Todd Bowen, Author at SittingPosture.com

How to Sit with Psoas Pain

The psoas muscle is very complex. It doesn’t work like a typical muscle. The psoas muscle attaches to multiple vertebrae in the lumbar spine. A typical muscle has a tendon on each end that connects it to a bone. The general psoas muscle is made up of a psoas major and a psoas minor. We have one of these on each side of our spine. At its highest point, the psoas muscle begins at the lumbar vertebrae. It runs downward through the area of the hip flexors. At its lowest point, the the psoas attaches to a tendon on the back side of our upper leg, which also adds to the complexity of it. The tendons of the psoas all connect in the posterior (back) side of the body. However, the psoas muscle uniquely travels through the anterior (front) side of the body.

How To Sit With Psoas Pain

When the psoas contracts, it allows us to rotate the hip externally. It also gives the ability to life your leg, as well as move it laterally. The psoas muscle is a major force that helps the spine and legs move together effectively. It’s a major force when it comes to any full body movement like running and squatting.

It also provides a large amount of stability that helps us keep our spine and torso upright. This is a crucial variable required to sit for long periods of time with good computer posture. The psoas muscle is one of the few muscle groups that connects our upper body to our lower body. Sitting can affect the psoas muscle because it is very prone to overuse. The average computer worker is at a desk 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 2000 hours a year. That’s a massive amount of repetitive strain, regardless if we are sitting with good or poor computer posture. When we sit for long periods of time, it can cause a tight psoas.

How to Sit Comfortably with Sciatica Nerve Pain

Symptoms of sciatica can include inflammation, irritation, pain, numbness, or tingling of the sciatic nerve. A number of places could be painful including the back, butt, or legs. In my experience, sciatic pain has ranged anywhere from light discomfort to incredibly sharp, shooting pain.

Sciatica can become debilitating in extreme cases. It happened to me once. The sciatic pain felt like a knife stuck in my back. I couldn’t walk. I was stuck in bed for almost 2 days. It hurt even to roll over in bed. I ended up going to the emergency room for it. I was out of work for about 10 days.

It’s hard to believe that sitting for long periods of time causes this extreme sciatica pain. My poor sitting position definitely contributed to my shooting pain. There were many reasons. I had an old office chair that didn’t fit me well. I never used a standing desk back then. Also, I would sit for long periods of time without taking breaks. This led to my most overused muscles and tissues lacking blood flow. My lumbar spine was not properly supported. I didn’t have an ergonomic chair that included lumbar support. I never sat with proper posture because I didn’t know how to do it.

Cervical Spine Exercises

The degenerative disc disease in my cervical spine used to cause a lot of neck pain. Years ago, I’d look down at a computer screen 40 hours per week. My front neck muscles would compress and get shorter. My rear neck muscles would overextend and get longer. Holding my neck in this long term position caused a lot of dysfunction and muscle confusion.

The cervical spine is located in the neck and upper back. It’s the uppermost portion of the spine. It’s made up of the top 7 vertebrae. Having a healthy, strong cervical spine is incredibly important to maintain good postural habits at a computer. It plays a huge part in supporting the head.

Fixing My Neck: Cervical Spine Exercises

To fix my neck pain, the first step I took was to better understand the natural curves of the spine. Next, I would do neck stretches to improve my range of motion. Finally, strengthening the muscles around the cervical spine has helped improve my posture. The most effective method of neck strengthening for office workers is to use an Iron Neck. To learn more, I wrote an Iron Neck Review that can be found here.

Prolonged sitting in front of a computer can increase the risk of injury and neck pain. This can happen regardless of how good or bad our posture is. However, having strong and flexible neck muscles in a good postural position will help resist injuries. Once my posture suffers, neck pain is much more likely to happen quicker. Exercise and frequent movement can help prevent this from happening. So today, I’m dedicating a post on cervical spine exercises that can help improve the strength and flexibility of the neck muscles to help prevent injuries and neck pain in the long run.

