It’s no secret that with advancing age, one’s abilities and appearance change. One of the biggest changes is it becomes harder to maintain good posture. Working with the geriatric demographic, “forward head” is problematic. Your head weighs anywhere from 10-12 pounds. For every inch your head is forward of it’s natural position, it adds an additional 10 pounds of stress to your neck and upper back, which can lead to aches and pain. I find myself with a head forward position almost every time I’m on the computer. With age, the “head forward” position can lead to hyperkyphosis, an excessive rounding of the middle back which can lead to even more pain and disability. With more and more of us working from home during this pandemic, we are sitting more, watching more media, and using computers more.
When I’m on the computer, I set a timer to go off every 15 minutes to walk around for a couple of minutes and to re-correct my posture. I also sit on a 75 cm physioball, which also helps with my posture.
Fortunately, there is some ammo in your arsenal,, including stretching and strengthening, and breathing exercises. Please visit originalstrength.net; there’s a link on my website’s home page.
In the next blog I’ll give some suggestions for doing daily activities safely (like climbing a ladder). I found some useful information in the current issue of Consumer Reports On Health.
Stay well,
John R Blilie, MS, OSC