By Dr. Joshua Kiely, DC

As a society, we love to talk about posture. We blame it for headaches, low back pain and everything in between. This blog is going to shed some light on the role of posture in pain, and some of the things we can do that actually may help with posture.

“Text neck” and chiropractors.

You’ve likely heard of the dangers of “text neck”. It’s been blamed for concentration issues, neck pain, eye strain and even hand pain. The premise of “text neck” is that we are destined to develop nagging pain due to staring down at our phone during the day.

Many healthcare providers promise to “fix” posture by improving things such as alignment and spinal curves in an effort to alleviate the dangers of “text neck”... but according to the most up-to-date research, “text neck” is likely innocuous. There are large studies on people young and old, and consistently we find out that “text neck” posture is not linked to pain.

That’s not to say that we can’t have “text neck” and pain at the same time. Canadian’s spend a ton of time looking down at their phones and neck pain is common, but the reasons behind pain are often more complex. There is plenty of research that tells us pain can be due to excessive activity or not enough activity, high stress levels, biomechanical issues, emotional troubles, and poor sleep - but research tells us that posture shouldn’t rank very high on that list.

At the end of this blog we’ll explore some of the things we can do to help with both posture and pain and I’ll provide some resources to get you started.

Low back pain and the way we sit.

If you haven’t checked out my last blog “Should my low back hurt after sitting”, go read it now. It’ll answer many of the questions you may have about sitting and pain. In a nutshell, pain with sitting is common, but the postures we use while sitting don’t seem to make too much of a difference to pain severity or frequency. 

For most people, it’s more likely that the total amount of time sitting and lack of regular movement is contributing to our pain more than any postural changes are. The human body is built to move, and the bigger variety of movements and postures we practice the better.

Perfect posture can hurt as well.

The military is probably the best example I’ve seen of the pitfalls of “perfect posture”. Soldiers are frequently forced to stand at attention for prolonged periods of time, and this is probably as close to “perfect posture” as we can get. 

Talk to anyone with military experience and they will tell you, it’s not comfortable maintaining “perfect posture” for long. It becomes achy and uncomfortable just as quickly as slouching. So maybe it’s not the actual postures that are causing our issues.

Posture can be important sometimes.

Despite the poor link between posture and pain, it’s necessary to recognize that there are times when we should address posture concerns. For example, a slouching ballerina is not likely going to be the star of the Nutcracker without some work on their posture. Certain sports require certain postures.

Another sport where posture matters is weightlifting, especially when we look at shoulder function. Prolonged slumped postures can impede our ability to move well in our upper back and neck, and this can limit our ability to comfortably move our arms overhead. This limited motion can result in compensations that are inefficient and ultimately make us more prone to injury and result in decreased performance.

Posture can also give us a glimpse into someone’s mental state. When we are happy and confident, we typically sit up straighter and walk a little taller. When we are scared or anxious, we can appear more guarded and closed off, perhaps we shrug our shoulders up to our ears or let our head droop low. Depending on our mood, the situation, and the impression we hope to convey to the world, it may be helpful to monitor our posture and modify accordingly.

Is it worth spending energy on posture?

The only answer to this question is: it depends. If you participate in a sport or activity that requires certain movements and your posture is affecting your performance, then absolutely let’s come up with a plan to get you moving better and maintaining a more effective posture.

If you’re having neck pain or back pain, then changing posture is likely not going to be the most efficient tool to get you feeling better. There are lots of other strategies that improve pain more than worrying about posture. Depending on where you’re struggling most, some areas of focus may include:

• Better sleep.

• Adequate daily movement.

• Managing stress.

• Frequent breaks from aggravating activities.

• Better nutrition choices.

• Getting stronger and building resiliency.

There are tons of things we can do to help with pain, but not every approach will work for every person. This is why it’s crucial to find a chiropractor or other practitioner who will actually listen to you and provide a treatment plan that’s tailored specifically to you.

Tips to get you started improving posture.

If you’ve made it all the way here and have decided it’s a good idea for you to spend some energy working on your posture, then try out these tools I use as a chiropractor with my patients. I also use these myself when I feel frumpy and slumpy at work or before lifting weights.

The three second posture reset.

I use this daily. It’s especially effective when you’re at work or playing video games and just can’t tear yourself away from the desk.

Daily walking.

I can’t say enough good things about the benefits of daily brisk walks. Personally, I aim for 30-60 minutes of walking every day (my dog would have it no other way). It will help with all the main muscles that are involved in posture, it will burn some calories, and it will get your heart rate pumping. 

For maximum results, try to make yourself tall while you walk, swing your arms and keep the pace quick. A simple test to measure intensity is the Talk Test. If you can sing a song you’re not working hard enough, but if you can’t carry a conversation you should probably slow down.

Weighted carries.

Weighted carries are walking for people who just like to do things the hard way. Grab some weights in one hand or both, hold them at your sides, on your shoulders or over your head and walk. Keep tall, breathe deeply, and increase the weight or distance as you adapt.

These are especially effective for progressing the muscles that help with our upright posture, building strength through our midsection and spine, and improving our overall resiliency through better strength and conditioning.

Consider a chiropractic appointment (virtual or in-person) for help.

The world of posture is a bit like the wild west so it’s important to trust the person you’re seeing. A good healthcare provider won’t try to sign you up for 20+ visits or push a contract and x-rays on you. They’ll listen to you and recommend simple exercises, occasional hands-on treatment and discuss effective improvements to your overall health. These things will help more than any regiment of adjustments or other passive therapies.

If you’re having pain or issues with your performance, you’re welcome to book a free chiropractic discovery session with me and we’ll discuss how we can work together. Perhaps you are one of the people that needs a bit of help with posture to improve your wellbeing, or maybe by working together we can uncover something else that will help you move better and feel healthy.