Debunking the Myth of Good Posture

We all know that sitting up straight is hard to maintain – yet industry advice still keeps telling us we’re bad if we don’t.

Researchers are using a new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show that sitting in an upright position places unnecessary strain on your back, leading to potentially chronic pain problems if you spend long hours sitting.

The reason standing upright feels comfortable is because it’s a balanced posture.

However, this changes completely when we sit down.

A study conducted in Scotland concluded that sitting in an upright posture places unnecessary strain on the back – potentially causing pain over prolonged periods.

It also found that a more ‘reclined and relaxed’ position constituted the optimal sitting posture. Findings were:

Disk movement was most pronounced with a 90-degree upright sitting posture.

It was least pronounced with the 135-degree posture, indicating that less strain is placed on the spinal disks and associated muscles and tendons in a more relaxed sitting position.

 

The study defined spinal disk movement as what occurs when weight-bearing strain is placed on the spine, causing the internal disk material to misalign.

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