How to Sit Comfortably in an Office Chair

The majority of Americans are required to sit for 40 hours or more every week. Prolonged sitting in a static position, with incorrect posture, can cause long term and short term effects. Not everyone has the luxury of having an ergonomic office chair. But there are ways to sit comfortably and properly. These good sitting posture habits can help prevent some of the negative effects of a prolonged sitting position.

person showing how not to Sit Comfortably in an Office Chair — Photo by Cottonbro Studio via Pexels

How To Sit Comfortably In An Office Chair

How to adjust an office chair

Everyone has different variables when it comes to ergonomic sitting posture. Some of them include arm’s length, torso height, leg length, height of desk, height of your chair, etc. There’s no one way to describe how to sit properly in an office chair. It’s up to each of us to take our own variables into consideration when finding a comfortable sitting position. But with that said, here are 3 main rules I follow to adjust an office chair. These can apply to anyone.

My feet are flat on the floor

I never want an office chair too high so that you can’t rest your feet flat on the floor. You may have to sit at a very high desk, which causes you to raise your chair so much that your feet don’t touch the floor. In this case, a footrest would work just as well. Just make sure your feet are flat on the footrest.

Are Sit Ups Bad for Lower Back Pain?

Back pain is a serious issue for those of us who work on a computer for long periods of time. I used to suffer from back pain chronically when I sat at a computer 40 hours per week. The back is a very complex muscle group. There are a lot of variables to consider. When the spine is not in a neutral position, the compression forces repetitive strain and overuse injuries much quicker than if we had good posture.

Are Sit Ups Bad For Lower Back Pain

It’s also important to be careful in choosing the activities you do. After a long day of sitting, it might be a bad idea to do ab workouts that build core strength. The core muscles definitely need to be strengthened, but I usually did more harm than good when I did core exercises after sitting at a computer all day. Although it may not feel like it, my core muscles work all day long to support my torso at a computer. Working on a computer for long periods of time is an endurance event, regardless if we are sitting or standing. Going straight to a gym after work to do sit up repetition wasn’t the ideal balance for me. I always tried to do my core exercises on days that I wasn’t doing any work on a computer.

Exercise is very important to me.

As I’ve gotten into my mid-forties, I’ve noticed the lack of muscle growth and activation I was used to when I was younger. That elusive six pack is much harder to achieve as I’ve gotten older. The more I use my core muscles to support my computer posture for long periods of time, the more my abdominal muscles get tighter, weaker, and more deactivated. But these are just more reasons and more motivation to focus on my physical fitness. A huge variable of that is training my abdominal muscles effectively. Improving my core strength hasn’t been an easy task for me. Certain body movements and core exercises have made my back pain worse, sometimes including sit ups and crunches. So today, I’m dedicating this post on how sit ups can affect lower back pain.

Ergonomic Tips For Laptop Users

Ergonomics means the “the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment” (definition credit Google/Oxford Languages). When it comes to working on a laptop, ergonomics means posture. It also means requiring good habits from multiple indirect variables. These variables can mean sleep quality, breathing, and hydration. Click on any of those if you’d like to take learn ergonomic tips about each subtopic. All of them are related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.

Using a laptop is very different from using a desktop. Laptops have a very compact design. My laptop screen, laptop keyboard and mouse are all within 13 inches of each other. Having to focus my eye level on my laptop screen, plus my hands on the keyboard and mouse, creates awkward postures. Factor in that we are in this vulnerable position for a long period of time, it exponentially increases the risk of injury. Laptops are not designed for all-day use.

Proper laptop ergonomics can help decrease the strain and pressure on your neck and back. Any time I feel physical pain, my work productivity and mental clarity suffer. Following a few ergonomic tips can help improve your productivity and clarity.

What are Ergonomics?

The definition on ergonomics is “the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment” (definition credit: Google/Oxford Languages). Ergonomics are much more than just posture. Posture is the position of a person’s body. In our case, the position we are in while sitting or standing at a computer workstation. Posture is an important variable. But when we add the variable of working for an extended period of time, it’s important that our ergonomics aims at a well-rounded practice of multiple variables.

