Most of us have been told countless times that we have poor posture. While some of us may actively try to correct our poor posture to increase our quality of life, it is not often at the forefront of our thoughts. We’re consumed with family, friends, and work. After many years in this field, we understand your pain – literally – and are here to discuss what we believe are the best methods to use when attempting to correct poor posture. 

Here are Bomberg Chiropractic’s simple and effective ways to improve your posture.

Surround Yourself With Reminders

If you work in a corporate industry and spend eight hours or more every day sitting at a desk, you may notice that your posture is often worse at the end of the day than when you arrived in the morning. By setting up hourly reminders on your calendar or simply writing the word “posture” on a sticky note and placing it on your desk, you can frequently be reminded to work on it. 

Keeping your back pain-free also includes maintaining a healthy weight. Excess weight can cause problems with the pelvis and spine, weakening your core muscles and encouraging muscular degeneration. 

Always use your chair's back support, keep your ears, shoulders, and hips aligned, and get up and move every 45 minutes, combining stretching and walking into the routine if possible. Working on your posture throughout the day can reduce aches and pains, lingering soreness, and overall physical and mental health. 

Improving your physical and mental health is one of the most important steps to complete when you’re trying to improve your overall quality of life. 

Implement Wall Checks

Wall checks are another simple way to steadily improve your posture daily. You can do this simple task by yourself throughout each day. All you have to do is find a wall to stand against. From there, you touch your heels to the bottom of the wall. 

If your heels, butt, upper back, and the back of your head all touch the wall at the same time, your posture is in line. If they do not all touch at the same time, you need to take steps to adjust your posture. 

If those points of your body are not all touching your back, simply stay pressed against the wall and work on moving your body until each of those parts touches the wall. From there, walk away from the wall while maintaining that posture and then slightly slump. 

The slight slump while holding that posture allows your body to maintain some of what it is used to while also allowing you to maintain a healthy posture that will improve how you feel. 

Use a Posture Brace

This can be either an actual brace or a handmade one to better your posture. If you have a difficult time remembering to correct your posture when you feel it slipping, using a brace can help you correct it without having to think about it. A homemade brace could be as simple as using a large scarf and draping it around your neck before crossing it behind your back and pulling the ends forward to pull your shoulders back. 

Pro tip: Only use the brace for short amounts of time and only at the beginning of your posture “training.” If you become too reliant on the posture brace, your back, neck, and shoulder muscles will start to rely too much on the brace’s strength and will begin to weaken. 

The goal is for your muscles to become familiar with the new posture position so they can eventually strengthen on their own. 

Practice Good Sitting Habits

Back pain doesn’t always occur from an incident and more often comes from regular habits you may not think about. One of the biggest culprits is sitting too much; It puts an additional 40% the pressure on your spine than standing. Leaning can also weaken the muscles, and inactivity can cause them to age more quickly. 

And while having a good posture is encouraged, sitting up too straight can reduce how the discs in your spine are compressed, leaving less than ideal support and giving you unwanted back pain.

Do What You Can to Maintain a Healthy Spine

While posture is a big part of keeping your back pain-free, a few other ways to support your spine include:

  • Using the right mattress

  • Having routine chiropractic care

  • Use exercises that strengthen back muscles and abs

  • Pick appropriate shoes for extra support

  • Regular stretching promotes back flexibility 

  • Getting enough vitamins and minerals that can help reduce inflammation

Use the Right Pillow

How you sleep will affect your spine, and good posture also means using the right pillow to keep your neck in a neutral position. If you are a back sleeper, you want to avoid placing your head in a forward posture, so you can benefit from having an additional loft in the bottom third of the pillow. 

Side sleepers need a firmer pillow with an extra wide gusset to bridge the space between their ear and shoulder to keep the spine neutral. And it's recommended that stomach sleepers have a thinner pillow to reduce the risk of pushing the neck into an upward spot and increasing pressure on the low back.

Contact Bomberg Chiropractic Today

If you are in the Twin Cities area and looking to improve your posture or health in other ways, contact Bomberg Chiropractic today. Our experts will analyze your health history and treat you accordingly. We believe that you come first, and between Dr. Bomberg and our team of massage therapists, health coaches, and other experts, we will help you feel better and learn how to stay on top of ailments in the future.

For more information, call us at 763-450-1755 or message us on our contact page.