Poor posture has become increasingly common due to desk jobs, phones, long hours sitting, and lack of movement throughout the day.
A lot of people do not realize their back posture is affecting their energy, mobility, confidence, and even chronic pain levels, until their symptoms worsen.
In this article, I’m sharing a guide on how I fixed my back posture from sitting at a computer for long periods of time.
How to Fix Back Posture
Posture is influenced by muscle strength, mobility, movement patterns, work environments, and body awareness throughout the day.
Small habit changes often create the biggest long term improvements in comfort, mobility, spinal health, and good posture.
I focused on sustainable lifestyle changes instead of relying on temporary corrections. And I’m sharing my story, so it can help you improve your posture long term, like it did mine.
What Does A Normal Back Posture Look Like
Normal back posture looks like an upright torso, with a neutral spine, with its natural curves intact. That’s how I always describe it. That’s my starting position every morning I get to my computer workstation.
As the day goes on, bad posture may start to creep in. Because anytime I place my hands on a keyboard and mouse, then leave them there for long periods of time, my torso will naturally start to slouch forward. It’s my job to have the body awareness to realize this, then approach it from multiple different angles.
Maybe I’ll tell myself, “You’re squeezing your shoulder blades too much.”
Maybe my chest muscles have gotten way too tight.
Maybe my core muscles aren’t all activated in a balanced, symmetrical way.
Maybe I’ll switch from sitting to standing, or vice versa.
Maybe I’ll take a micro break from my desk to get in some movement, hydration, or breath work.
In a relaxed position, regardless if it’s sitting or standing, my desk should be an ergonomic asset that’s working for me. It should be setting me up for posture success.
I should be in a good posture as soon as I sit (or stand) at my desk. I shouldn’t have to adjust my body to get into a good posture. My desk should be properly aligned for me. Those variables can be found in my free eBook about how to improve posture while sitting at computer.
What Causes Bad Back Posture
All kinds of everyday activities can lead to bad back posture.
They include, but aren’t limited to:
- long periods of sitting
- looking down at phones and laptops
- weak core and glute muscles
- tight hip flexors and chest muscles
- poor workstation ergonomics
- stress and muscle tension
- lack of mobility work
- sedentary routines
My awareness of the above variables, combined with my weightlifting experience, helped me understand there’s a fine line between the acts of strengthen and stretch when it comes to muscles.
What Back Muscles Help Posture
Trapezius
My traps used to get incredibly overused and tight from sitting at a computer. They have a lot to do with supporting my shoulders, and partially my arms, when sitting at a computer.
Rhomboids
Rhomboids are located between the shoulder blades. They pull the shoulders backwards. This helped to compensate with my excessive internal shoulder rotation (caused my using a mouse and keyboard for long periods of time).
Erector Spinae
These are arguably 2 of the most important core muscles when it comes to sitting for long periods. They run vertically along the spine, from the pelvis all the way up to the neck.
They help to keep the torso upright. Without them, my spine would slouch forward much more excessively.
Latissimus Dorsi
My lats used to get super tight from (you guessed it) holding my hands on a keyboard and mouse all day. Lats aren’t just for doing pull-ups. They also stabilize the shoulders, spine, and torso. They help posture by supporting the torso in an upright position, controlling shoulder movement, and connecting the torso to the core and pelvis.
Multifidus
The multifidus is a deep spinal muscle that stabilizes the vertebrae and supports a neutral spine. It helps posture by controlling small spinal movements, improving balance, and keeping the spine stable during sitting, standing, and movement.
What Does Bad Posture Do To Your Back
Muscle Fatigue
Sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day is an endurance event. Some of our muscles may be deactivated most of the day. But postural muscles are chronically overused to support our bodies.
Chronic Neck and Back Pain
Sitting isn’t the only enemy. Forward head posture and slouching forward are more specific problems that need to be corrected. They led to chronic neck and back pain when I used to sit at a computer with poor posture.
Reduced Mobility
Repetitive strain and overuse from a computer didn’t magically disappear when I got off work. It went with me to the gym, the baseball field, the basketball court, and beach volleyball courts.
Increased Spinal Stress
My chiropractor taught me about how slouching forward for long periods of time caused spinal disc degeneration. He told me I could stop the progression of it by sitting with a neutral spine. I’ve practiced that ever since. And my spinal disc degeneration has not progressed since 2011.
Headaches
I used to get the worst tension headaches from sitting with poor posture at a computer. They’d always happen around 4pm in the afternoon. After a long day of excessive tension, chronic pain, and dysfunction caused by a workstation that wasn’t ergonomic at all.
Joint Stiffness
The more my muscles tightened up, the stiffer my joints got. Jumping, running, and lifting weights became less and less enjoyable. And it wasn’t just due to getting older. It happened at an expedited rate.
Poor Breathing Mechanics
When I was a full-time office worker with poor posture, I worked in a high-stress environment. Shallow breathing was a standard for me. And it was a problem. I knew it, but I didn’t know how to fix it.
After I finally fixed my posture, I read a couple books about breathing. To sum them up very briefly, I learned I needed to:
- increase the amount of air going into my lungs
- increase the amount of time that air was in my lungs
- (ironically) breathe less times and breathe slower
- breathe more through my nose and less through my mouth (both on the inhale and exhale)
I wrote a few pages about breathing in the book I wrote on how I improve posture at computer.
Increased Injury Risk During Exercise
As I’ve mentioned earlier, repetitive strain and overuse in my muscles didn’t end when I left my desk for the day. It stayed with me 24/7, even when I slept.
My injury risk during sports and exercise increased dramatically. I partially tore my rotator cuff hitting a volleyball. But it was triggered by constantly holding a keyboard and mouse all day.
I also sprained an ankle playing basketball (I tore a tendon). I ended up needing 3 ankle surgeries. But this wasn’t caused by landing awkwardly. It was caused by overused hamstrings and poor foot position while sitting at a computer.
How to Fix Your Back Posture
In addition to back exercises for good posture, here are some quick ergonomic ways I fix my back posture when I’m not in the gym.
Taking Movement Breaks Throughout the Day
Sitting isn’t the only enemy that caused my poor computer posture. Working in the exact same position for long periods of time contributed heavily. That’s why I take breaks at work to improve my blood circulation and muscle activation.
Adjusting Screens to Eye Level
Looking down at a monitor that was too low definitely used to contribute to my back pain. This caused the muscles on the front of my neck to flex and contract. On the opposite side of my neck, the rear neck muscles extended and lengthened over time. Which triggered my back muscles to also extend.
This is why (now) I always work my the top of my monitor screen at eye level. It allows me to keep my neck in a neutral position, with balanced muscle activation between muscles on the front and back of my neck.
Walking Regularly
I used to worry about getting to the gym for intense exercise (after sitting at my computer for 8 hours a day). I’m not so much concerned with that at my age now. Because walking is an underrated way for me to improve blood circulation and improve the balance of my muscle activation.
Using Supportive Sleep Positioning
I make sure to use pillows that keep my neck in a neutral position. Because even when I’m sleeping, I’ve dealt with repetitive strain and overuse injuries caused by poor sleep support and positioning.
Practicing Posture Awareness During Daily Activities
Whether it’s using a resistance band for a shoulder stretch, or you clasp your hands to take break from typing, posture awareness is the first step I took towards correcting my poor back posture.
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
Todd Bowen – Computer Posture Correction and Pain-Free Ergonomics: For Office Workers Who Want to Fix Their Sitting Pain
P.S. If you’ve read this far down the article, you’ll love my digital store.
🙏 Thank you for supporting my work. -Todd