Bad Posture From Sitting
Does sitting cause bad posture and pain?
Written by Jordan Lees
Physiotherapist, Ergonomic Specialist and Director of The Ergonomic Physio
Physiotherapist, Ergonomic Specialist and Director of The Ergonomic Physio
As physiotherapist's, we often treat patients with postural problems. Further, as ergonomic consultants, we're always getting asked whether sitting is bad for posture.
I won't delve into the argument as to whether or not sitting is inherently bad for us. What I will note however, is that sitting is a very low impact and easy activity on the human body. With that said, as with most things in life, if done in excess, there is no doubt that prolonged sitting can lead to postural problems and musculoskeletal pain.
When sitting, our body has a natural tendency to slouch. This sees the shoulders come forward and round slightly, adopting that well known posture of "rounded shoulders" or "slumped shoulders". If this posture is held for prolonged periods of time, the pectoral muscles (chest muscles) can shorten and tighten, and the back scapular (shoulder blade) muscles can lengthen weaken. If this happens, a rounded shoulder posture can become your norm, and this isn't ideal.
Another issue that rounding of the shoulders causes is "poking chin" or "forward head" posture. When this happens, the muscles that attached between the top of the scapula and the top of the cervical spine (neck) are often irritated and tighten. This alone can cause pain, and also often leads to headaches. Further, if these muscles tighten up, they tend to irritate the cervical vertebrae that they attach to, which exacerbates and prolongs the issue.
Further, when we sit, the lumbar spine flexes and increased stress is placed upon the spine. With prolonged sitting, this can result in pain developing in the lower back region. This is compounded by the fact that prolonged sitting typically results in deconditioning of our core muscles and deep supporting spinal muscles. This further increases the chances of lower back pain, and may also contribute to poor posture, due to the body's inability to rely on the postural muscles to hold us in a good / normal posture.
So, what can you do to your workstation to help prevent bad posture caused by prolonged sitting?
The prolonged nature of sitting is the key. Try to limit how long you sit for at any one time. Even getting up for 60 seconds every hour or so and doing some mobility exercises can help to stop the accumulation of postural stresses caused by prolonged sitting.
Some key stretches/exercises to consider are the chest stretch in the doorway to stretch out the tightened chest muscles, and also some shoulder blade retraction exercises with some theraband, to wake up the back postural muscles that might be getting lazy by your prolonged sitting.
As for your workstation set up, an ergonomic workstation will definitely help to prevent postural problems developing. Some things to consider are:
If you're still having troubles and feel that your poor posture is being contributed to by your sitting, you could try our Ergonomic Induction Program, which has ergonomic checklists, a video tutorial to guide you through the process of setting up your workstation ergonomically, and injury prevention exercises and stretches. You can order that for $42.90 here.
Failing that, please feel free to contact us to book an ergonomic assessment in Melbourne if you're an office employee, or a home office ergonomic assessment if you're arranging it yourself for your home office.
I won't delve into the argument as to whether or not sitting is inherently bad for us. What I will note however, is that sitting is a very low impact and easy activity on the human body. With that said, as with most things in life, if done in excess, there is no doubt that prolonged sitting can lead to postural problems and musculoskeletal pain.
When sitting, our body has a natural tendency to slouch. This sees the shoulders come forward and round slightly, adopting that well known posture of "rounded shoulders" or "slumped shoulders". If this posture is held for prolonged periods of time, the pectoral muscles (chest muscles) can shorten and tighten, and the back scapular (shoulder blade) muscles can lengthen weaken. If this happens, a rounded shoulder posture can become your norm, and this isn't ideal.
Another issue that rounding of the shoulders causes is "poking chin" or "forward head" posture. When this happens, the muscles that attached between the top of the scapula and the top of the cervical spine (neck) are often irritated and tighten. This alone can cause pain, and also often leads to headaches. Further, if these muscles tighten up, they tend to irritate the cervical vertebrae that they attach to, which exacerbates and prolongs the issue.
Further, when we sit, the lumbar spine flexes and increased stress is placed upon the spine. With prolonged sitting, this can result in pain developing in the lower back region. This is compounded by the fact that prolonged sitting typically results in deconditioning of our core muscles and deep supporting spinal muscles. This further increases the chances of lower back pain, and may also contribute to poor posture, due to the body's inability to rely on the postural muscles to hold us in a good / normal posture.
So, what can you do to your workstation to help prevent bad posture caused by prolonged sitting?
The prolonged nature of sitting is the key. Try to limit how long you sit for at any one time. Even getting up for 60 seconds every hour or so and doing some mobility exercises can help to stop the accumulation of postural stresses caused by prolonged sitting.
Some key stretches/exercises to consider are the chest stretch in the doorway to stretch out the tightened chest muscles, and also some shoulder blade retraction exercises with some theraband, to wake up the back postural muscles that might be getting lazy by your prolonged sitting.
As for your workstation set up, an ergonomic workstation will definitely help to prevent postural problems developing. Some things to consider are:
- If you have access to a sit-stand desk, use it to change between sitting and standing regularly.
- Have your chair tilted back slightly to encourage yourself to lean back into the backrest.
- Make sure you have a good chair that is fully adjustable. View our ergonomic chairs here.
- Use a footrest if your feet are not firm on the ground.
- Make sure the computer screens are high enough so that you're not looking down at all, as this will encourage you to lean forward.
If you're still having troubles and feel that your poor posture is being contributed to by your sitting, you could try our Ergonomic Induction Program, which has ergonomic checklists, a video tutorial to guide you through the process of setting up your workstation ergonomically, and injury prevention exercises and stretches. You can order that for $42.90 here.
Failing that, please feel free to contact us to book an ergonomic assessment in Melbourne if you're an office employee, or a home office ergonomic assessment if you're arranging it yourself for your home office.
