Posture is indeed important for your health

It's not as hard or unimportant to correct as you think.

From slaving away in front of a computer to wilting away on a couch while watching television, posture is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain in this modern age. Kids carrying heavy backpacks to, from, and even during school, or, more likely, overusing phones and craning their necks down are other possibilities. And while bad posture built over time may seem uncorrectable or relatively harmless, it is more harmful and easy to correct than it may seem.

Good posture keeps your body in a comfortable, steady shape and can lessen wear and tear on joints. It also allows you to perform specific motions — for example, bending down to pick up something. But while good posture has a slew of benefits — more energy, less pain, taking stress off of your muscles, and maybe even helping mental health — bad posture can lead to neck or back pain, trouble breathing and walking, and headaches. It can also increase chances of falling.

Apart from back surgery or a spinal cord injury, posture can usually be corrected. However, be aware that posture changes won’t exactly happen overnight. Nevertheless, here are some tips:

• Strengthen shoulder muscles with exercises like scapula squeezes (squeezing shoulder blades together)

• Strengthen core muscles by holding planks (modified on elbows, high plank, or side plank)

• Other exercises include: child’s pose, forward fold, cat-cow, chest opener, pigeon pose, and isometric pulls

• Be mindful of posture in everyday life (constantly be aware of slouching!) and decrease activities that can lead to poor posture (time on the couch, etc.)

• Maintain head position to be above shoulder height and shoulders above hips. Keep support for your feet — plant them on the ground when sitting. When standing, most of your weight should be on the balls of your feet

That being said, it is unrealistic and unnecessary to be constantly thinking of posture every minute of every day. It’s good to be aware of it — take a break and stretch or switch positions if you feel like you have been holding one position for a while — but a couple days of poor posture is not the end of the world.

Seek out a healthcare provider if you have trouble with back, shoulder or neck pain that persists longer than a few weeks for help.

References

Cronkleton, Emily. "Posture Exercises: 12 Exercises to Improve Your Posture." Healthline, Healthline Media, 13 July 2023, www.healthline.com/health/posture-exercises.

Godman, Heidi. "Is it too late to save your posture?" Harvard Health Publishing, 9 Jan. 2025, www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/is-it-too-late-to-save-your-posture.

"Posture." Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/posture.

Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board