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Ask HN: What are you doing to look after your posture?

41 points by J-dawg ↗ HN
I guess we all know what sitting in a chair looking at a screen all day can do to you. Forward head posture, rounded shoulders, tight chest muscles, back and neck pain.

What do you do to look after your back and neck?

EDIT: As an aside to this, does your employer offer any help in optimising your work setup for posture? Is it reasonable to expect this?

56 comments

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hyperpape
Not nearly enough.

One thing I have found is that wall angels are surprisingly useful, even though they seem like a trivial exercise. When I first started paying attention to my posture, they were borderline painful, and I can still tell if I've been doing well or not based on how stiff I feel while doing them.

J-dawg
Oh yeah, I discovered those too! A few wall angels seem to loosen up my neck and shoulders almost instantly. I just wish I could get away with doing them at work, I think I'd get a lot of strange looks..
whitewhim
I don't specifically target my posture, but I do take a holistic view to health and fitness. I realize that I've taken a career path that will have me sitting 6-8 hours a day for the rest of my life. Therefore I focus on getting at least an hour of fitness everyday. The gym fulfills a lot of my requirements and I go maybe 4-5 days a week. This allows me to build a strong body. I also play organized sports, and run on my off days. I have a bad back, with mild scoliosis and a rib that easily dislocates and staying fit allows me to reduce the pain.
binarymax
Standing desk and yoga every am for 15 to 30 mins. My posture is great and back pain all gone!
marvel_boy
Just buy an amazing Ikea standing desk[1]

[1]http://gizmodo.com/ikea-sit-stand-desk-review-i-cant-believe...

thanley
I would also recommend a Bekant regular desk and this setup: http://iamnotaprogrammer.com/Ikea-Standing-desk-for-22-dolla...
calinet6
Standing desks aren't the end-all be-all solution!
gkop
Yup. I'd go so far as to say be careful not to stand too much at your new standing desk at first, and in fact pay extra special attention to keyboard and monitor height - their relative positions may be different when standing vs. sitting. (Anecdote: I screwed up my legs pretty bad when a client gave me a standing desk last year and I attempted to maximize my time spent in the standing position. Took about 6 months to recover)
dmansen
I'm trying to get my posture back into alignment after many years of stress. This book helped me: http://www.amazon.com/Pain-Free-Revolutionary-Stopping-Chron...

It gives you a set of targeted exercises depending on your self-diagnosis. His secret weapon is the 'Supine Groin Stretch', shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXYQWFkVTDI. I recommend trying it at least once. The stretch opened my eyes to how my body should and could feel.

makmanalp
This is interesting - could you elaborate? The video doesn't make it seem like there's much stretching going on, but I'm guessing the idea is you stay in that position for a long time and it happens gradually. What stretches? What changes? How does it feel better? etc.
dmansen
You're correct. Calling it a 'stretch' is misleading. It's more of a 'release'.

After many years of sitting, the hip muscles tighten, atrophy, and lose their ability to rotate the hip. The hip stays tight (flexed) and the thigh muscles (and others) end up taking over the role of keeping your body upright.

This works, but stresses these muscles, since they weren't designed for it. This stretch (or release) convinces the thigh to 'let go' of your hip, allowing it to rotate. This has positive effects all the way up your body, especially in the load-bearing joints: ankles, knees, hips, shoulders.

In severe cases, you might need to wait a very long time for this release. My right thigh takes about 40 minutes to release completely. I use the flexing thigh test he describes in the video to know when it's done.

I've been doing it every morning for a week now and can sit upright without pain for the whole day, something I've never been able to do before. I'm looking forward to continued progress!

Edit: More info here: http://www.oregonexercisetherapy.com/blog/egoscue-supine-gro...

makmanalp
Cool!

I'm always skeptical about stuff like this, when it's a person's self-developed method, and you can "Buy The Book!" and there's strategically placed testimonials, and it has it's own useless terminology like "e-cise" and you can get lessons from a certified center. It all just seem too sales-y to me.

