B AY O U H E A L T H | BY SHANNON DAHLUM
POSTURE PERFECT
Improve Your Posture to Decrease Pain f you’re like most Americans, you spend a lot of time sitting. You sit to eat breakfast, you sit in the car on the way to work, you sit at work, you sit while eating lunch and dinner, you sit and watch TV, and you sit to read or browse on your phone. During the last month or two, while you’ve been forced to stay in your home more than ever, you may have increased your sitting time even more. While you’re sitting, you’re most likely doing something with your arms held in front of you, too. You’re holding your phone or a book in front of you, you’re typing on a computer, you’re eating, etc., and if you aren’t careful, these activities can put you in a slouched posture with your shoulders drooping forward, your upper back excessively rounded, and your neck jutting forward. This posture becomes the shape your body holds and even when you stand, you continue to slouch forward. The problem with this posture is that it inhibits you from properly breathing from your diaphragm, which triggers your nervous system to remain stuck in a state of stress. This forward rolled posture also causes the pectorals major (the largest of the chest muscles) to stay tight, which can lead to tension and chronic pain in the upper back and
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neck, place excessive pressure on the spinal disks, contribute to headaches, compression of nerves, jaw problems, can limit healthy range of motion in the arms, and even lead to frozen shoulder. The downstream effects of chronically shortened chest muscles can be quite significant, to put it wlightly. Here’s a quick, easy test you can try to give you a good idea about whether or not you have overly tight chest muscles: ▪ Lay flat on your back on the floor with your arms straight out to your sides, in line with your shoulders, and your palms facing the ceiling. ▪ B ring your attention to the bottom of your ribcage in your back and engage your core muscles to actively press it down into the floor. ▪ B end your elbows 90 degrees, in the “touchdown” position. ▪ N otice where the backs of your hands are. If they’re comfortably resting on the floor and you don’t feel any resistance in your chest or the front of your shoulders, then you’re good! ▪ I f the backs of your hands are floating above the floor, or you feel a tight or pulling sensation in your chest, then you have some work to do.
S H A N N O N D E M O N ST RAT E S A Q U I C K A N D E A SY WAY TO T E ST I F YO U H AV E OV E R LY T I G H T C H E ST M U S C L E S