What are Ergonomics?

Sitting and standing at a computer for long periods of time delivers a high risk of injury. It’s up to us to ensure we are working in a safe working environment. I understand that sometimes we are at the mercy of external factors. A lot of work just has to be done on a computer. Often, there is a lot of that work. This requires us to work in the same vulnerable position for long periods of time, which brings an increased risk of injury. However, there are plenty of human factors we can practice in order to maintain safe work at a computer. Today, I’ll talk about 4 subtopics of computer ergonomics that are very important for safety and health. They are sleep, breathing, hydration, and posture.

How Can Posture Affect Your Health

My definition of posture is the position someone holds their body in. Posture is a constant variable in our lives. The importance of good posture becomes much greater when we are working in a position for an extended period of time. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries are the enemy. Not necessarily the position we are sitting or standing in. A key variable in how to maintain good posture is to change the position we are working in multiple times throughout the day.

person having a headache because Posture Affect Your Health — Photo by Stockbakery via Megapixl

Having a neutral spine is another key variable to improve your posture. The old advice of “stand tall”, or “sit up straight”, is actually more complex than that. Sitting or standing “too tall” can possibly lead to poor posture. The spine isn’t straight. It has natural curves. When we properly sit and stand up straight, the spine is curved, which is often referred to as a neutral spine. Sometimes I refer to it as a balanced spine, that isn’t compressed or overextended.

Bad posture affects my confidence, pain levels, and overall health.

Proper posture looks like the combination of balance and stability. When working on a computer for long periods of time, I like to compare myself to a tree. Strong, but also able to move slightly, like a tree blowing in the wind. Not strong and stiff all day long, like a brick building. This would lead to poor posture from repetitive strain and overuse injuries.

How to Improve Neck and Back Posture

Having good posture is very important to me. Repetitive strain injuries are still possible while we hold this position of good posture. Working in any one position for extended periods of time can lead to painful overuse injuries.

woman working in an office looking to Improve Neck and Back Posture — Photo by Anabgd via Megapixl

But, as soon as we have poor posture, our risk of injury exponentially increases. These common postural problems include pain, tension, lack of energy, lack of focus, and lack of productivity. Poor posture can shift our center of gravity forward and overload our muscles and connective tissues. Reaching forward to use a keyboard and mouse makes us completely forget we have a back rest on our chair. We slouch forward, causing us to lose the natural curves in our spine. When we hold this position for 8 hours a day, it can cause chronic back, neck and shoulder pain.

Why Office Chair Armrests Don’t Work For Me

The standard American desk chair is way too big for most of us. I’m 6’3″ tall. I weigh 205 pounds. The average chairs fit is even way too big for me, despite the ability to adjust height and width. Not only is it too big, using armrests proved to be destructive to the muscles and tendons in my neck and shoulder.

computer table and chair with keyboard and mouse — Photo by Michal Kubalczyk via Unsplash

We won’t get into redesigning ergonomic chairs today. Although, it’s on my list of things to do in the future. Sign up for my email newsletter here if you’d like to be notified of my future articles.

Today, I’m dedicating this article to explain the bad posture mistakes I used to make, related to using armrests while sitting on the chair. Nothing on my website is professional medical advice. It’s for educational purposes only. I share my experience, what has worked for me, and what hasn’t. I talk about the poor posture mistakes I’ve fixed and the good posture habits I’ve learned. You are your primary caretaker. Do your research and make good decisions. Be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare and sitting posture, specifically related to armrests height. Both height and width of office chair armrests have posed poor posture mistakes for me in the past.

Good Computer Desk Posture

The average computer user sits at a desk 8 hours a day, 40 hours per week, 2000 hours per year. We can’t keep talking about our poor sitting posture without taking action to fix it. Reducing pain caused by prolonged sitting is a very attainable goal. We just need to make small changes to our daily habits that will create the largest improvements over time. Today, I’m going to share a few simple cues that are easily actionable, for working both at a standing desk or in a sitting posture.