But you seem to be a real person, and it worked for you :) I guess I'll have to try for myself.

goodJobWalrus
I do yoga, pilates, barre and general strength training, but most importantly those 3 I mentioned increase your postural awareness in addition to increasing flexibility and strength.
[dead] rikkus
I used to sit upright, 'properly' - but since suffering an injury a couple of years ago I can only sit 'properly' for about an hour before I get pain at the base of my spine. I can delay the onset by lying back at 135 degrees.

I'd love to try standing at work, but I'd be the only one in a large office.

lazyjones
I try to watch TV almost exclusively while walking or running on a treadmill. I tried various ergonomic chairs for PC work, but all of them felt lackluster. I tried a standing desk too and it gave me severe back pains because I found myself switching to more relaxing and less ergonomic postures after a few hours (like putting an elbow down for support and bending the back).
kps
I have a standing desk over a treadmill at home, and find that walking very slowly (~1mph) is more comfortable than standing still and generally does not interfere with thinking or typing.
snarfy
Yoga is pretty amazing for this.
paulrpotts
I was getting a long-ish walk in, of 45 minutes to an hour and a half duration. That did great things for my spine and my mood. I know it's not easy for everyone to find an hour and a safe and pleasant place to walk but if you can, I recommend it. I think the human body basically evolved for walking and if we don't do it while we can, we're not maintaining it correctly.
andrewtbham
Look into the Alexander Technique.
gkop
I took an Alexander class in college 7 years ago. The best thing I got out of it was the ability to sense when my head-neck-spine are happily aligned. Indeed this alignment does seem to affect everything else.
Thriptic
Kelly Starrett, an expert on mobility, has great short pieces on how to optimally sit and walk to improve posture:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sit-better-live-better-excer...

http://www.allthingsgym.com/kelly-starrett-on-posture/

I would highly recommend his book "Becoming a Supple Leopard" to all lifters and anyone generally interested in improving their posture.

ithayer
this is really great advice. did crossfit for a bit and stopped, but some of the mobility stretches using a lacrosse ball and band have changed my life. (warm up first)
wyck
Some tips because I have a herniated disk and severe back issues at the moment:

* Be careful of opinions and chiropractors, if you are in actual pain get a CT Scan or MRI.

* I stand all day at work, maybe I sit for 30 minutes here and there.

* One of the best things you can do for your back is walk. Walking helps align your posture.

* Get a good chair, not necessary an expensive one, you want a chair which supports your back and has your legs supporting some of your weight.

* Doing minimal yoga or stretching is key even if it's for 5 minutes, do not do yoga that stresses your back or twists anything! I do 5 minuets of exercise 3 times a day.

* Strengthen your core muscles and your glutes. You don't need a 6 pack but it certainly helps.

* Engage your abductors often, you can engage some of them any-time you think about them (sort of like holding back when you have to urinate).

* Try to feel your muscles (meditation can help here), you will often notice they are tense or perhaps you are just tense in general. Try and relax, breath and generally loosen up. Getting a massage can also help and thermotherapy is a godsend.

bmj
Strengthen your core muscles, engage your abductors often.

This is really good advice. I regularly see an active release therapist (I'm an avid climber, and no longer a spring chicken, so I get some aches and pains), and he has given me a small selection of exercises to do during the day at work to keep my abductors engaged. It's made a huge difference.

Wolniewicz
Could you share those exercises? Are they something one could do at an office without doing full on planks?
wyck
Honestly its best to ask a pro, backs are complicated and what works for me might not work for someone else, even with a similar injury.

What I do is pigeon pose, cat pose, bird dog, press-up back extensions, and several on my back where I cross my knee over my chest. I do not do any planking or twisting.

bmj
Sorry, totally didn't see this....

