Suggestions for Improving Your Posture

Poor posture can lead to several issues, such as chronic pain, sleep problems and poor circulation. So, by working on improving this, you can help to avoid other health problems too. Here are some suggestions for improving your posture.

Using equipment to avoid bending or slouching
 

Depending on your profession, there are plenty of options for using equipment to make your job more manageable. For example, mobile medical carts can make nursing professions easier. Many of these can be adjusted so you won’t have to bend and risk hurting your back and as they store a variety of medicines, equipment and tools in one location, nurses and medical teams are much more efficient as a result.
 

Alternatively, if you work at a computer all day, you can get a standing desk or an ergonomic chair. If you already experience back pain, some of these chairs are specially designed for people with either lower or upper back pain.
 

Finding the right equipment to help with posture at work can also mean you get more work done, as you’ll be more comfortable. Whichever profession you work in, there should be equipment you can use to decrease the chance of back and neck pain.
 

Practice yoga
 

Yoga and exercise can also help with posture. Yoga may also reverse the effects if you’ve already experienced health problems from not sitting or standing correctly.
 

Poor posture can weaken different areas of the body and in turn, makes straightening up more of a challenge. Yoga allows you to focus on these specific areas of the body to strengthen them. For example, the triangle pose (or Trikonasana) can help to stretch your spine. This will also strengthen it, so when you try to sit or stand up straight, your spine will have more strength to help you do this.
 

Posture correction tape
 

If you’re already seeing the signs of poor posture and are struggling with weakened parts of the body, making sitting or standing straight harder than it should be, you can use posture correction tape to help. 

This encourages your body into the correct posture and serves as a gentle reminder when you start to slouch. As your posture improves, your body will become stronger and better able to hold this position without the tape.
 

You might feel self-conscious wearing tape at first, but it comes in lots of colors and you can even stylize it with your outfit if you prefer.
 

Wear heels less often
 

If you wear heels but experience regular lower back pain, you could try wearing these less often, or choose smaller heels to see if this makes a difference. Higher heels, particularly stilettos, are some of the worst shoes for creating bad posture and causing back pain. It might be the best option if you only wear these very rarely.
 

As heels often have other side effects such as causing weak ligaments or constricting the blood vessels, there are plenty of reasons to cut down on how often you wear them.

Making a few slight changes in your work and personal life can help you improve your posture. It might be possible to talk to your employer and get more ideas about how to achieve this in the workplace.

This is a guest blog entry.