If hunchbacking is the most frequent bad sitting posture, then "sitting straight" must be the most misunderstood "correct posture".
Recently, the topic #Sitting Straight Is Not the Most Correct Sitting Posture # appeared on Weibo's hot search, subverting the cognition of many netizens.
In a TED talk, Esther Gohal, a professor at Stanford University and a well-known certified body tuner in Silicon Valley, told why "sitting up straight" is not a perfect posture and demonstrated how to sit more comfortably.
Some netizens joked like this: After not knowing how to stand and how to go, it is finally the turn to not know how to sit...
Life Times (search for "LT0385" within WeChat to pay attention) analyzes how the body is stressed when sitting up straight, and teaches you to scientifically adjust the sitting posture and improve the spinal curve.
Experts interviewed
Jiang Jianyuan, Director of the Department of Orthopedics, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University
What is the body going through when you sit up straight?
There is always a moment in your life when you suddenly find that you are not in the right position, and then immediately look up and straighten your chest and straighten up.
But before long, you will feel very tired when you sit upright, and gradually and unconsciously change back to hunched over. Most people switch back and forth between leaning too forward and being too straight.
Sitting too straight, why does the body feel uncomfortable? This starts with the physiological structure of the spine.
Fights the natural curvature of the spine
The human spine is not straight, there are 4 physiological bends: cervical convexity, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar recovex, sacral kyphosis. Physiological curvature equalizes spinal loads when the body is upright.
When suddenly sitting up straight, the body is about the opposite of the natural curvature of the thoracic spine, and there is a tendency for the thoracic spine to be curved and straightened.
Muscles quietly stiffen
In addition to the bony structure, muscles are also an important part of maintaining daily posture, and the interaction of back muscles, abdominal muscles and psoas major muscles together support trunk stability.
Sitting too straight looks reasonable, but because the muscles in the whole body are too tense, it is difficult to maintain for a long time, and once it is long, it will cause muscle stiffness and soreness.
The posture adjuster demonstrates a spine-friendly sitting posture
People with good posture, bones arranged like building blocks on top of each other, naturally carry body weight, and have the least muscle workload; poor posture can cause muscle overwork.
Esther Gohale makes a figurative analogy: Imagine you have a tail, and when you sit down, the tail should be behind you instead of being sat under your ass.
How to keep your body sitting correctly in a comfortable state? You can try adjusting it this way.
When the seat has a backrest
The hips should fill the seat, then tilt your back away from the backrest and lean forward naturally.
"Elongate" the back so that the spine has a tendency to stretch upwards, then relax the shoulders and slowly push yourself back against the backrest.
In the office state, you need to rely on the above sitting posture, so that the center of gravity forward, the body slightly forward, the arm rests on the desktop, and the eyes maintain a parallel view with the computer screen.
Sedentary people can put on a cushion of the right size (or a towel roll or clothing) at the same height as the navel on their back, and then stretch their backs so that their lower backs are not dangling.
When the seat is not backrested
The hips should be located 1/3 to 2/3 in front of the seat, the body should be slightly forward, the lower back should be naturally straight, and the abdomen should be tightened.
It should be noted that even if a good sitting posture is maintained, sitting for a long time will still lead to back pain, it is recommended that everyone change their posture frequently during a long period of work, and you can set a "relaxing alarm clock" for yourself.
6 movements improve the curve of the spine
Strengthening muscles and relaxing muscles properly is very helpful for adjusting posture and improving spinal curves.
Orthopedic experts recommend 6 movements for your reference, the first 3 to enhance muscle strength, the last 3 to relax muscles. Do it 5 times a week, and increase the number of times when the body adapts.
Action One
Lie on your back, with your hands on either side of your body or on your abdomen, supported by both elbows, bend your knees, and lay your feet flat on the ground; slowly lift your hips off the ground, holding them up until your torso and thighs are in a straight line, hold them for 5 seconds and slowly lower your hips.
Repeat 20 times for 1 group, each time doing 4 to 5 groups.
Action two
Hold your knees on the ground with both hands, keep the shoulder joint and hip joint at 90 degrees, close the abdomen, keep the torso parallel to the ground; slowly lift the left leg backwards, hold it for 5 seconds and then slowly lower it, then lift the right leg and stretch it backwards, hold it for 5 seconds and then slowly lower it, and so on.
Repeat 4 to 5 groups 20 times per set.
Action Three
Put your knees on the ground with both hands, close your abdomen, and keep your torso parallel to the ground; slowly raise your left arm, hold it for 5 seconds and then slowly lower it, and so on.
Repeat 4 to 5 groups 20 times per set.
Action Four
Lie prone, with your hands under your shoulders, press the ground hard, lift your upper body; straighten your elbows, straighten your chest, and put your legs on the ground; support your body with arm strength, hold it for 5 to 10 seconds and then lower your body and restore.
20 times per group, do 4 to 5 groups.
Action Five
Hands on the ground, kneeling, full body relaxed, arched back like a cat, held for 15 to 30 seconds, rest for 10 seconds.
8 to 10 times for a group, repeat 4 to 5 groups.
Action Six
Feet are shoulder width apart, fingers crossed behind the back, shoulders stretched backwards and downwards, arms straight, not arched; feel the chest and shoulders stretched.
Keep this action for 15 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, 8 to 10 times in a group, and repeat for 4 to 5 sets.
It should be reminded that overweight people should maintain a good posture. Overweight puts more pressure on the spine, which is exacerbated by frequent poor posture. It is recommended that overweight people choose the above exercises according to their own conditions while losing weight. ▲
Editor of this issue: Menglian Xu
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