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Mike Morris Osteopath and North Lancing Resident |
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| Local resident Mike Morris has been in practice as an Osteopath since 1975. He has very kindly offered to send along articles to share with us some of his knowledge and experience on keeping well. Many thanks Mike! | |
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Poor Posture Hurts A good posture can not only ease your neck, shoulder and back pains, it can also reduce tiredness, pins and needles, numbness and headaches. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it, but the muscular system of the body is our primary energy consumer. The aim of a good posture is to maintain the natural curves of the spine. For this we need strong but flexible muscles and also an awareness of what a good posture feels like. These are 2 tests you can try at home, to assess your own posture. 1- Wall Test. Stand with your heels, buttocks, middle back and head against the wall. You should be able to place a flat hand between the wall and your lower back. 2- Mirror Test. Look at yourself in the mirror. Do you look symmetrical? Try assessing your posture in different situations. How do you sit, stand and walk? Most of us tend to slouch when we sit. This leads to a head forward posture, rounding of the shoulders and increased pressure on the lower back. Try to sit “further back” into your chair, so that your spine is supported. Keep your chin in and move your work station around so that you aren’t twisted to one side. With your fingers on the middle row of keys at the PC, the upper arms should be nice and relaxed and the forearms should be parallel with the floor. Adjust your seat to allow for this, making sure your knees are at, or below, the level of your hips, and your feet are flat on the floor.
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