on your neck to look at the screen. Keep your elbows at 90 degrees with the pens and other resources you might need to be within easy reach.
If you must tie your shoelace, sit on a chair and keep your foot on the opposite knee. Doing it this way means you won’t have to be too far down as bending too far increases stress on your joints. So, the idea behind proper posture and exercise is not only to keep knee, back or joints healthy but also to slow down the degradation process.
Benefits of Maintaining a Good Posture
Listed below are some of the benefits of maintaining a good posture:
- It keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are used properly.
- It helps to decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces.
- Decreases the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together.
- It aids in the prevention of the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions.
- Helps to prevent fatigue as muscles are used more efficiently thus allowing the body to use less energy.
- It prevents backache, muscular pain and contributes to good appearance.
To achieve a good posture, you require the following:
- A good muscle flexibility
- Normal motion in the joints
- A strong postural muscle
- A balance of muscles on both sides of the spine.
The awareness of your own posture and the awareness of proper posture which leads to conscious correction.
With frequent practice, the correct posture for standing, sitting, lying down will gradually replace old posture habits.