Correct Sitting Posture
Sitting for prolonged periods of time can increase lower back pain. Adopting a correct sitting posture is one of the simplest and easiest things that anyone can do to reduce these postural stresses and strains.
This is much easier to do than many people think. The key to correct sitting posture is to prevent your lower back slumping or sagging outward. You need to have a ‘neutral spine ’- not too upright and not sagging backwards. No matter how diligent you are you will forget to sit up straight after a short while. I find that the easiest solution to this problem is to use a lumbar roll.
A lumbar roll is a posture support that you place in the small of your back, around your belt line, to support the lowest curve in your back and prevent slumping.
The drawing below illustrates correct sitting posture using a lumbar roll:
The posture support can be a small towel rolled up and placed in the small of your back or can be a roll pre-made and bought from a shop. Sometimes chairs have adjustable ones built into them. Either way, regular use of a roll will help ensure you have better sitting posture.
There is no hard and fast rule about any sitting posture. We are all different shapes and sizes. Some of us have deep curves in our lower back, others more shallow ones. (See this section on normal posture). So my advice would be to experiment with different sized rolls to start with. You may also find you need different sizes depending on the seat you are in. For example in a sofa with limited support you may need a fatter roll than in an office chair (but not necessarily!) You have to work out which is best for you.
Start with a towel to work out the best size. When you are happy with the best size for you then you may want to buy one. If you work in an office I would recommend you buy a lumbar roll with an elastic bit at the back which goes over the chair back – this stops the roll slipping and falling off whenever you stand up.
You can also buy chairs that encourage you to have an upright sitting posture e.g. kneeling or saddle chairs.
Office ergonomics and Correct Sitting posture
Best Mattress and Sleeping position
Proper Lifting Techniques
Lower Back Pain Toolkit Home Page
05-Sep-2008
