Improve Your Spine Health by Improving Your Posture

Advance Physical & Aquatic Therapy

Do you find your back and neck getting stiff and sore at the end of the day? Do you notice your mood feels worse after sitting slumped over your computer? If so, your posture may be to blame.

At Advance Physical & Aquatic Therapy, our physical therapists can help determine if your posture is the problem and how to restore it for a healthy spine!

Your body was made to move, especially your spine. It is typical for areas of your spine to tighten up, placing too much strain on other areas. When this happens, those areas can become irritated and painful.

Too often, we spend our time staring at a computer screen, hunched over our desks, or looking down at our phones. These postures create a lot of stress on our spine. The worse your posture is, the more intense your back and neck pain, the harder it is to breathe, and the worse your mood becomes.

Fortunately, Advance Physical & Aquatic Therapy can help ease some of these stressors. Specialized hands-on techniques and targeted exercises can help restore mobility and strength in your spine and improve your posture.

Our dedicated physical therapists can teach you how to correct your posture and bring you relief before it becomes a significant problem! Call today to make an appointment.

What Exactly Is Good Posture?

When people think of posture, they usually imagine someone sitting tall or perhaps slumped. Or they imagine someone standing tall at attention (like in the military). Posture is the position(s) of a person’s body in space. This includes how we move, like our lifting postures or reaching postures.

When the spine is in its natural position, the vertebrae stack up over one another. This is what people call “good posture” (also referred to as a neutral spine). This neutral spine posture allows the body to absorb and distribute stresses from everyday activities such as sitting, standing, walking or more intense activities such as running and jumping.

Our spine is designed to move, which means our posture should also move. The spine does not like to remain in any one position for extended times. Our therapists can help teach you to find your neutral spine posture to counteract the slouching to alleviate your pain and improve your overall health!

What You Can Do To Improve Your Posture

Prolonged slumping while standing or sitting can cause your back, hip/pelvis, and abdominal muscles to become strained and painful. Poor postural habits also impact your overall health by reducing your cardiovascular function, inhibiting your breathing, impacting your balance and gait, and harming your overall mood.

Our highly trained therapists can educate you about your posture’s impact on your body and teach you simple skills to find and maintain a neutral spine. For example, when you’re standing, imagine your breast bone is lifted towards the sky. This will naturally cause your spine to straighten out — lifting you up — keeping your hips, spine, shoulders, and neck aligned.

Prolonged sitting is the position that puts significant pressure on the lower back. It is essential to break up your sitting time throughout the day and take frequent breaks. Schedule standing or walking activities at various times throughout the day to ensure you limit your sitting to about 45-60 minutes at a time.

How Can Physical Therapy Help My Posture?

Physical therapy is the right solution to improving your posture and spinal health. Our physical therapists are experts in evaluating posture and movement. By pinpointing the source of your aches and pains, we can develop a plan for you that will return you to an ideal posture and quickly relieve your pain.

It is normal for people to lose a sense of how their postural muscles work and contribute to the health of their spine. These muscles become weak and uncoordinated with prolonged sitting, before/after pregnancy, and after surgeries or injuries.

Strength training exercises have been shown to help improve our overall posture. It is vital to make sure your core muscles (i.e., hip/pelvis, back, and abdominal muscles) are strong and integral to practicing proper posture.

Your therapist will teach you strategies like:

Stand tall whenever you are standing or walking.
Use support when you sit to keep your posture correct.
Maintain a straight spine when you lift heavy objects.

We can help you mobilize your spine and strengthen the surrounding muscles to alleviate the pain associated with your poor postural habits.

Improve Your Posture With Advance Physical & Aquatic Therapy Today!

Fixing improper posture isn’t a one-and-done affair, but a visit to Advance Physical & Aquatic Therapy can help you get started. Call us to schedule your appointment today!

Say Goodbye to Pain – Get Started with PT Now!

Ready to feel your best again? Come back to Advance Physical & Aquatic Therapy and let us help you achieve your wellness goals—book your appointment today!

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Healthy Recipe:

Hearty Tomato Soup with Beans & Greens

2 (14 oz) cans low-sodium hearty-style tomato soup
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped kale
1 tsp minced garlic

⅛ tsp crushed red pepper (Optional)
1 (14 oz) can no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat soup in a medium saucepan according to package directions; simmer over low heat as you prepare kale. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add kale and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook for 30 seconds. Stir the greens and beans into the soup and simmer until the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Divide the soup among 4 bowls. Serve topped with Parmesan.

Join us for Gentle Yoga at Advance NOW!

Email brianna@advanceaquaticpt.com for more info & to let us know you are interested!

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Exercise of the Month

Double Knee To Chest

Start on your back with your knees bent. Slowly bring both knees to your chest. Grasp your knees. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat.

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Patient Success

“I came to Advance with imbalances and left side weakness, and I left feeling strong!” -Denise B.

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4 Simple Strategies for Stress-Free Leaf Cleanup

For many of us, autumn is one of the most beautiful times of the year. There’s nothing like the cool refreshing air and breathtaking fall foliage. However, with the changing of the seasons comes a chore that we all dread– raking leaves.

Thankfully, there are a few easy ways to make raking the leaves more enjoyable. If you need help with your follow through on this chore, keep reading!

1. If you can, rake downhill

Raking leaves is hard enough without having to go against gravity. Make this process a little easier on yourself by raking downhill.

2. Pull the leaves towards you as you rake

This technique helps keep stress off your back and prevents injury. For extra preventative measures, tighten your abdominal muscles as you move.

3. Divide your lawn into sections

If you’re dealing with a huge lawn, don’t overdo it by trying to tackle all the space in one day. Instead, divide your lawn into smaller, more manageable sections and spread the work out over a couple days.

4. Wear the proper clothes

To prevent blisters or bug bites, it’s important to wear long sleeves and long pants while raking. It’s also a good idea to invest in a pair of strong gloves to protect your hands while you work.