Nothing on my website is professional medical advice. It’s for educational purposes only. I share my experience, what has worked for me, and what hasn’t. I talk about the poor posture mistakes I’ve fixed and the good posture habits I’ve learned. You are your primary caretaker. Do your research and make good decisions. Be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare and sitting posture.

How To Get Used To A Standing Desk

Standing desks have become very popular in recent years. When sitting all day, I would naturally slouch forward. This caused some spinal disc degeneration in my back. I’ve since changed my desk setup. It’s adjustable and can go between sitting and standing throughout the day. Working at a standing desk has decreased my back pain significantly. I don’t slouch forward anymore, which has put a pause on my spinal disc degeneration.

two people using a standing desk to Get Used To A Standing Desk — Photo by TheStandingDesk via Unsplash

I also feel generally better while using a standing desk. I’m at much less risk of weight gain, compared to when I was sitting all day. It has also helped improve my mood, energy levels, work productivity, and mental clarity.

When I shifted from a regular desk to a standing desk, it took some getting used to. Today, I am dedicating this article to show how I got used to working at a standing desk and how to get the most out of its benefits.

How to Sit at Your Desk to Relieve Shoulder Pain

The anatomy of the shoulders is very complex. There are several joints that connect the tendons and muscles that allow you to move your arms. There are a lot of factors that contribute to shoulder pain at work, including sitting at your desk for a long time, using a computer mouse, typing on a keyboard, and awkward postures while working. This complexity is a big reason why people suffer from shoulder pain. It’s complicated and people don’t know where to start. Today, I’m going to share my most basic, actionable, good posture habits to avoid shoulder pain at work.

person using the computer and trying to Relieve Shoulder Pain — Photo by Rido via Megapixl

You are your primary caretaker. Not your doctor, surgeon, coach, or physical therapist. They all play a role. But, they also have their own agenda and their own motivation that’s not always in our best interest, regardless if it’s intentional or not. Do your research and make good decisions. Be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare and prevent shoulder pain as much as possible.

Decrease Your Head and Neck Tension (with 2 tennis balls and a sock)

I used to suffer from painful headaches often. These weren’t the typical tension type headaches, where a couple pills would make it go away. These were bad. Every muscle in my head, face, and neck would have tension and pain. The side of the head hurt, as well as the front and back. My eyelids would have muscle spasms. There were many variables that contributed to this muscle tension.

How to decrease head and neck tension. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels.

Physical therapy wasn’t going to help. Any work they could do would just be undone the next week I sat at a computer for 40 hours. Regardless if I had good posture or poor posture, repetitive strain would cause me tension type headaches.

Health Benefits of Standing Workstations

Standing workstations allow office workers to use a computer comfortably, while in a physically active position. Commonly referred to as standing desks, or sit stand desks, they allow us to use repetitive strain to our advantage, correcting bad habits that sitting has caused.

Sitting in an office chair for long periods of time makes us dominant on the posterior (back) side of our lower body. Our hamstrings and gluteus muscles are overused and they shorten over time. Conversely, this causes the anterior (front) side of our lower body to become overextended. Our quadriceps lengthen and get weaker from sitting for extended periods of time. Sitting causes both posterior and anterior leg muscles to get weaker and more deactivated. Posterior tissues shorten, while anterior tissues lengthen. This causes a lot of muscle imbalance and confusion in the legs, as well as increased risk of injury during sports and exercise.

Improve Your Posture by Breathing More Effectively

Breathing is an important factor of having good posture at a computer. When I sat at a desk 40 hours per week, physical and mental stress would cause me shallow breath and posture that was poor. My shoulder tension was out of control. My shoulder blades were uneven. I had pelvic floor issues from sitting too long. The natural curves in my spine were always out of alignment.

lungs of human — Photo by Ilexx via Megapixl

It felt like the air I was breathing would barely pass below the airway in my neck, much less into my lungs. As soon as it would enter my lungs, I would exhale it out. The air was in my lungs long enough to keep me conscious. Instead of letting my breath work for me efficiently, my brain and body were always in more of a defensive state. All of my muscles were either compressed or overextended. They were all tight, especially breathing muscles like the diaphragm, abdominals, and muscles throughout my rib cage.

