I can’t help but analyze most people’s posture with the way they walk, their differing shoulder heights, and what compensation patterns they exhibit. We often think that we can’t get injured unless we are being careless and that overuse injuries are for people who spend hours each week playing a specific sport or doing something highly active and repetitive.
But what about the Average Joe just doing tasks of everyday living?
Let’s put this into perspective. A few weeks ago I was vacuuming our home, which is a small 3-bedroom apartment. It is not a huge space, however, I still find vacuuming a tedious task. After completing the lounge room I decided to switch hands. I am right handed, so when I vacuum I have my right hand lower down the shaft of the vacuum and my left hand near the top, which puts me in forward flexed position with my right arm and shoulder lower than my left. In this position, the right side of my trunk and low back are also flexed and “bunched up” as I push and pull the vacuum. When I switched sides, I was astounded at how lopsided I felt! I felt a big stretch down my right side and the movement was incredibly awkward … I ended up switching back to my original side without even noticing. Why do I find this so fascinating ?
If I can feel this much of a difference in my body just from vacuuming (which isn’t that frequent of an occurrence -let’s be honest!), imagine how all the other daily tasks that we do can affect our posture.
Below are a list of things we do on a daily basis that can lead to HUGE imbalances, which, in turn, can lead to injury and pain symptoms.
Computer Usage
Let’s start with the most obvious thing – our computers, tablets, and phones. If you are always using the same arm for your phone, imagine how many minutes a day you are creating an imbalance by holding your phone, texting, or talking with the phone tucked into your shoulder. At your computer workstation, think about your mouse arm. How many of us are experiencing neck, shoulder, elbow, and/or hand issues due to using the mouse? The other thing to think about is your posture at the desk. My main issue is leaning on my desk with my left elbow, which causes my hips to lean to the left and my right lower back gets quite sore and tight. When I try to rest my right elbow on the desk, I feel soreness on my right lower back and a weird stretch through my left ribs and side. See if YOU lean on your desk. Do you lean on one arm rest of your chair but not the other? Do you sip coffee with the same hand all morning ? Do you cross your legs ? When we cross our legs, our hips will shift. Have you ever gone to the hair salon and your hairdresser asks you to uncross your feet before they cut your hair ? This is because crossed legs give us uneven hips!
Carrying heavy bags
Another task that can lead to a huge imbalance in strength and posture is carrying our heavy bags, whether this is a work bag, handbag, or our grocery bags. We tend to carry them in our non-dominant hand so that we can have our dominant hand free for the other finer motor skills such as using our keys, our phones, and opening doors. This might not seem too bad, however, if you like to walk to the grocery store 10-minutes away from home, 1-2x/week, for 1-2 years, you can see how all the extra time with an asymmetrical load can become troublesome. Now, for the ladies, please be extremely mindful of your handbags. Don’t carry excessive loads, and try to alternate sides as often as possible. I had a friend ask me to hold her bag one time while she was going into a store, and I was shocked at how heavy it was! She was lugging around nearly 10 kilograms of crap! There is no need. If you have a large, heavy bag, then invest in a proper rollie bag or backpack for work. Think of all the stress through the shoulders, spine, hips, and knees with a big weight going down one side of the body.
Carrying your baby
Same as mentioned above, people with babies are going to go through HUGE changes in their bodies because they now do a lot of their daily tasks while carrying a baby. But unlike a heavy bag, a baby is not dead weight (unless fast asleep) and they will most likely be squirming and flailing their arms around – thus your core stability training better be on point!
Brushing your teeth
Have you ever noticed your posture when you brush your teeth? You are most likely elevating the working shoulder and leaning over the sink with one side of the body rotated forward. You may also transfer your body weight over to that same leg. While brushing your teeth is best done with your dominant arm, try doing it with your other side. See how you go. It might be a messy affair, but it will help put your imbalances into perspective. Let’s say we brush our teeth for 2 minutes every morning and night. That’s 4 minutes a day of favouring one side and doing a lot of the “brushing” motion with one shoulder. Multiply this over 30, 40 or 50 years… that is a HUGE amount of time doing one task with only one side of the body.
Sitting on the couch
One of my favourite things to do is to relax on the couch. Once again, I’m always riddled with ways I can prevent more imbalances from occurring. Think about how you sit on your couch. Do you always sit at the same end, with your arm on the arm rest and your legs off to one side ? Do you always lie on the same side, watching TV with your head turned the same way ? Now think about how many minutes per day and per week do you spend in this position. One thing I’ve started doing is placing a pillow on the coffee table and resting both my legs up on the pillow. Rather than trying to tuck my legs off to the side, which can over stretch one side of the back, keeping them somewhat centred has helped me feel “less sore” when I get up after a stint of TV shows. We all know the feeling after having fallen asleep on the couch… it’s never nice to wake up all crooked. And while sitting on the couch isn’t the best posture either, trying your best to stay centered and even will be beneficial.
Driving your car
Another daily activity is driving. Have you noticed the way you lean towards the arm rest? Or lean an elbow on the door ? If you drive an automatic, one foot is usually elongated on the gas while the other is more bent. This can put our hips in an uneven position, tightening up one side of the lower back. When our hips are uneven, this can often effect our mid and upper backs and leaving us feeling uncomfortable all day. Again, do the math with how many minutes per day or per week you spend driving, and how many years you’ve been driving. This is a lot of time sitting crooked!
What are some solutions ?
While these tasks are pretty much unavoidable, my best advice is to be aware of the imbalance they create, and try your best to minimize them. Try alternating sides for things like vacuuming and carrying your baby (or furbaby). While brushing your teeth, try to stand on both legs evenly, or alternate which side you lean forward with. If you sit at a workstation, keep both feet on the ground rather than crossing your feet and have both hands on the keyboard. If you are taking a break from typing, take both hands off the desk, rather than leaning onto one side. I put my cup of tea on the left side of my computer so I have to use my left arm to drink, which helps minimize leaning onto my left elbow. When I drive, I try to keep two hands on the wheel to keep me more centered. I also put the rear view mirror at the height for me sitting up straight. When I slump, I’m tempted to move the mirror downwards, but then this reminds me to sit up straight. And when I’m carrying the groceries I try to load the bags evenly and carry with both arms. If I do have to load one side more than the other, I try to alternate every few minutes so I don’t stay more loaded on one side for too long. As for the heavy hand bags ? I think a heavy shoulder bag is one of the worst self-inflicted factors that our posture can endure. Get rid of it! If you’re lugging around a heavy hand bag or shoulder bag every day, your body probably shows it. For work, I suggest investing in a good bad that is safer for the back and allows you to carry the load evenly. If you’re too worried about fashion, then think about how great you’ll look with a crooked limp …. cause that’s what will happen.
Invest in a good mobility and stability training program.
The best way to improve your posture is to TRAIN for good posture. Make sure your weekly routine incorporates stretching and strengthening exercises that help centre your body and create balance. If you need some guidance, try our 6 Weeks to Better Posture Program available online now.
Better posture, better life.
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