Why "Stand Up Straight" Doesn't Work: A PT's Guide to Posture
“Stand up straight,” my mom used to say to me when I was a surly teenager.
I grew to hate those words. I tried to stand up straight, but after about 48 seconds, my body returned to its slumped, rounded shoulder posture.
It was so difficult for me to hold any other position.
During my teen years, I was a competitive swimmer, spending 4 hours a day in the pool, churning through the water. My shoulders were wide and strong and rolled inward because that is what I did for 1/6th of the day. The rest of my time was spent in school, hunched over a small desk or studying, which fed into my horrible posture even more. Everything was fighting against my ability to “stand up straight” and have good posture.
It’s ironic that as a Physical Therapist, I talk to people about their posture all the time. It is foundational when it comes to living with less pain, supporting diaphragmatic breath, reducing headaches, etc. It is so important, and so much more than merely standing up straight.
The mistake that I made way back when in response to my mom’s words was to try to correct my posture from my mid-back, or thoracic spine. I would try to extend my midback, which felt super uncomfortable in my lower back. The muscles that ran along my spine were working overtime and started screaming at me. It was unsustainable.
Back then, I didn’t know any other way. Now I do, so let me share some tips that may help improve posture over time.
Give yourself a break. Your current comfortable, natural posture developed over time and is the result of your hobbies, your work, your workouts, and your activities throughout the day. Your posture won’t change overnight. So, if you catch yourself slinking back into your old posture, that’s okay. It’s going to happen.
It is impossible to have perfect posture all the time. One of my favorite sayings from the Ergonomic world is that “your best position is your next position.” This means that what is best for our bodies is a variety of movement. Being stuck in one position, even if it is the “best” posture, is not as good for our body as changing positions often throughout the day. Having lots of movement options is what our bodies need.
Good posture starts at the pelvis. The pelvis is the bowl-like bony structure at the bottom of the spine. When we are sitting, we sit on the parts of the pelvis called the right and left ischial tuberosities. When the pelvis is in a neutral position, meaning that the bowl is upright, the rest of the spine assumes its anatomical position. When that pelvic bowl is tipped backward, which is where mine lived when I was a teen, then the midback gets more rounded and the head goes forward. Trying to sit up straight without changing the position of the pelvis is a losing proposition. It won’t work. If you want to change your posture, start with your pelvis and let the rest of your spine do its thing.
Rethink your workout routine. If you are going to the gym and lifting weights, yet you are focusing more on the muscles on the front of your torso rather than the back, try to balance that out. Good posture and having lots of movement options stem from muscular balance. Just because you can’t see your back doesn’t mean it’s okay to neglect it. Those muscles work hard!
Over the decades, I have been able to change my posture, and I don’t stand or sit like I did when I was sixteen. Well, not all the time. I find myself slipping back into the comfortable, posteriorly tilted, curled-up posture of my youth, but then I get out of it before my back starts to hurt. If I have been able to improve my posture over time, you can, too!
