One of the questions that I always get asked is, what should my posture look like when I’m at work? Because one of the main jobs that people have these days is, of course a desk job. So there’s a lot of sitting, and there was a time magazine cover that came out a couple of years ago. It said, sitting is the new smoking.
So it’s absolutely something that’s causing chronic neck issues and chronic back issues. So in this video, I’m going to walk you through exactly what that proper posture. Should look like. What we’re going to model for you first is actually what proper posture should not look like.
So this is what most Americans do when they sit at their desk. I’m going to have you assume that posture chase again, this is what not to do. So you can see that he’s slumping forward. His head is forward of his shoulders. Where should be? He’s got his arms kind of strewn out. Such different awkward positions that can actually place abnormal tension on the shoulder, on the elbows, as well as in the carpal tunnel area and cause a host of issues there.
But one of the big things is with that neck forward to where it should be, causes chronic neck issues and even low back issues with that slumping into the low back. Another thing to pay attention to is that this screen is actually too low for him. So he’s having to look down at the screen, which can also cause things like neck pain.
So we’re going to shift gears. Jason, I’m going to have you assume that normal posture, and this is what a posture should look like. So I’m going to have him get into position. You can see he’s scooting in the chair a bit because he needs to be closer to the monitor in order to have proper angles with his elbows and with his shoulder.
So we’re going to scoot the keyboard closer to him. And chase. Go ahead and assume that posture. So he’s sitting up nice and tall. He’s got a curve in his low back. He also has a curve in his neck, and then he has a 90 degree angle here at his elbows, which is what we’re shooting for. That’s going to make sure that there’s not pressure on those areas and can prevent things like elbow pain and shoulder pain and pain into the carpal tunnel area.
About 50% of carpal tunnel surgeries fail. And the reason for that is because it’s not always here in the carpal tunnel area, but a lot of times it’s actually a problem in the neck. So you can see that his head is directly over his shoulders. And again, one thing that we haven’t changed here is that that monitor should be higher, so it should be a good six inches higher.
It needs to be an eye level for the patient. So that’s what you want to be assuming. If you ever want us to take a deeper look at that, we can certainly do that for you here in the office. But one of the best things is even if you correct posture, if there’s neck pain has happened in the past, it’s just going to prevent future problems, but it’s not going to necessarily correct what was already there.
So one of the things that we help out with in our Bentonville Chiropractic Clinic is neck pain. It’s probably one of the most common symptoms that comes into our office here at deeper roots health center. And we actually have a neck pain, neck pain, new patients. Special going on right now. It’s just 40 bucks. It’s, it includes an exam, a consultation, any necessary x-rays or other testing we need to do essentially everything to find out the cause of your neck pain.
You can actually hit that button that’s down below here in this information is right underneath the video. Input your information and you can go ahead and schedule that appointment. So we will see you soon in the office. Looking forward to it and until then, take care of that spine.
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