In our modern age, the terms good and bad posture are thrown around a lot. Companies and advertisements tend to speak very authoritatively about good posture also. Perhaps you get some of your understanding of posture from what they say. What is good posture to you?
Does it include sitting upright, shoulders back, with a proud chest and your neck in line with your shoulders. Oppositely, bad posture might be slouching forward with your head sticking forward and an overall rounded appearance. If this is in line with your current understanding of posture, this post will be valuable for you to read.
It might surprise you to know that there is no optimal or ideal posture. And similarly, no particular posture is inherently “bad”. This is because our bodies and spines particularly are very adaptable and resilient. They are able to tolerate positions for periods of time without causing damage. This is not to say however, that sitting in a certain position for hours on end won’t leave you sore. Because we have all experienced this and know it to be true.
The most important aspect of good posture is how long you maintain the position for. An important phrase to remember for this is “your best posture is your next posture”. If you sat in an upright “good posture position”, like mentioned above, for long hours, you would expect to be stiff and sore. It is important to move throughout the day if you have a primarily seated or sedentary job. Switching positions semi-regularly is the key to keep your spine moving and not developing pain from sustained positions. Discussing ergonomic options with your work or doctor/physiotherapist could be beneficial for you if you have to work in sustained positions all day.
Taking all this into account, why is sitting like a puppet consistently touted as the best position for your back? In the 20th and 21st centuries, the phrase 'protecting your back' became more and more prevalent as chronic and recurrent low back pain continued to increase in the general population. As such, the thinking around that time to help protect people's spines developed into sitting and standing with good posture all the time.
However, we now know that this is not accurate or true. Whilst posture can contribute to some known health problems, it is often not how you think. So next time you think you need to sit upright, take a breath and move around a little instead.