Posture problems and back pain are all over the place because we are working in a sitting position most of the day, with our neck and waist suffering the consequences of 9 nine-to-five work shifts.
Additionally, the pandemic forced most of us to stay at home and changed how we lived our lives and did exercise or even taking a walk every day. Posture problems can deliver other issues like affecting your sleep, your day-to-day activities (like getting things from the store or lifting your pet or your kids), and even your sex life.
So here we are bringing you some ideas to improve your posture and get a better life quality at the same time.
Table of Contents
Optimizing your workspace/place to study
Working and studying are two of the activities that we do almost every day for many years, so it is a logical step to pay attention to the space you spend most of the day.
If you work or take classes/study on a desk computer, the first step is to have the monitor at a straight line of view. The idea is that you don’t have to lift or incline your head to look at what you are doing or reading cause this affects directly to your posture.
You can try to put the monitor over some boxes, or if you want to spend money, you can get a monitor stand to get it to the right position.
If you are using a laptop, you are likely inclining your head down, and your neck it’s receiving tension for long periods of time. The best solution is to get a wireless keyboard, and at the same time, put your laptop over some boxes (as we mentioned in the last paragraph) to get the best neck and back posture.
Also, don’t forget that your keyboard and mouse should be positioned that your arms look like an “L” when using them. This means they shouldn’t be at a lower or higher level than the natural stance of your arms and hands when you use those devices.
Because if the keyboard is higher than it should, that will end up in the “T-rex claws” (forearms up, hands tilted down), and this can cause long-term pains or problems like carpal tunnel syndrome.
Using CBD
We are not encouraging you to run to your doctor to get a prescription. But if you ask for medical advice about it, you’ll learn that, among other aspects, using CBD oil to treat chronic pains (like back pains in some cases) could be helpful.
This is because it can complement pharmaceutical drugs (or even replace them) naturally, and its anti-inflammatory properties could be an effective option for patients with those problems.
It doesn’t get you high because it doesn’t have THC, so you can rest assure that you are not going to get stoned by it.
Of course, you need to get top quality products (e.g. Sarah’s blessing), and your doctor can indicate to you the best way to administrate it. One example is to dose it in drops orally. Another example is using CBD oil for a massage so that you receive the analgesic effect directly over the affected regions of your body.
Doing activities that benefit your posture.
Having a good posture and avoiding back and waist pains could be a lot easier when you spend some of your time strengthen those section muscles. Also, you would get used to correct standing or sitting positions in a natural way.
Then, some great activities for your body and posture are:
- Yoga: from beginners to expert’s figures, every time you do a bit of instructed yoga, you benefit your body (and your mind too) so that your spine, back, shoulders and neck are stretching and adapting to positions that might not look natural at first, but they end up enhancing your posture and even relaxing.
- Stretching: this works great, and you can try exercises being standing or even in a sitting position. This releases the tension of your muscles and joints and decompressing loads of those sections of your body.
- Pilates: this helps your balance and to be more flexible, at the same time that gets your muscles stronger. Moreover, it helps define your lower body section, so your lower back and waist are in better shape to support a good posture. You can also purchase a pilates machine for home through reputable online sites.
- Ballet or gymnastics: These are quite entertaining sports, and they are great to you, from head to toes. If you look at any person doing this for a while, you will notice their good postures.
Get the correct chairs/couch and footwear.
When you are not working or studying, you are likely lying on your sofa or futon, sitting on your computer chair playing video games or watching series, or even taking a walk or doing a sport.
So you mustn’t oversee this because a poor quality chair or cheap shoes/sneakers affect your posture.
The way you sit and how you walk define how your spine and back are. If your gaming/work chair doesn’t have an ergonomic shape and doesn’t support your lower back, you can consider changing it or asking your doctor if a posture corrector would help with your problem.
At the same time, you should check not only your footwear but your stepping: Some people walk with their feet pointing outward or inward, and others walk with their feet pressed on the inner side of the foot (right section of the left foot and vice versa with their right foot) or on the outer side (left section of the left foot, and the opposite way with their right foot).
This affects your entire posture and causes pain to many people, so this could be an important thing to get checked by a doctor.