Can you remember your parents telling you to stand straight, and not to slouch? All parents have told this to their kids some time – but most kids hardly listen. Many even feel harassed by their parents because they want them to stand in a certain way, and not the way they feel comfortable themselves.



But the truth is that what parents tell us has been learnt from their own experiences. Right posture is not about appearance but it is to minimize the sufferings of back pain. Right posture helps back muscle to get stronger and neck to be held up better. If you hold yourself wrong then these muscles must work harder to keep every thing in the right place. And this causes strain in the muscles, which causes back pain.

Do an experiment. Go find a full-length mirror. Stand sideways in front of it in the posture you would naturally stand as if there as no mirror. Imagine a line at the back of your body touching your ear lobe, shoulders, hip, knees and your ankle. Is it straight? If not then you are not standing straight. Your natural posture is causing your muscles to hold themselves at the wrong angle. This is one of the most frequent reasons why people suffer from chronic back pain.

More than 80 per cent of our time is spent in either sitting or sleeping. Imagine if were to be using the posture which strain our muscles during all this time. We want to make sure that we do that right, not just how we stand. Most people sleep 7-8 hours on average – some more, and some less. Make sure that you sleep on a mattress that keeps your back as straight as possible. A soft mattress is unlikely to give firm support to your back. If you already have a soft mattress then the best option is a half an inch thick plywood board under your mattress. If you can afford one than go buy a new firm mattress.

If your job requires sitting for most part of the day, or you drive long distances either going to work or as part of your job than you should pay particular attention to how you sit. Your sitting posture should be straight. Many people use a pillow or a towel to help them sit straight or for extra support. Every hour take a 30 second stretch break. This will make sure that any tension in muscles is straightened. You may already be using specially designed chairs at work but you should still take stretch break.

So from now on, make sure that your posture is straight. When you grow old and see others suffering from back pain, you will thank you self for taking the corrective action while young. – because you will not suffer from aches and pains that are often associated with bad posture. And it is so easy to correct, especially when you know how easy it is, and how high the stakes are.