Six ways to enhance your posture

Diabetes, high-blood pressure, back pain – these are just a few of the medical problems that arise from poor posture – here are six ways you can improve it

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on The Times

Are you sitting uncomfortably? If so, you might be doing your health and posture a favour because a seat or sofa that is softly cushioned is among the worst culprits for encouraging prolonged sitting, the scourge of our sedentary society.

The endless hours we spend sitting is contributing to a rise in metabolic problems and obesity, linked to increased risks of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol and heart disease, even among those who exercise regularly. It fixes us in positions that shorten and tighten muscles, leading to niggles and pain in our backs, necks and hips.

Here are the new rules for improving your posture:

Make sure you get your five a day

Jack Chew, a clinical specialist in musculoskeletal physiotherapy and founder of MSKReform (mskr.info), says that floor sitting requires you to stretch out hamstrings and hip flexor muscles that become constrained by conventional seats. But he says there is no single way of sitting that is beneficial if we stay there for too long. We need to shift and fidget, sometimes sitting on surfaces that are uncomfortable enough to force us to stand up and move again.

Even sitting on a hard-backed wooden dining chair has its merits because it encourages wriggling and writhing rather than sitting still. Variety is key and the five-a-day target for fruit and veg should also be applied to sitting positions.

Practice discreet toe-tapping and calf raises

If you do have to sit in a chair for prolonged periods, there are things you can do to enhance sluggish circulation. Davies recommends repeated calf raises under the desk. “With your feet on the floor, slightly apart, raise and lower your heels as if standing on tiptoes,” he says. “Doing this for ten repetitions several times throughout the day improves circulation and prevents swelling in the lower leg and calf.”

The yoga practice of toe-tapping, performed sitting on the floor, is also helpful, he says. Sit with legs outstretched, back against a wall and heels almost touching, then repeatedly tap the inside edges of the feet together for a couple of minutes at a time. “Anything that moves the feet and legs with small movements is great for boosting circulation and increments of muscle strength when we sit,” Davies says.

Train yourself to sit on the floor

In their book, the Starretts suggest that the ultimate goal “is to work up to sitting on the floor at least 30 cumulative minutes a day, every day”, but you shouldn’t do this amount from the off. “You need to build up floor-sitting time as you would build up endurance of strength,” Chew says. “Do a few minutes a day in different positions, spreading out the time if you need to.”

You can start with your back against a wall or the sofa, but gradually spend more time unsupported. “There’s not a huge amount of difference between sitting against a wall, legs bent, and sitting in a chair,” he says. “But it is a good interim approach as you get used to floor sitting.” It’s not for everyone and it can aggravate existing lower back pain in some people. “No form of sitting should cause pain,” Davies says. “You can experiment with different floor seated postures as there may be one that works better for you.” 

Try ‘long sitting’

Once you are used to sitting on the floor, try it with legs outstretched in front of you, torso leaning slightly forward or what the Starretts refer to as “long sitting”. “This can really stretch out your hamstrings, glutes and calf muscles,” Davies says. “But if you can’t do it very easily, start by having one leg straight out in front of you and the other bent with the foot flat on the floor close to your buttock.” It’s not a position to try if you have sciatica, though, Chew warns.

Try sitting cross-legged on the floor

Similar to the sukhasana (easy pose) and padmasana (lotus position) in yoga, this is helpful for stretching muscles in the legs and mobilising the pelvis and spine, improving all-over flexibility. “It’s not going to be easy if you have very restricted hip mobility from years of chair sitting, and be prepared that sitting crossed-legged on the floor might be uncomfortable or that initially you may not be able to do it at all,” says the Pilates instructor Jo Tuffrey.

“As a first step, try just sitting on the floor and allowing your hips to roll out or externally rotate, as this will create more space in the hip joint, progressing to doing that with the soles of the feet together.”

Chew says cross-legged floor sitting is not recommended for anyone with diagnosed hip tendinopathy or hip pain, and Lexie Williamson, a yoga instructor and author of Yoga for Runners, says that men can sometimes struggle with it because of their narrower pelvis structure. “Sitting cross-legged should never strain your back, which is something many people complain about,” she says. “If it does, adjust your position or try sitting with knees higher, and always switch legs so that each leg is crossed on top at some point.”

Avoid crossing your legs at your desk

Researchers have shown that sitting cross-legged in a chair for prolonged periods increases the loading on the intervertebral discs and the spine, potentially aggravating — or causing — lower back pain.

“Crossing your legs on a chair alters your pelvic position and places unnecessary pressure on the hip flexors, piriformis muscle and the sciatic nerve,” Tuffrey says. “It’s especially problematic if you are prone to sciatica and I tell my clients to avoid doing it if they can.”

Davies says that because people subconsciously tend to favour which leg is crossed on top, they can throw spine, hips, neck and shoulders out of alignment in the long term. “A lot of common niggles and pains in the back and neck can be traced to desk-based cross-legged sitting,” he says.