We’ve all heard it before: “Sit up straight”, “Don’t slouch”. Your posture and positions you assume throughout your day affect your body more than you think.

I saw a client this week who worked in finance and spent most of his day sitting. He presented with a rounded upper back and his head was very forward of his shoulders. When I asked him to stand up as straight as he can, his posture didn’t change much.

So I’m going to give you some things that you can do at home or work to fix your posture and ultimately improve your performance in sports.

First, we have to consider what is pulling your shoulders forward and rounding your spine. As a generalization, we could point to the soft tissue structures in the front of the chest, shoulders, and abdominal region that can cause a rounded posture. This includes your anterior deltoids, pectoralis muscles, and even the abdominals. If you sit a lot, these structures can adaptively become short or tight and can contribute to poor posture.

Second, we have to also assess the muscles that pull your shoulders back and your head back. These are the middle and lower trapezius and rhomboids muscles. A secondary effect of the front muscles becoming short and tight, these muscles can reflexively become long and weak.

So we have to stretch the front soft tissue and strengthen the back muscles.

One exercise I like is the Breugger Position.

From a sitting position, sit at the edge of your seat and as tall as you can, keeping your elbows straight, turn your palms facing forward. Now bring your chin in slightly towards your throat, this brings your head in line with your shoulders. Imagine a string pulling the top of your head to the ceiling. Then pull your shoulders down and back, pushing your hands and fingertips down to the ground. Hold this position for 10-30 seconds.

If done correctly, you'll feel tension low between your shoulder blades, and maybe some tension at the base of your head.

Try this exercise every 30 minutes if you're stuck at your desk at work. It can help correct your posture and improve your ability to breath and perform work-related tasks.

If you have an questions or want more information on how to correct your posture, contact PAR5PT.