My "office" exercises are pretty simple. First, I stand up, reach down and touch my toes (or, as far down as you can reach), then straighten up slowly, focusing on really using my hamstrings and glutes. Second, I cross my legs while sitting on a chair, then pull my knee into my chest for a few seconds. Repeat on the other side.

I do agree with the child's response, though--if you can find a good therapist, they can point you in the proper direction and spot muscle imbalances. Years of focusing on just my upper body (for rock climbing) left my legs pretty unbalanced. I've been working hard to fix that.

dorfsmay
Pullups as my compulsory exercise, if I do one exercise only, this is it.

The yoga mountain pose any time I am standing and remember about it. I'm not into yoga, but this one "pose" is worth learning/practicing.

calinet6
I was JUST thinking about this this week!

I have a simple apple reminder set twice daily to 'check your posture' -- it pops up on me at 11am and 3pm (times I'm most likely to have been sitting for a while) and reminds me to get up and walk around, adjust my sitting position, or switch to standing.

So far so good!

jjuhl
Q: What are you doing to look after your posture?

A: Absolutely nothing.

gadders
Deadlifts.

And as for your edit: In the UK I believe there is a duty on employers to "survey" your desk and workstation setup to ensure it is configured properly. This normally consists of a 10 minute online course telling you what height to have your monitors etc.

pkfrank
Glute activation in general (which is needed to drive the hips forward in a deadlift) has really helped my posture.
J-dawg
I've also heard this (I'm also in the UK), but pretty much never seen a "survey" done in practice. As you said it's usually just a video or some page buried deep in the corporate intranet. I wonder if it's reasonable to expect more (standing desks etc), given the damage that can be done even sitting at a "correctly positioned" workstation. My own employer will buy cheap items (e.g. a laptop stand, trackball instead of mouse if you have wrist problems, etc) but I think I'd be told where to go if I asked for a new desk or chair
gadders
I mostly work for large banks. Not sure if you could get a standing desk, but I've definitely seen people with scoliosis or an otherwise bad back get an upgraded chair.
Spearchucker
Weirdly I fixed my posture when I improved my voice, because The Voice Book (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0571195253). I think he covers posture in the first or second chapter (posture hugely affects your voice). It's been a few years since I read it so don't remember the exact guidance - it involves lying on the floor, getting your head aligned with your body, and ensuring the small of your back is the right distance from the floor. That improves breathing and airflow and then voice. I significantly (noticeably) improved both my voice and my posture.
gdubs
Zen meditation focuses on posture and breathing, which carries over into awareness of posture throughout the day. I use a convertible desk and raise it to a standing position once an hour for ten minutes or so. Keeping my arms at ninety degree angles relative to the keyboard is important for reducing shoulder tension.
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neltnerb
I got a book with lots of helpful diagrams.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979303605/

I found it to be immensely helpful, and my posture is now dramatically improved. The suggestions are clear and actionable. I'd try to explain them here, but honestly the book will do it way better.

I think that the key for me is to check in with my muscles. When my posture isn't right, I can feel it because the muscles on one side or another (or forward and backwards) of my spine or neck are slightly tense.

I've found that not everyone seems to be able to monitor whether a muscle is engaged or not, but if you can, that's a tell-tale sign that your posture isn't neutral. I learned this technique from many years of karate, honestly no idea if it's transferrable if you don't do any physical activity. I feel like it should be possible, but maybe 10% of people I've described it to can feel it.

Other thing that I know for sure is that physical activity will repair a lot of the damage you can do to your body. When I don't do karate for more than about three weeks, my lower back starts hurting (old injury). Regularly not just stretching it out, but working the muscles in those areas by rotating at the hips (in my case with karate punches) smoothly and repeatedly seems to get a lot of blood flow to the affected area, work out deep muscle spasms that are pulling my spine out of alignment, and basically smooths out the action of the joints in the spine. I'm not sure biking or running would help, but I bet swimming would. Needs to be a fairly full body exercise with rotation action around the axis of your spine I think... at least for lower back.