The belief that sitting, standing or bending "incorrectly" is a cause of spinal pain is quite common...yet this belief is NOT supported by strong evidence.
There is no strong evidence that:
Avoiding "incorrect" postures prevent spinal pain.
There are spinal curvatures strongly associated with pain.
Correct posture prevents or reduces pain and disability.
In a recent study looking at "text neck" and the use of smart phones in correlation with neck pain and disability, most risk factors for neck pain were related to psychosocial factors (social relationships, work, depression and anxiety), rather than physical ones.
Key Posture Facts:
There's no single "correct" posture.
No single spinal curvature is strongly associated with pain.
Posture is reflecting of beliefs, thoughts and mood.
Adopting a more comfortable posture is safe.
The spine is robust, adaptable and can safely move and load in many ways.
Keeping one position longer than 30 minutes is not dangerous, but changing position can be helpful.
This doesn't mean that posture never matters, rather that it only plays a small part in pain. What seems to be more important are factors that you can control, like your individual activity status, ie: daily steps and partaking in more physical activities.
Contact me for more information on how to incorporate more physical activity throughout the week!
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