3 Posture Training Exercises to Improve Postural Alignment

Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapy assistant Patti demonstrates three exercises to improve posture and enhance your body alignment. Good posture refers to proper alignment of the body in static and dynamic positions, holding the body against gravity with the least strain and tension on your muscles, joints, and ligaments. Poor posture can contribute to muscular imbalances that cause certain muscles to overstretch, shorten or become rigid and stiff, resulting in decreased range of motion and muscle spasms and pain. As experts in body movement and body mechanics, physical therapists can assess and address any postural impairments, designing a personalized posture training program involving stretching, targeted strengthening, body mechanics instruction, and manual therapy.

What is Good Posture?

Good posture refers to proper alignment of the body in static and dynamic positions, holding the body against gravity with the least strain and tension on your muscles, joints, and ligaments. Good posture is essential for maintaining optimal health and preventing injury, keeping your bones and joints in optimal alignment and decreasing wear and tear on your bones and joints.

Sitting and standing with proper alignment improves blood flow, helps keep your nerves and blood vessels healthy, and supports your muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

To maintain good posture when standing, stand with feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart with arms relaxed at your side, chin parallel to the floor. Position your knees over your ankles, hold your pelvis in neutral alignment, pull the belly button toward your spine, and move your head and shoulder blades back so that your head sits squarely over the neck.

To maintain good posture when sitting, sit with your back straight and shoulders back, feet flat on the floor. Tuck the chin and move your head back, lowering your shoulder blades and pinching them together in your back to avoid forward slouching. 

Causes & Effects of Poor Posture

Poor posture places the body’s muscles and joints in an unnatural position, placing strain on the body, particularly the back, neck, and shoulders. Poor posture can contribute to muscular imbalances that cause certain muscles to overstretch, shorten or become rigid and stiff, resulting in decreased range of motion and muscle spasms and pain. This can lead to chronic neck and back pain, spinal impairment, joint degeneration, rounded shoulders, fatigue, headaches, and decreased range of motion in the upper extremity.

Poor posture can be caused by:

• A sedentary lifestyle, sitting or lying down for hours at a time. This can affect office workers who work at a desk in front of a computer for hours, which can cause you to slump forward, rounding your shoulders and curving the spine.

• Weak core muscles: A strong core plays a vital role in good posture, serving as a foundational base for movement and stability of the upper body. Weak core muscles can make it challenging to maintain proper alignment and lead to compensatory movements that lead to neck and back pain.

• Injury or trauma, such as whiplash or a fall, can cause spinal misalignment.

Poor posture when sitting can involve having the head bent in a forward position, the upper spine rounded, curving outward at the upper back and shoulders, and the shoulders hunched up toward the ears. Poor posture when standing can involve standing with the lower back arched and the pelvis tilted forward. This can lead to weakening of the core and gluteal muscles and contribute to tightness in the thighs, calves, and hips.

Physical Therapy for Improved Postural Alignment

As experts in body movement and body mechanics, physical therapists can assess and address any postural impairments, designing a personalized posture training program involving stretching, targeted strengthening, body mechanics instruction, and manual therapy.

The physical therapist first conducts a posture screening evaluation, which involves the patient performing everyday movements while the physical therapist observes the position of the spine, head, shoulders, and joints in relation to one another. The therapist assesses the patient’s range of motion, alignment, and muscle strength and then designs a treatment program to address the patient’s specific postural deficits and muscular imbalances. To improve posture, its essential to both stretch and strengthen muscles to help tissues that are short or tight lengthen and relax and build strength in these muscles to better support the head and spine.

Physical therapy to improve posture can include:

• Targeted strengthening of the shoulder, upper back, hip, leg, and core muscles to better support the head, spine, and joints for sustained good posture. Poor posture places stress on these muscles, which can weaken them over time and contribute to postural misalignment. The therapist specifically targets the core muscles and those muscles supporting the lumbar and cervical spine in order to provide a strong base of support for the spine to maintain proper alignment.

• Stretching exercises to address stiff, tight muscles and restore muscle and joint flexibility. When slouched for too long, muscles in the back can become tight and rigid, leading to muscle spasms. Stretching helps to slowly release tension in these stressed muscles to restore muscular flexibility and improved posture.

• Manual therapy involving soft tissue and joint mobilizations to address pain in the neck, shoulders, and back and restore movement and range of motion.

• Posture training and body mechanic instruction for specific daily and work-related movements to ensure the patient is maintaining optimal posture in a variety of positions and minimizing stress on back, neck, and shoulder muscles.

Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapy assistant Patti demonstrates three exercises you can do to improve your posture in the video below:

 One study highlights the positive impact a physical therapy-led exercise and posture training program had on individuals suffering from hyper-kyphosis, a spinal deformity that leads to rounded shoulders with a head forward posture. In this randomized control study, 99 adults ages 60 and over with hyper kyphosis were assigned to a treatment or control group. The treatment group engaged in three hour-long exercise sessions each week for six months, which involved strengthening and flexibility training of specific muscles of the back and targeted posture training. The control group attended an education session every month for four months and did not undergo physical therapy.

Researchers found that patients who engaged in physical therapy experienced significant improvements compared to the control group. One key improvement was the angle of the curvature of the spine was reduced by an average of 3.3 degrees in the treatment group, whereas the change in the control group was 0.3 degrees.

Are you experiencing posture-related pain? Work with a physical therapist to address postural impairments and related pain and restore mobility and function!