Yesterday I went to a phisiotherapy session for a chronic knot I have had for many years in one shoulder. The therapist manupulated my arms and legs a little, asked me to stand and sit. After her revision she concluded that this knot is the result of bad posture, especially when I’m sitting in the computer working. She also said that many of her patients have similar problems caused by a bad posture. These are her recommendations:
- When standing, do not block the knees backward, but keep them slightly bent.
- Keep the head and eyes looking at the horizon so that the neck keeps its natural curvature.
- Sitting down, do it on the hip bones (the ones under the hip, the ischia bones), keeping the back over the hip and the head in a direct line over the back.
- Keep the shoulders in their natural position, not too far back, not foward, but where they fall naturally. Keep them down, relaxed without effort.
- As you write on the computer, have the monitor at eye level, and the arms on a 90 degree angle to the body and the hands over the fingers that hang down. Get up every half an hour and walk a little, move.
These new habits will take time and attention on my part, for the body has memory and when I lose focus it goes automatically back to it’s old habits. It’s a matter of practice and getting used to.