Dear Reader,

We are excited to have this opportunity to convey Health Information regarding Physiotherapy to the readership. We decided, as our introductory piece, not to choose a specific diagnosis or condition to discuss, but a topic that affects all of us, young and old, every day-””Sitting Posture “. Patients present here to our clinics daily, with postural related pain, from sitting incorrectly at home, school, work, in the car and at the computer. Poor sitting posture places the ligaments and soft tissues of the spine under abnormal stretch, eventually leading to pain.

A “Good” sitting position should maintain the normal spinal curves found when a person stands in the fully erect position. A very easy way to improve sitting posture is the “slouch-overcorrect” procedure. The person must sit slouched on a backless chair or stool, allow the lower back to rest in the fully flexed position and permit head and chin to protrude forwards.  Then he/she must smoothly move into the overly erect sitting position, with the lower back curve or lordosis at its maximum with the head held directly over the rest of the spine and the chin pulled in. This sequence should be repeated in a flowing and gentle manner, so that the person is moving from the extreme good position to the extreme bad position. The ideal “good” position is to move to the extreme of the above good position and then release the last ten per cent of the movement.

Another thing to think about is this- would you hold your arm directly out in front of you for longer than twenty minutes? Your arm muscles would fatigue and you would suffer some element of discomfort. We should understand that this also happens with the muscles and ligaments of our spine when we sit for prolonged periods. To reduce the chances of straining these soft tissues and to avoid increasing pressure in the discs, we should all use sitting postures as described above and where possible take short breaks every twenty to thirty minutes- get up, walk around, shake out your limbs and then return to the good sitting position again.

It is important to remember that each person is an individual, so when reading a self help article, it should be noted that what works for one person may not help another. If you are concerned about your posture or postural related problems please see your doctor or” chartered physiotherapist.” If you decide to consult a physiotherapist always ensure that he/she is chartered.  Therese Ryan, Emma Callanan and Eibhlis Cooney are “Chartered Physiotherapists” with Premier County Physiotherapy operating out of our Thurles and Templemore Clinics.  For appointments in either clinics please contact Jackie/Maggie on 0504-26090

Therese Ryan Bsc (Hons) Physiotherapy MSc Sports Medicine M.I.S.C.P.

Emma Callanan Bsc (Hons) Physiotherapy M.I.S.C.P.

Eibhlis Cooney Bsc (Hons) Physiotherapy M.I.S.C.P.