The typical American sitting posture

What’s the Problem?

The technical name for it is Forward Head Posture, and it is associated with headaches, neck and shoulder pain, muscle spasms, excessive upper back curve (thoracic kyphosis), nerve compression and fatigue. It’s easy to get into a repetitive cycle of pain, spasm and more pain. As we age, these symptoms can get worse.

For every inch that the head moves forward, it has the effect of adding 10 pounds of perceived weight. So, if your head weighs 12 pounds and moves forward 2 inches, it’s as if your head now weighs 32 pounds! The muscles of your neck and upper back will have a constant added strain in this position. These chronically contracted muscles become oxygen-starved and can develop a build-up of toxic waste products due to a lack of circulation.

What’s Causing this Epidemic?

It’s widely believed that the amount of time Americans spend sitting at desks is a cause of Forward Head Posture (FHP). Incorrect ergonomics can also play a part here.

One chiropractor has referred to FHP as “text neck” after seeing more and more young patients with degenerative changes in the neck due to too much texting with the head forward (Dean Fishman, DC). He says that “Because the demographic of people ages 13-27 is one of the largest groups of texters, we can expect to see a large increase of medical and chiropractic conditions within the next decade.”2

One thing that I don’t see mentioned in most articles on posture is that there are populations of people who sit a lot in less developed countries, and these people stay in healthy alignment, with elongated spines, ease of movement and flexibility well into their old age. Noelle Perez-Christiaens and Jean Couch have studied these people extensively, and have done decades of research on the characteristics of healthy posture.

Sitting in the typical American posture tends to lead you down the road to misalignment and pain. I’m referring to the alternating cycle of trying to “sit up straight” using muscle tension (which is exhausting) and then when the muscles tire, collapsing – ending up with FHP.

So How Can You Get Your Head Back in Alignment?

What can you do about this? You can follow the example of Balanced cultures from around the world, and of children under 3 years old, who have naturally aligned posture. It’s an instinct we all have as children, but we lose it as we learn by imitation from those around us in our culture.

What’s most important is to sit on your sitz bones. You may think you know this already, but everywhere I go I see people sitting with a tucked pelvis – sitting on their backs rather than their butts. I go into a lot more detail on this in my article from December 2009 “10 Tips for Pain-Free Sitting” (http://www.sonomabodybalance.com/blog/2009/12/).

If you find yourself in this “out of Balance” position, pull your feet under your chair, bend forward from your hip joints (not your waist), lift your pelvis up and move it to the back of the chair. Of course, this is pretty difficult on a deep couch. I’d recommend trying a simple folding chair to start with – one with a fairly flat seat.

The head moves forward when the pelvis moves forward. So, to get the head to move back, you must start with getting the pelvis back underneath your spine. Then you can begin to “rebuild” the spine from the base up, lengthening your lower back by releasing your front ribs down. Allow the vertebrae to stack on top of each other like blocks, rather than tilting them back at angles by lifting your chest.

Finally, you can work with the shoulders, neck and head. Draw each shoulder back and down, pulling your shoulder blades down your back. Tuck your chin in towards your throat and give the back of your neck a stretch. Then relax. Remember not to “hold” the position for more than a minute or so, because chronic muscle contraction leads to oxygen deprivation of the muscles, as mentioned above.

Doing some simple stretches and movements on a regular basis can also help increase circulation in areas that are tightly held habitually. Try simply raising your arms slowly in front of you, then overhead; then lower them out to the sides and back as you return to where you started, with your arms at your sides. These arm circles can help to loosen up tight areas, increasing range-of-motion and circulation.

I will be going over more exercises and stretches to realign the neck, shoulders and head in my upcoming workshops in the East Bay and in Petaluma in March. For more information, visit www.sonomabodybalance.com/html/workshops.html.

© 2011 Dana K. Davis

References:
1 For more information on risks of wireless technology, see http://emfsafetynetwork.org/
2“Forward Head Posture Caused by Texting” by Dean Fishman, DC, Dynamic Chiropractic newsletter, April 2010

It’s not their fault for promoting unhealthy posture; they just don’t know any better. It’s like the proverbial fish swimming in the water that doesn’t see the water anymore. I didn’t realize that I too had this typical American posture until it was pointed out to me. Once I was awakened to this, there was no turning back! I hope some of you will join me in my quest to return to us our birthright of healthy, pain-free, natural posture.

I’ve also included a couple tips for you to share with the children in your life.

I’m wishing you a wonderful Harvest season!

Dana
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Hello,

I am a Certified Yoga Teacher and a Certified Teacher of the Balance Posture Method, and someone forwarded to me a link to this article on your website: “Classroom Organization: The Physical Environment”. In particular I wanted to comment on the paragraph below:

“Establish informal furniture arrangements where students can sit on soft chairs or pillows, or lounge on the carpet. Another myth is that children learn best when sitting up straight in hard chairs. About 75 percent of the total body weight is supported on only four square inches of bone when humans sit up straight in a hard chair, so it is easy to understand how the resulting stress on the buttock tissues causes fatigue, discomfort, and the need for frequent changes in posture. Research supports the common-sense notion that many students pay better attention and achieve higher grades in more comfortable settings.”

