Posture is the particular way that we hold our bodies. We could be holding our bodies like this consciously or subconsciously. Sometimes, you can correct your posture very easily. Other times, improving your posture can be extremely difficult. Sitting at a computer causes stubborn tension in our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia.
Think about how many years you’ve been sitting at a computer desk for 40 hours per week. Healing our chronic pain, that’s caused by sitting at a computer, is a long and complex process. We’ll need to approach it from many different angles. The first step towards improving your posture is to increase your body awareness.
Good posture is important. Before we can have posture that is right, we need know what we are doing wrong. Posture can be a way that we sit, stand, and even lay down to sleep. It’s not so much the position we are in, but how long we are in that same position. That is why I make sure to take plenty of breaks at work. When I return from my break, I sit and stand, switching often, multiple times throughout my workday.
Maintaining good posture is important. It can affect our overall well-being in a big way. Bad posture affects us physically, as well as mentally. I’m very interested in the direct connection between physical, mental, and emotional stress. I’ll get more into this in another article.
Quick disclaimer, this article is not medical advice.
I simply talk about my experience and what has worked for me. Do your research, talk to your doctor or physical therapist. But most importantly, be informed so that you’re the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
Let’s talk about how to check if we have good posture. I commonly refer to this as body awareness. When it comes to sitting at a computer desk, good posture isn’t as simple as just sitting up straight. It’s actually a complex process. To get started, check out the next few paragraphs for some quick, but important, ways to improve body awareness.
First, understand that we have a natural “S” curve in our spines.
Sitting up straight isn’t the answer to all of our problems. Sitting slumped over forward at a computer obviously causes problems. But sitting up straight could actually cause different health problems for us if we overextend (or sit up too straight). When sitting, I’m always conscious of the natural “S” curve in my spine so that I don’t overextend it. Otherwise, lower back pain is going to get me eventually.
Always keep your feet flat on the floor.
This one is an easy fix. Sitting at a computer involves a ton of repetitive stress. Stress used to make me pull my feet back under my chair, under my body. My toes were still touching the ground, but the soles of my shoes were not. I didn’t do this consciously. It just happened naturally. I finally realized that my hamstrings were constantly contracted in order to pull my feet back like this. It ended up causing a lot of unnecessary muscle tension and dysfunction in my legs. My hamstrings were tight, shortened, and compressed. At the same time, my quad muscles were deactivated, lengthened, and overextended.
When I began keeping my feet flat on the floor, my legs generally felt much better. It meant my lower legs were perpendicular to the floor. My upper legs were parallel to the floor.
Anytime I struggle with body awareness, I take a break from my work. I get out of the position I’ve been working in. I get in a relaxed position away from my desk. Also, I take a deep breath and try to disconnect from my work both mentally and physically. I continue taking deep breaths and focus on where the tension is in my body. When I return to my workstation, I consciously correct the position and fix what I was doing wrong.
For a more in-depth process on how to correct your posture, go here to download your Computer Posture Checklist. Maintaining good posture can bring many benefits and make health problems less of an issue. Knowing these benefits can help you maintain good posture for a longer period of time.
3 Benefits of Good Posture
Decreased Pain in Muscles and Joints
Maintaining good posture affects our physical performance day and night, not only for the 8 hours we are sitting at a computer. Whether we sit down, stand up straight, or actively move, sitting, our computer posture also affects the rest of our day. This is because of the extended length of time we sit and stand at our workstation.
Muscles are attached to tendons. Tendons are attached to bones. Tendons are often attached to these bones near a joint. When we have joint pain from sitting, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the cartilage inside the joint has an issue. That’s rarely the case. Repetitive strain injuries caused by sitting appear to cause joint pain, but the pain is actually near the joint (at the tendon). The tendon hurts because the muscle is being used for an extended period of time. The muscle strains, which tightens and shortens the muscle. When the muscle is shortened, it puts more load on the tendon. This load on the tendon often causes pain known as tendonitis.
Improving your posture can lead to strengthening your core. With increased core muscle strength, this will decrease pain in muscles and joints because they don’t need to overwork, which is what happens when the core muscles are weak. In my experience, this could lead to headaches, excessive tension, dysfunction, and pain throughout the upper body.
Increase your body awareness, then correct your posture. From that point, maintain good posture consistently.
Health benefits I’ve gotten from good computer posture include:
- Improved blood flow
- Better functionality of abdominal muscles
- Less shoulder and neck pain
- Better results from stretching
Increased Energy Levels
Posture affects our energy levels directly. Having poor posture requires more energy than maintaining good posture. Bad posture affects us physically, mentally, and emotionally. All of these drain our energy levels. If our energy levels are low, we won’t be able to maintain good posture for long. The quicker we fall into a bad posture position, the more of a toll it will take on our energy levels for the rest of the day.
Having increased energy levels has multiple benefits. It’s easier to breathe, it helps prevent back pain, and it improves physical performance. All of these are directly related to our posture. Good posture is important because it increases our energy levels.
Improved Mental Clarity
Just like with energy levels, posture is directly related to mental clarity. If I have poor posture, my mental clarity will be low and foggy. On the other hand, my mental clarity is improved greatly on a day while I’m maintaining good posture. When my mental clarity is higher, I make decisions more easily and quickly, which requires me to sit and stand at my workstation less, which requires less muscle strains.
Maintaining good posture can bring many benefits and make health problems less of an issue. Knowing these benefits can help you maintain good posture for a longer period of time.
If you liked this article on good posture benefits, you’ll love my eBook…
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
Todd Bowen – Computer Posture Correction and Pain-Free Ergonomics: For Part-Time Athletes Who Sit at a Computer Full-Time
Whenever you’re ready, sign up for my Computer Posture Newsletter here. (it’s free)
Especially if you’re an athlete, who sits at a computer for a living.
I write about easy, actionable ways to:
- Decrease computer pain
- Increase mental clarity
- Increase work productivity
- Improve posture
- Decrease muscle tension
- Improve muscle recovery
- Improve joint function
- Increase energy
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Or, take your ergonomics to the next level with 1 of these 2 options:
45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture – The book I wrote to be the resource I wish I had back in 2002, when I first started sitting at a computer for long periods of time.
Computer Posture Checklist – All 27 posture cues I use, for both sitting and standing workstations.
🙏 Thank you very much for supporting my work. – Todd