Having good balance is important in our lives, especially since most people spend hours at their desks these days. There is a lot of information out there about stance, but is it all true?
Before we start, it's helpful to quickly go over what "posture" means. Posture is how our bodies stand up straight against the force of gravity. To keep the muscular system healthy, it is important to stand or sit in a way that doesn't put stress on the muscles and bones.
You can read another one of our blog posts to find out more about what posture is and how to fix it.
Now let's talk about some silly ideas people have about posture:
"It's important to always stand up straight."
As a start, the phrase "correct posture" is itself not always clear. This means that it can be controversial to say exactly what the right posture is and how to fix habits that cause bad posture.
No evidence exists to back the idea that there is a single "ideal" posture that works for everyone. People think it's fine for attitudes to change from time to time and from person to person. A lot of the information you see about how to stand usually tells you what conditions you should meet to keep your joint health in good shape.
Even if you are standing in the "right" way for your health, staying still for a long time is worse. You can put a lot of stress on some muscles, bones, and nerves by staying still just to keep your stance.
More so if you work at a desk;
It's good for your health to get up and move around at least every 30 minutes. Stretching your muscles regularly is also very important.
To put it simply, the "ideal" stance is based on a lot of different kinds of movement.
"Posture problems last forever and can't be fixed."
It's normal to think that some posture problems can't be fixed because they can change the way your bones are built. There are, however, many facts that show the opposite.
Your spine is like the trunk of a tree: A building that requires its bases and branches to go to different places in order to stand. That is, it stands out for being flexible and able to change to different situations, even though it is known for being "hard." People can't move, change, or adapt to it as easily as you think.