The Balance Method is based on decades of research on populations of people without back pain who stay straight and active into their old age. I have taught this method since 1997 and seen hundreds of students achieve reduction in pain, increase in comfort and even regain lost height.

I think the paragraph about children sitting in this article above is dangerous to children’s health. Humans have been sitting on those few inches of bone for hundreds, if not thousands, of years with no apparent problem. Rather, our modern posture in the US since about 1920 has led to a huge incidence of back and joint pain, lost height, and tension. If we can teach children healthy posture from the start, they will be able to concentrate better, and they won’t be destined to a future of back pain.

All children in all countries, and of all races, have healthy, natural posture up until age 3. After that they begin to imitate the adults and older children around them and lose their natural alignment. More and more children are experiencing back and joint pain, as well as sports injuries. This can be prevented by encouraging children to maintain their natural alignment and not to abandon it in favor of “lounging” on the carpet.

Children (and adults) need to make frequent changes in posture when they are uncomfortable, and unhealthy posture makes people uncomfortable. Children may move around also because they are children, and are full of energy and learning to use their bodies in new ways. This shouldn’t be taken to mean that they shouldn’t sit on chairs.

Of course, chairs don’t need to be hard in order to provide healthy support. I teach using folding chairs that are firm, but with some padding. This provides the optimal balance of firmness plus cushioning.

I don’t believe there is any stress on the buttock tissues from sitting on the buttock bones (ischial tuberosities). Rather, the stress happens when we get OFF those bones and sit on the buttock flesh. It feels softer because we’re sitting on more padding, but this is extremely damaging to the spine. People all over the world sit on those bones for their entire lives and maintain healthy spines as a result. In the US, 80% of people experience low back pain, so we know there is a problem.

Let’s start kids out right by reminding them of their natural, original posture, and provide trained adults who can model this healthy posture. Then kids can concentrate better, feel more comfortable and age gracefully with comfort and strength.

If you’d like more information, you can visit my website at www.sonomabodybalance.com or the website of the Balance Center at www.balancecenter.com.

Sincerely,
Dana K. Davis, MA
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A Couple Tips to Teach the Children in Your Life

1) Remind kids to bend at their hip crease (at the top of their thighs) rather than their waist. Children under 3 do this naturally; older kids start to lose this.

2) Remind kids to sit on their sitz bones (ischial tuberosities) – the hard bones under them. If they sit on these bones, their backs will be straighter and they’ll be more comfortable.

3) If you tell kids to “sit up straight”, most likely they’ll tighten their backs and lift their chests. Instead, if they are sitting on their sitz bones, they’ll naturally be straighter.

So, is it bad to carry weight on your back? Actually, when wearing a backpack, the weight rests on the shoulders, as is common in many countries around the world where people still have natural, healthy posture.  We know that some of these people carry hundreds of pounds on their heads or shoulders, often for decades.  They remain straight and active into their old age.  (For a nice photo of carrying on the head, check out the photo below).

When you stand “in Balance” like these healthy people, the spine stacks vertically and is very strong.  When you stand in the typical American  posture, the weight no longer goes through a straight spine, and compensations and compression result.

In the study, the children’s spines became more curved to the left or right with added weight, and they had to adjust their posture to bear the heaviest weight.

The problem is that most children in the US today have unhealthy posture.  They learn this from observing the culture around them.  That’s why children who grow up in cultures with healthy posture maintain that posture throughout their lives.

Setting a Bad Example

I saw a prime example of how we learn this posture unconsciously when I was at the mall buying gifts for my nieces recently.  The mannequins in the store windows had extremely “out of Balance” posture, with the pelvis thrust way forward.  They were standing in an extreme backbend!

You might think, “Well, I don’t stand that way.”  Actually, I didn’t think that I did either.  I was so surprised to learn that I had some version of that exact posture that the mannequins were displaying!  It’s wasn’t my fault – and it’s not your fault either.  We just unconsciously pick up the posture we see modeled around us.  I’d love to see these models change!

You Can Change the Pattern

Until then, the best thing you can do for yourself and your kids is to learn healthy alignment and practice it.  You can model this for others, and maybe we can slow the rise in back pain being observed in children.  Sure, it’s not great for young kids to carry heavy weights.  But an equal problem is HOW they are carrying the weight.

The researchers said that the kids in the study were carrying the backpacks on both shoulders when being measured, but that if they were to carry them on one shoulder, the results could be even worse.

“Low back pain in children may be worsened by discogenic [disc-related] or postural changes,” according to Dr. Timothy Neuschwander of UC San Diego.  With the posture of most kids these days, that is no surprise.  This CAN be changed.  By learning the healthy posture and movement patters of Balanced people, you can reduce pain and improve your posture for life.

If you’d like to get some help with your posture while carrying a backpack, (or your kids’ posture), you can contact me for a private Balance Method session.  With healthy alignment, you can carry your backpack in total comfort!

(© 2010 Dana K. Davis.  If you want to use this article in your E-zine or website, please credit Dana K. Davis, MA, www.sonomabodybalance.com.)