Nothing on my website is medical advice. It’s for informational purposes only. I share my experience, what has worked for me, and what hasn’t. I talk about the poor posture mistakes I’ve fixed and the good posture habits I’ve learned.

Health Benefits of Proper Hydration

The human body is usually between 60-75% water. Achieving proper hydration, then staying hydrated, is directly related to how good our computer posture is. It’s very important to keep our bodies hydrated. One of the biggest motivations for me to maintain proper hydration is simply preventing headaches. Staying hydrated also prevents many other issues, such as causing organs to function poorly, as well as tissues surrounding the spine. If the spine isn’t well supported by muscles, tendons, and ligaments, our computer posture suffers quickly. Drinking plenty of water also prevents the formation of kidney stones. These are just a few of the benefits to staying hydrated.

Drinking the correct amount of water per day can keep the body healthy and well hydrated. The amount of water I drink (or don’t drink) is directly connected to the extent of my repetitive strain injuries caused by sitting at a desk. When I’m dehydrated, my muscles tense up and tighten much quicker, causing my posture to suffer. When I stay hydrated throughout the day, my posture is always easier to maintain. Improved posture is just one of the benefits of drinking water for me.

Guide To Good Posture

Correct posture is incredibly important when it comes to sitting and standing at a computer desk. Poor posture doesn’t only affect our physical health. It also affects our confidence, mental health, blood flow, nerve health, and more. The first step toward injury prevention is to improve your posture.

Many people don’t think twice about their bad posture. They have no idea they may be contributing to future back pain, postural stress, muscle fatigue, rounded shoulders and more.

So, today I’m sharing my ultimate guide to good posture. By trying these tips, you could noticeably improve your posture and feel the difference too. I sat at a computer desk with poor posture for many years. One day, I took accountability for my bad posture and started implementing as many small, correct posture habits as I could.

Computer Posture Mistakes and Fixes

Posture is “the position in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting” (definition credit: Google and Oxford Languages). Having good posture includes many different variables and steps in the process. I’ve learned the most important variable to having good posture means having a balanced, neutral spine. When sitting for long periods of time, 2 of the most common posture mistakes I suffered from affected me the most. These 2 posture mistakes are sitting with a compressed spine and sitting with an overextended spine.

Bad posture used to affect my physical appearance and my self-confidence. The posture mistakes I made while sitting at a computer were also having long term effects on me 24 hours a day. Sitting at a computer for long periods of time can take a heavy toll on us physically and mentally. Improving your posture can help improve overall health and well-being. Starting my good posture journey has prevented muscle tension, joint strains, back pain, and many other physical injuries. The 2 most common posture mistakes can easily be corrected by quick posture fixes.

How to Sit Properly to Avoid Lower Back Pain

Sitting for prolonged hours used to put a lot of pressure on my back muscles and spinal discs. This pressure resulted in stubborn lower back pain. This pain was often debilitating. It was painful both when I was in a sitting position and when I was away from my desk. My improper sitting posture was the main variable worsening the pain.

woman holding her back and looking to Avoid Lower Back Pain — Photo by Anabgd via Megapixl

When in a sitting position for prolonged periods, the first instinct people tend to have is slouching forward. We reach for that keyboard and mouse. Everything goes downhill from there. Slouching can strain the spinal discs and overstretch the ligaments.

Years ago, my physical therapist was hitting me in the head for a $50 copay thrice a week. It wasn’t helping. I had to figure out ways to improve my sitting position during the time I was outside of the physical therapist’s office.

Simply “sitting up straight” wasn’t enough to relieve this pain. I had to take an intentional, yet simplified approach. There are many ways to avoid lower back pain and other back related injuries. This article talks about the 4 most helpful habits I implemented on how to sit properly to avoid lower back pain.