ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

Being in pain is grim enough but being in pain whilst you're technically resting such as sitting, lying, driving etc is truly grim.

Chairs and poor posture are two of the main cause of pain with sitting so making sure that both these things are good can often help relieve the problem.

A few things to consider with sitting:

1. Are your low back and upper back curves supported by the back of the seat?  Can you adjust the seat back to achieve this?

2.  Are your hamstrings or hip muscles too tight making it difficult to sit well?  Stretches can make a real difference!

3.  Do you find it tiring to sit in a good position for more than a few minutes?  Do your shoulders or other muscles hurt as the sitting goes on?  Getting up and moving around regularly can really help to reduce pains so too can making sure you've got enough of the right muscles working such as your core muscles.  Pilates is a good one for this.

4.  Is your desk too high or low for your chair? Do you reach forwards to get to your keyboard/mouse or can you keep you upper arms level with your body whilst still having a 90 degree elbow angle?  Raising or lowering your chair can help to reduce these problems....don't forget you might need a footstool here.

5. Is your sofa too low and/or too soft? Do you tend to sit with your feet up?  Cushions in your low back can help to give you the support you need for your back and lowering your feet can also help you reduce the tension in your hamstrings and nervous system.

6. Are your arms at the end of their reach to hold the steering wheel when you drive or do lean to one side such as on the window frame?  Have you tried changing the seat position both its uprightness (is that a word!?!?) and maybe its distance from the pedals?  Making sure you've got equal weight through our buttocks is important to ensure your spine etc  is being loaded equally.

If you'd like an idea of how to get your back curves in the right position and how this all looks functionally why not have a look at this  youtube footage for some handy posture hints that I've made.  I hope it helps. However if you still have questions feel free to either drop me an email or why not book your on-site postural assessment and I'll come and look at you in your office, car, home etc.....   

If you’d like to find out more or book your assessment just call or email.  This service is usually £100 but is available for £50 until Friday June 1st.  The only restrictions are that assessments must be within 4 miles of North View and if you need paperwork to be completed an additional charge of £15 will be made.