The Secret...

T he American Physical Therapy Associationwould like to share a secret with you. Itcan help you do more with less effort…

breathe easier… feel great.

The secret is about good posture, which can bean important part of the quality of your life. Thisbrochure offers some valuable information aboutgood posture, including steps for checking yourown posture.

Learn how good posture can help you walkproud and stand tall.

© 1998 APTA All rights reserved.

This brochure is not intended as a substitutefor professional health care.

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“Stand up straight!Don’t slouch!”

H ow many times did you hear those scold-ing words while growing up? Maybe moretimes than you would like to remember.

Behind those long forgotten words lies a veryvaluable and surprisingly simple message: Goodposture is important because it helps your bodyfunction at top speed. It promotes movementefficiency and endurance and contributes to anoverall feeling of well-being.

Good posture is also good prevention. If youhave poor posture, your bones are not properlyaligned, and your muscles, joints, and ligamentstake more strain than nature intended. Faultyposture may cause you fatigue, muscular strain,and, in later stages, pain. Many individuals withchronic back pain can trace their problems toyears of faulty postural habits. In addition, poorposture can affect the position and function ofyour vital organs, particularly those in theabdominal region.

Good posture also contributes to good appear-ance; the person with good posture projectspoise, confidence, and dignity.

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The Anatomy of Good Posture

T o have good posture, it is essential thatyour back, muscles, and joints be in tip-topshape.

Your Back. A healthy back has three naturalcurves: a slight forward curve in the neck (cervicalcurve), a slight backward curve in the upper back(thoracic curve), and a slight forward curve in thelow back (lumbar curve). Good posture actuallymeans keeping these three curves in balancedalignment.

Your Muscles. Strong and flexible muscles alsoare essential to good posture. Abdominal, hip, andleg muscles that are weak and inflexible cannotsupport your back’s natural curves.

Your Joints. Hip, knee, and ankle joints balanceyour back’s natural curves when you move, making itpossible to maintain good posture in any position.

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A View of Good Posture

G ood posture—when you are standing—isstraight vertical alignment of your bodyfrom the top of your head, through your

body’s center, to the bottom of your feet.

From a side view, good posture can be seen asan imaginary vertical line through the ear, shoul-der, hip, knee, and ankle. In addition, the threenatural curves in your back can be seen.

From a back view, the spine and head arestraight, not curved to the right or left.

The front view of good posture shows equalheights of shoulders, hips, and knees. The headis held straight, not tilted or turned to one side.

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Poor Posture

P oor posture distorts the body’s propervertical alignment and the back’s naturalcurves.

Good posture only has one appearance, but poorposture comes in many unattractive styles.

Check Your Posture

T he best way to check your posture is toreceive a thorough postural evaluation froma physical therapist. Physical therapists

have special skills to evaluate and treat posturalproblems.

To determine if a professional evaluation may benecessary, you can evaluate your own posture tosome degree. For this you need a wall and a full-length mirror.

To check for normal curves of the spine:

Stand with your back to a wall, heels about threeinches from the wall. Place one hand behind yourneck, with the back of the hand against the wall,and the other hand behind your low back with thepalm against the wall.

If there is excessive space between your backand the wall, such that you can easily move yourhands forward and back more than one inch,some adjustment in your posture may be neces-sary to restore the normal curves of your spine.

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You Can Improve orMaintain Your Posture

T he best way to improve or maintain yourposture is to always practice good posture,when sitting, standing, or moving.

Practicing good posture is not always as easy asit sounds, especially for some of us who haveforgotten what good posture feels like. Thefollowing two exercises can help bring back thatgood posture feeling.

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Tips for maintaining good posture while sitting:

M Sit with back firmly against chair; chair should below enough to allow placement of both feet on thefloor with knees slightly higher than hips.

M Keep your head up and avoid leaning forward. Ifyou work long hours at a desk or typewriter, keepyour chair close-in to the desk top to help maintainyour upright position.

M If you feel your low back arching forward whilesitting, cross your legs or put your feet up on a stool.

Other Exercises You Can Do

O nly after a complete postural evaluationas provided by a physical therapist canyou identify your particular postural

problems. At that time you may be given specificexercises to correct them.

