How many times did you hear that as a child and now you find yourself repeating it to your own children? Everyone needs to be reminded about their posture. Not only your children but you too might have bad habits.
Working hunched over at your computer all day, cradling the phone between your ear and your shoulder, driving in the car for long periods of time or slouching on the couch may cause you to suffer needlessly.
Healthy habits and proper posture start early in life. Unfortunately, we see a growing number of children and teenagers with bad posture because of today’s lifestyle.
They watch a lot of television, play video games or sit in a terrible posture texting messages on their cell phones. Another factor that contributes to their bad posture is that they often carry backpacks that are too heavy for them. Roughly 40% of children report backpain and many of them attribute this pain to backpack use.
Make sure your child’s backpack does not exceed 15% of his or her body weight. We also recommend that they use both shoulder straps of their packsack so that the weight is evenly distributed. Also using the waist strap helps to reduce the load across the neck and shoulders by distributing the weight on to their hips.
As parents, you are already aware of the importance of good posture and, as a teacher, you will surely see your students wrapping their ankles around their chair or desk legs, sitting on one leg, slough over their desks and so on. In class, it is harder to maximise the student’s posture. Often desk and chairs are not adjustable, and children spend many hours sitting at school.
It is important to give them little tricks to avoid slouching. Make sure that while sitting the student can reach the floor and, if they don’t, you can suggest using a box or large books so they can put their feet on it and be sitting with the buttocks at the back of the chair. If they require reading for longer periods, to prevent the student from bending the neck, you can teach them to place their book on top of their pencil box to give it an angle.
There are a lot of things you can do on a daily basis to care for your posture. Here are a few tips to help you and your family to develop better postural habits.
■ Correct your posture by sitting up straight with your head well positioned with the opening to your ear centered over your shoulder.
■ Get up frequently, at least every 30 minutes, and walk around if you have a job that requires you to sit for many hours.
■ Sleep on your back or on your side with a pillow under your head and one under, or between, your knees.
■ Get into an exercise routine. Go for long walks with the family on weekends. It creates good healthy habits for your children and is excellent for you.
To avoid and reduce postural problems and make sure your spine is moving properly and that it is flexible and adaptable, you should consult a chiropractor. If you have vertebral subluxations or blockages in your spine, it is more difficult to adapt to a proper posture.
Chiropractic care is proven to be effective in helping to reverse forward head posture while reducing pain and preventing spinal degeneration. It helps the body to return to its natural homeostasis state. This is a great way to maintain your body full of vitality.
By Sandra Genest-Boudreau | Christophe O. Alves
|| features@algarveresident.com
Sandra Genest-Boudreau is French-Canadian, who graduated from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1990 before coming to the Algarve in 2002. She is passionate about adjusting all her patients, particularly children. Christophe Alves graduated from the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) UK, and has a special interest in Sport Chiropractic. Algarve Quiroprática clinic: EN125 in Pêra | 282 312 853 | 969 397 375
Licença da ERS n.º 17485/2019 de 11-06-2019
