Physical Therapy Posture Tips for Back Pain
If you can’t get rid of your ongoing back pain, you may be missing the posture piece. Focusing on proper posture while bending and sitting can significantly reduce your back pain. The best part about these physical therapy posture tips is that they are easy to implement into your day. Keep reading to learn these simple tips!
Why is posture important for back pain?
It’s said that we bend forward a few thousand times per day and stand upright to a neutral position a few hundred times per day. Think about this for yourself. How many times a day do you bend forward to pick something up off the floor or put your spine in a forward position while sitting at your computer? Compare this with the amount of times you adjust your posture to stand upright (neutral spine) and how many times you might even extend back past this neutral spine posture.
Bending forward isn’t bad. It’s just how much more often you bend forward than backward that matters. This unbalanced pressure on your spine often leads to back pain. So how do you reduce the amount of times you round your spine forward during the day? Let’s look at bending and sitting and how you can improve posture and reduce back pain.
Physical Therapy posture Tips for Bending
When you bend forward to pick something up off the floor, you probably aren’t thinking about how you are bending forward (until today). Often we bend forward with our spine rounded keeping our legs mostly straight. When we bend like this, our legs aren’t doing much work to lower us down and lift us up and our back is taking that extra stress. While 1 or even 100 times of doing this may not cause pain, a lifestyle of this can cause pain.
The first key to bending properly is learning to bend your hips and knees while you keep your back flat. Do this by practicing in the mirror. Start by sitting your butt back by bending your hips, then bend your knees. Do all of this while keeping your back flat.
The second key to bending (and lifting) properly is learning to keep your core tight. When you actively engage your core, it reduces the amount of stress placed on your spine. (See my post on core exercises for back pain here.)
Think of these 4 simple cues to bend with proper posture and reduce your back pain.
- Pinch your shoulder blades together
- Sit your butt back
- Keep your back flat
- Tighten your core
Physical Therapy Posture Tips for Sitting
When I work at my computer I find myself hunched forward spine rounded and my head in a very odd forward position. For those of you who work at a computer 8 hours a day, this position can lead to serious back pain. Not to mention this position can lead to the “little old lady hump” everyone wants to avoid.
But a few simple tips I’ve learned working in physical therapy can help you avoid both back pain and the dreaded neck hump.
1. Use a lumbar pillow.
I know your chair may have lumbar support, but it’s usually not enough to truly promote an upright posture. Also, everyone’s height is a little different and unless your lumbar support can be adjusted up and down it’s probably not hitting you in the right spot. For these 2 reasons, I recommend adding a lumbar pillow to your chair. I like this one. But if you are more petite, you may want this smaller one. (I do not get paid by this company, it’s just what I’ve used in the clinic.) To learn which lumbar pillow might work best for you, see this site.
When you use your lumbar pillow, position the pillow in the natural curve of your low back or about belt line. This will likely keep your upper back from touching your chair. This is normal. If it isn’t comfortable for you, try putting another small pillow in your upper back. Or you may get used to your upper back not touching the chair over time.
Remember, although you want to maintain an upright posture your spine also likes to move. So take the lumbar pillow out once in a while to give yourself a break especially as you are getting used to it.
2. Sit your hips all the way back in your chair.
If you are using a lumbar pillow, this will naturally happen. Sitting your hips all the way back in your chair forces you to pull your chair closer to your desk and therefore maintain a more upright posture.
3. Position your screen so you look straight ahead.
After you sit your hips all the ways back in your chair and use a lumbar pillow, you may start to notice yourself looking down to see your screen. Instead, find a way to lift your screen so it’s eyelevel when you are in an upright posture. This will discourage rounding forward. You may also have to adjust the height of your chair in order to look straight ahead at your computer. In order to really promote upright posture and reduce back pain or other aches and pains while sitting, try to achieve 90 degree angles in your knees, hips, and elbows.
To show you what proper bending and sitting posture look like, I made a video!
There is so much nuance to posture, workspace ergonomics, and avoiding back pain. My hope is that this post has given you a few practical physical therapy tips to improve posture and reduce and avoid your own back pain.
Do you have questions? I’d love to help! Comment below or reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram!
Disclaimer: These posture strategies are not a substitute for full medical evaluation. You should consult your doctor if you are experiencing any new pain. If any of these strategies sound especially helpful for you, be sure to discuss with your doctor the best way to implement them into your health plan.