Your Posture

Your spine is the central support structure of your body. Your spine carries the neurological lifeline from your brain to all the other parts of your body. Your health really depends on the flow of energy through an unrestricted nervous system. When your spine suffers, your overall health can suffer too. When you respect your spine by taking good care of it, your spine will serve you well by offering its strength and flexibility for a long time to come.

 

Here are my two top recommendations for taking care of your spine:

 

1. Be ergonomically correct when you sit at a desk, stand, bend or reach. “Ergonomically correct” is a fancy term for body posture that doesn’t cause stress to your body.

 

For example, which three of these postures do you think would be ergonomically correct:

1. Sitting with your legs crossed at the knees.
2. Sitting with your legs crossed at the ankles.
3. Bending straight over to pick up a box with knees locked for support.
4. Bending over to pick up a box with knees bent.
5. Standing in a crowd with your weight centered on one leg for a long time.
6. Standing in a crowd with your weight centered over both feet with your shoulder, back and head centered over your spine.

 

The answer is b. d and f.

 

             

 

            Here’s how I remember how to stand correctly while lifting something heavy or

just standing for long periods of time: I think to myself, “Brace yourself!” What

I mean by this is that if I’m reaching down into the crib to pick up a baby, I must

get ready for the act of lifting by bracing myself. I brace myself by bending at the

            knees and keeping the weight as close to my body as I can. The farther the baby is

from my body, the more I’m at risk of injury.