Taking care of your health and lengthening your lifespan goes much further than exercising and eating fruits and vegetables. Having a good posture is vital to age in good health and to avoid back and nape pain, respiratory problems, poor sporting performance, digestive problems, tired muscles and hormonal imbalance, problems that can worsen over time if you don’t remedy it.
“During our life, our joints and our ligaments become less elastic, they adapt more difficult to bad postures, which can lead to a compression of the nerves or spinal cord, poor tolerance for physical activity and chronic pain,” explains Praveen Mummaneni, specialist surgeon of the vertebral column at the University of California, in San Francisco.
A good posture allows you not only to avoid these problems, but also to benefit from better coordination, better balance, greater energy, better cognition and greater self -confidence.
“A good posture allows you to distribute your weight fairly, which is important because, when your weight is distributed fairly, your musculoskeletal apparatus is properly aligned, which allows your body to operate more effectively with less constraints on joints and bones and a global reduction in wear,” explains Laura Deon, specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation Center de Chicago.
Having a good posture is above all understanding that your back should not be completely straight, no matter how many times you have been told to “stand up” during your youth.
“Know that the spine is naturally curved,” explains Brook Martin, associate professor of research in orthopedics at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Utah.
This means that when your spine is seen aside, “we see it bent back in the lower back, forward at the top of the back, and also backwards in the neck,” explains Mummaneni. “This allows the head to be centered compared to the neck and torso to be centered compared to the hips,” he adds, which is the ideal placement to maintain a good posture.
In a sitting position, it is a question of keeping your feet flat on the ground with a knee angle/hip greater than ninety degrees. “Your forearms must be supported by the office or the armrest, your shoulder blades must be slightly lowered and returned, and your ears and your head must be aligned with your shoulders,” explains Drew Schwartz, specialist in preventive medicine and chiropractor at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio.
In a standing position, it specifies that your feet must be spread from the width of the shoulders, your knees unlocked and aligned with your hips, your slightly lowered and back shoulders, and your ears directly above your shoulders. “If you are standing, your weight should be uniformly distributed on each foot,” adds Deon.
A good posture also means a lot of movement.
“When most people think of the posture, they envisage static positioning,” says Schwartz. “However, the best posture advice encourages movement and fluidity as far as possible. »»
“Having a good posture minimizes the amount of stress on all your muscles by reducing the work they have to do,” explains Mummaneni. An aligned and healthy musculoskeletal apparatus, according to him, can also prevent nervous and circulatory systems from developing problems such as the pinch of the nerves, hormonal disorders and conditions related to repetitive movements such as carpal canal syndrome and epicondylitis.
An aligned musculoskeletal system reduces the risks of a herniated disc and back pain, arms, legs and necks linked to nerves.
The opposite is also true, research showing that shoulder and back pain can be relieved by a posture correction, as well as “muscle strength and power acquired through good posture”, explains Kevin Weaver, assistant professor of physiotherapy at New York University. “In short, a good posture allows the body to move more efficiently and more judicious,” he adds.
In addition, you risk making falls or needing surgery when you are older. “People with good posture can avoid having hip or knee prostheses as they get older,” explains Praveen Mummaneni. Laura Deon adds that this can also reduce the probability of having hemorrhoids or problems linked to poor circulation, such as headache due to tension and endolris or painful muscles.
A correct posture can also improve breathing. Schwartz notes that ineffective respiratory schemes are associated with a damaged posture, in part because such a position obliges the body to rely more on the breathing of the upper part of the chest. On the other hand, diaphragmatic breathing, sometimes called ventral breathing, “is more effective and stimulates the relaxation paths in the body,” he explains.
A good posture can also improve digestion, according to Laura Deon. This can help you potentially avoid problems such as stomach burns, constipation and high levels of blood sugar. This is important, because the most serious consequences of bad posture on health can take years before manifesting.
“Unfortunately, for the most part, the symptoms of poor posture only appear when they have become a medical problem,” said Vietta Wilson, kinesiologist and health science specialist at York University in Toronto, Canada.
If it has many physical advantages, a good posture can also improve your mental health and your work, your school life and your social life.
“Research shows that a good posture can also help remain more concentrated: we know that the mind is getting easier for people who are lying down rather than those who are standing or seated,” said Laura Deon.
She adds that it has been shown that a good posture improves a person’s mood and reduces the occurrences of depression. “Compressed nerves can decrease cognitive functions and even motivation,” she explains.
Richard Petty, researcher and professor at the Ohio State University, co-wrote a study demonstrating that maintaining a correct posture can “strengthen the feeling of confidence”. “Having a good posture can make you feel more confident and can even improve your general satisfaction,” he says.
Good posture can also improve interactions and human relationships. “We have learned that a person who has a neutral position at the head is perceived as more cooperative than a person who has the head at the top or below,” explains Laura Deon. For this reason and because the posture plays an important role in body language, “a good posture can improve communication skills and make daily exchanges more fluid”, she explains.
To benefit from the advantages linked to a good posture, Brook Martin recommends being aware of the way we sit and the way you stand and to train to do it properly enough so that it seems natural.
He also suggests strengthening quadriceps, hamstrings, thighs, abdominals and back muscles. “By increasing the power and flexibility of the muscles of the trunk and legs, we help maintain the natural curve of the spine and increase the stability of the joints of the vertebral body,” he explains.
The movement being essential to a good posture, Weaver recommends getting up and moving often, and practicing any form of physical exercise that you like. “The exercise improves posture and thus reduces the risk of chronic diseases and injuries,” he explains.
To increase the movement, Mummaneni recommends using an adjustable desktop, “so as not to spend the whole day avachi or curved in front of its computer screen”. When sitting at an office, he suggests raising the screen at the height of the eyes to avoid looking too often down, “and when you are standing and walking, you have to try to look forward as much as possible”.
Laura Deon insists on the importance of wearing adequate shoes, stressing that flat and low heels, which offer good support, are particularly beneficial. She also suggests investing in seats offering good back support and solid armrests.
Whatever the technique you choose, Richard Petty says that a good posture can be acquired with training.