Common Posture Mistakes
There are multiple ways you can stuff up your spine by simply relaxing. Any time your spine is in a poor position for a prolonged period, there can be strain of your ligaments and overloading of your joints.
Many poor postures can be comfortable initially, but over longer periods of time they lead to damage. You may not even notice this damage... until you try to move.
When watching TV often people like to recline on their couch. However, if you don’t have the correct support behind your back it can lead to a slouch.
This slouch involves mild thoraco-lumbar strain. You can relax into a couch, but make sure your spine is well supported. The key is keeping it in a neutral position, this means keeping it straight.
Lying across your couch can be comfortable but resting your head on the armrest can be very bad for your neck. It may be comfortable initially, but can lead to a terrible angle of your neck as your body sinks into the couch cushions, while your head stays at the same level. Having your head and neck on a bad angle for 10min is not great, but really bad for you if you’re watching a whole movie. Many patients have ended up at the chiropractors office following this mistake.
Slumping forward while you’re at the PC is another no-no. You should be sitting upright the whole time. If you start to get tired, have a stretch or a break.
If you have a laptop instead of a PC you need to be aware that looking down at the laptop screen is really bad for your neck. You should try to plug in a portable mouse and keyboard, and put a box under the laptop to elevate the top of the screen to eye level.
If you are on your mobile phone for any prolonged period, then you need to elevate the mobile so that your neck is not on an acute downward angle. Try putting some cushions on your lap, holding the mobile on top of the cushions will allow your neck to be on a better angle.
Prolonged twisting is quite bad for your spine too. This can happen, for example when someone is sitting down beside their garden, twisting to their side to reach the weeds. However, oftentimes it can be more subtle, for example, when someone has two screens for their PC and ends up looking at the one on the side for long periods. When watching TV, make sure your whole body is facing the screen rather than just your face.
Sleeping on your side is the ideal position, sleeping on your front is the worst position. Make sure you use a pillow which allows your neck to be in a neutral position relative to the rest of your spine.
Bad posture x time = postural effect
If you have terrible posture for a short duration, it may not cause too much grief.
If you have slightly bad posture for binge-watching Tiger King you may get some ill-effect.
If you have terrible posture for a whole Tiger King series then you could easily develop damage to your back which results in pain and stiffness.
Varying your position of relaxation is a great way to mitigate the strain on your ligaments and joints.
Remember the key to relaxing is to have your spine in a neutral position, as best you can.