Do you have shoulder, neck or back pain? Do you sit for long periods of time throughout the day?
Many people suffer from the impact of frequent prolonged sitting in one place. Sitting seems like a fairly harmless activity until you realize that it can significantly affect your quality of life.
With the advancement of technology, a lot of professions now involve working at a desk, in front of a computer, which limits one's ability to be mobile most of the day. Neck, shoulder or back pain is most common among people working in so-called sedentary jobs. Often these people have limited spinal mobility, which also limits their movements.
In this article, we'll address what a thoracic spine is, what effect "bad" posture has on your body, and give you some tips on how to improve your spinal mobility.
The thoracic spine is the area of your spine that lies between your neck and your lower back. This area is made up of 12 vertebrae, with one pair of ribs coming out of each vertebra to form the rib cage.
In order to perform a forward or lateral bend, multiple movements are required in the individual vertebrae that make up the spine, which collectively perform the movement. In the thoracic spine, the possible movements are: forward bending, backward bending, sideways bending, and rotations.
As you can see this segment of the spine is quite mobile and is designed to move. Unfortunately, when we don't use it properly compensation occurs on the side of the neck or low back, which in turn puts these compensating areas under a lot of stress.
The most common sitting posture is with the head extended forward, back hunched, shoulders tucked in and pelvis tilted back.
Sitting for long periods of time in this static posture can make you feel stiff and limit your mobility.
Poor posture can lead to muscle imbalances and can predispose you to developing what is known as upper and lower crossed syndrome. These conditions occur when certain muscles are placed in shortened positions for an extended period of time, causing them to tighten. As a result, the muscles that do the opposite work to the shortened muscles are stretched and weakened.
The idea is to set small achievable goals throughout the day. A few quick changes at work can have a big impact on how you feel at the end of the work day.
The goal is to change your habit of sitting for long periods of time in the same posture and start moving as much as possible.
Here are some tips to get you started:
The idea is that changing your posture every 30 min. It can prevent you from feeling stiff and building up tension in your muscles. This doesn't mean you need to stand straight all day, it's better if you can alternate and combine sitting, standing and walking as the day progresses.
In many of our articles we have focused on what is the correct posture when working at a desk. Make sure your feet are flat on the ground, your hips and knees are bent at a 90-degree angle, your monitor (or phone) is directly in front of you at eye level so you don't have to strain your neck looking up or down. Roll up a small towel and place it across your lower back to avoid tilting your pelvis backwards and make sure your elbows are bent at 90 degrees.
As previously mentioned the ribs are attached to the thoracic vertebrae, when you combine deep breathing with thoracic mobility exercises you induce additional stretching and improve spinal mobility.
Remember "your best stance is the one that follows", this means that there is no one-size-fits-all perfect stance. Instead, pace yourself between position changes to maintain good mobility of your spine. Our suggested tips are easy changes you can incorporate today and help yourself reduce uncomfortable pain and stiffness at the end of the workday.