One problem common to most people with poorposture is weakness of the lower abdominal mus-cles. If your lower abdomen sags and bulges, youcan be sure the muscles there are weak. The bestway to strengthen these muscles is to participatein an exercise that isolates and actively usesthem.

Contrary to popular belief, sit-ups do not alwaysaccomplish this goal. In fact, sit-ups, when doneimproperly, often cause unnecessary strain on backmuscles and may cause additional complications.

The following exercise, although not as vigorousas a sit-up, is perfect for tightening the lowerabdominal muscles.

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Good Posture For Life

C hanges occur naturally in your body asyou grow older. These changes can influ-ence your posture and make it more diffi-

cult to maintain a good posture or correct a poorposture.

Some of the physical changes that occur:

M The disks between the spinal segmentsbecome less resilient and give in more readily toexternal forces, such as gravity and body weight.

M Muscles become less flexible.

M Compression and deterioration of the spine,commonly seen in individuals with osteoporosis,cause an increased flexed, or bent forward,posture.

M Lifestyles usually become more sedentary.Sitting for long periods of time shortens variousmuscles, which results in the body being pulledinto poor postural positions, and stretches andweakens other muscles, which allows the body toslump.

Despite the changes that occur naturally withaging, good posture can be maintained and, formany, poor posture improved. In individuals withsevere postural problems, such as poor align-ments that have existed so long that structuralchanges have occurred, the poor posture can bekept from getting progressively worse.

In any case, all of us must consciously work atachieving and maintaining good posture as wegrow older.

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Tips for Maintaining GoodPosture Throughout Your Life

M Throughout each day, concentrate on keepingyour three natural back curves in balanced align-ment.

M Keep your weight down; excess weight exertsa constant forward pull on the back muscles andstretches and weakens muscles in the abdomen.

M Avoid staying in one position for long periods oftime; inactivity causes muscle tension andweakness.

M Sleep on a firm mattress and use a pillowunder your head just big enough to maintain thenormal cervical—neck—curve. Avoid use of over-sized or several pillows.

M Exercise regularly; exercise promotes strongand flexible muscles that keep you upright in aproper postural position.

M Protect your back by using good body mechan-ics; bend your knees when picking something upor putting it down; carry a heavy object by usingtwo hands and keeping the load close to yourwaist.

M Wear comfortable and well-supported shoes.Avoid continuous use of high-heeled or platformshoes, which distort the normal shape of the footand throw the back’s natural curves out ofalignment.

M Walk with good posture; keep head erect withchin parallel to the ground, allow arms to swingnaturally, and keep feet pointed in the directionyou are going.

Get in on the secret. Start your posture perfectprogram today.

If you already have good posture, congratulations!Give this brochure to a friend and share thesecret. Good Posture… pass it on!

About APTA

T he American Physical Therapy Association(APTA) is a national professional organization

that represents members throughout the UnitedStates. The goal of the American PhysicalTherapy Association is to promote excellence inphysical therapy practice, research, andeducation.

Other APTA Brochures

M Fit KidsM Fit TeensM Fitness: A Way of LifeM For Women of All AgesM For the Young at Heart: Exercise Tips for SeniorsM Taking Care of Your BackM Taking Care Of Your Foot and AnkleM Taking Care of Your Hand, Wrist, and ElbowM Taking Care of Your HipM Taking Care of Your KneesM Taking Care of Your ShoulderM What You Need to Know About Carpal Tunnel

SyndromeM What You Need to Know About Neck PainM What You Need to Know About OsteoporosisM What Young People and Their Parents

Need to Know About ScoliosisM You Can Do Something About Incontinence

Bulk quantities available. Send for the APTAResource Catalog, APTA, 1111 North Fairfax Street,Alexandria, VA 22314-1488Or order via the Internet at www.apta.org

Acknowledgements

Annette Iglarsh, PT, PhDFlorence Kendall, PTCarole Lewis, PT, PhDShirley Sahrmann, PT, Phd

50M/4-98/PR-9Printed on recycled paper

Prepared as a public service by the

American Physical Therapy Association

1111 North Fairfax StreetAlexandria, VA 22314-1488