Bad Posture: 4 Million Years Of Evolution Lost And How To Correct It

SANFORD, Fla. - July 18, 2013 - PRLog -- What is bad posture?

Symptoms like the ache in your neck, pain in your lower back, or the tightness in your shoulders could very well be bad posture.

But these are effects of bad posture not the definition.

Think harder...

You sit in your chair all day hunched over typing like a mad man. Your back is rounded, your shoulders are hunched and your head is forward.

If we look at evolution were closer to looking like the Australopithcus than the homo sapiens. Were degrading back 4,000,000 years of evolutionary growth.

Bummer I know!

The definition of correct posture is the positioning of joints that provide minimum stress on the joints of our body.

So to answer what bad posture is, it's the opposite of correct posture.

I know, sorry for being so technical.

We can thank our unnatural work environments and our confused definition of ergonimics for poor posture.

Work related doom

In a recent study 70.1% of participants weren't aware of the term ergonomics.

Ergonomics is the applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.

In short it's how your office equipment is set up to provide the reduce the total pressure on your joints.

Simple right?

Unfortunately not.

56.9% of the office workers in the study reported hand and forearm pain. 22.7% of these individuals took health care treatment, 9.3% took time away from work for complaints of arms, neck and shoulder (CANS) problems, while 15.5% reported CANS disrupting their normal work and life activities.

Not only is poor posture a productivity killer it affects your quality of life.

Common mistakes

The biggest mistake is you're not doing it right?

Sitting that is.

Slouching and being an ever present drone to your computer screen is where it all begins.

You began sitting at your desk like a human. Shoulders pulled back, head in a neutral position, arms at a 90 degree angle, and you're wrists propped.

Over time you let yourself go. Is this true with your fitness and nutrition as well? Coincidence?

You're head began to lean forward and you began to slouch. As time went on it got worse.

Hence why you may look like a Australopithcus sitting in your office chair.

Now you feel the pain.

Pain areas

As you evolved into a tasmanian workaholic who lost control of their posture you began to feel discomfort. The biggest problems are pinches and pain in the arms, neck and shoulder but there's more to it than just that.

Lower back issues: muscles have tightened and have become achy.

Limited range of motion: muscles become permanently shortened or stretched

due to the hunched-over-my-computer-all-day syndrome. Muscles and ligaments no longer function as they should.

Jaw pain: Temporomandibular joint disease is brought on by a forward-head position. No fun!

Constantly tired: poor posture leads to poor breathing with decreases in circulation and digestion. It also increases muscle tensi If you think all of this sounds like a pain, you tell me?

Ways to correct posture

Over the years you may have unknowingly beat yourself up with bad posture, but fear not.

With small environmental changes and a big upgrade in your lifestyle you'll be back to normal in no time.

Here are a few ways to correct posture

Ergonomical work environment: change the way your office is set up. If your screen is low, causing a forward head position, get a stand. Or maybe your chair causes you to slouch, so get rid of it. I personally use a stability ball for my office chair.

Self-myofascial release: Get your self myofascuial release on with a foam roller. This small tool helps reduce muscle tightness that effects your range of motion.

Quite sitting all day: Get up and get moving. Sitting all day will only tire and wear you down. Practice the management by walking around strategy, or do a quick office workout. Just quite sitting so damn much.

Walk more: We were born to walk the terrain and now all we do is sit. Walk the dog, be one with nature or just park farther away. Whatever it is, walk more (http://www.nateanglin.com/walking-101/).

Work out: Because you have bad posture your muscles have been shortened or stretched in unnatural ways. Work them out (http://www.nateanglin.com/fitness-for-entrepreneurs-ebook/) to help them become stronger and put back in a state of natural mobility.

We can now all agree that sitting down has become an epidemic of the office worker.

So change it.

Make actionable changes not only in your office environment but also your every day practices. There are ways to correct posture by the way you sit, move and workout.

Become an active "human."

Do you have pain in the arms, neck and shoulders? How much do you sit in a typical day? Comment below.