As a teacher in Woodbury MN, one could imagine that you are on your feet for most of the day walking around the classroom, checking on your students' work, and writing on the boards in front of the room.  You may also be able to sit at your desk periodically throughout the day, which allows for a slight break for your legs and low back.  There are a few things to keep in check when it comes to your posture while you are at work as Aspire Integrated Health explains.

Lower Back Pain in Woodbury MN

If you are experiencing low back pain at work, you may be suffering from "Lower cross sundrome", check to make sure your pelvis is tilted forward in the neutral position.  The best posture while you are standing is to make sure your weight is evenly distributed on both legs, and you want to squeeze your gluteus muscles because that will push your pelvis forward creating a lumbar curve that is not hyper-extended, but the lumbar curve will be in a neutral position that will relieve the low back of unnecessary stress.  Standing with your weight on one leg will create unnecessary hip and pelvis tension that can throw your whole body out of alignment.

While you are sitting at your desk, your low back may also be giving you some trouble.  If that is the case, make sure both feet are on the ground.  Try not to sit cross legged, or sitting on your feet, or half-Indian style sitting.  If you are feeling stress in your low back, you may need to re-position your pelvis.  All you need to do is squeeze your gluteus muscles to tilt your pelvis forward and engage your abdominal muscles, this should help relieve the low back of the stress and tension you are feeling.

Some individuals in Woodbury may have tension and pain in the upper back and neck, so for those individuals, they may already have the "forward shoulder" posture.  We also call this posture "Upper cross syndrome".  This posture looks like to you have a hunched back and flexed torso.  In order to change this posture, engage the muscles in between your shoulder blades, this will bring the shoulders down and back; therefore, opening the chest in front.  The next step is to tuck the chin and push the head backwards.  This posture will allow more room for your rib cage that will create better breathing patterns and the neck muscles will be less stressed because the neck muscles and upper trapezius muscles will not be working as hard to hold the head up. This posture holds true when you are standing up as well.

All the stressors that come with the job of being a teacher can take a toll on the body, but a healthier body makes for a much happier one.  If you need any visuals to help, certainly do your research for images of "Upper and Lower cross syndromes" on the internet.  These syndromes can be helped by re-training the muscles and getting chiropractic adjustments to keep the body in alignment.

Make your appointment today at Aspire Integrated Health in Woodbury if you are suffering at work from these postural changes.

Thank you for reading,
Dr. Christine Bartholomew, D.C.