Is Poor Posture Causing Your Back Pain?

There are a lot of reasons for back pain. Some are only remedied by drastic actions while others require simple lifestyle changes. Altering how you carry yourself and sit and improving your posture is potentially one way to help ease your pain. If you’re looking at back surgery in Atlanta, read on; this advice about posture will help you ease back pain you have now as much as possible and avoid it in the future as you recover from surgery.

How It Works

Poor posture is not an instant source of pain; over time, however, the pressure on your spine can lead to changes in your spine, pressure on muscles, discs and joints as well as nerve damage that contributes to pain. Eventually, if you don’t correct it, you will need therapy or in the worst case, the best spine surgeons in Atlanta.

How to Fix It

Walk Straight Up

When you’re walking or running, maintaining good posture is very important. You must look straight ahead and keep your head balanced above your spine. Avoid slouching. Walk from heel to toe, pushing off with the front of your feet.

Sit with Proper Posture

We spend a lot of our day sitting. Whether it is in a vehicle or at work, at meals or just relaxing at home, we spend hours each day sitting. That makes it critical to having good posture whenever you’re in a sitting position. This is particularly true if you work with a computer; you don’t want to be hunched over the keyboard for hours as it can lead to serious back and neck issues.

To maintain good posture sitting and avoid having to see spine and orthopedic specialists in Atlanta, follows these rules. Keep your back flush with the back of your chair. Make sure your head is level over your spine. Keep your arms flexed at a 75 to 90-degree angle. Keep your knees even with your hips. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor or a footrest.

Lift Correctly

You don’t think of posture having that much to do with lifting, but in fact, it has a lot to do with preserving your back while lifting versus hurting yourself and having to visit a neck, back, and spine doctor in Atlanta. Improper lifting can cause injury to muscles, joints and back discs. It also can pinch a nerve, cause muscle spasms and in a severe case, cause tearing of muscle.

To lift properly, keep your chest in front of your hips and your back straight. Bend your hips, not your lower back. Keep your weight close to your body and if you have to change directions while carrying something, lead with your hips.

Posture is key to maintaining a healthy back. Have bad posture and it is a given you will have problems eventually. Do it right, however, and you can avoid a lot of back pain as well as possibly not need back surgery in Atlanta.