How to Maintain the Curves in Your Spine

Most of us have ingrained in our mind “sit up straight” or “don’t slouch” ! But, why exactly is keeping good posture helpful?

The spine is made up of three regions. The cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (mid back) and lumbar spine (lower back). Each region is curved. The cervical and lumbar spine have a lordotic curve, which looks like a “C”, and the thoracic spine has a kyphotic curve, a backwards “C” shape.

These curves work primarily to absorb and distribute force during activities, similar to a spring. When the curves are not maintained these forces will be directed to an area that cannot handle the full force of our daily activities. This causes our joints, cartilage, and disc to break down.

Here are three ways to help maintain these curves:

1) Practice Good Posture: Pay attention to your posture throughout the day, whether you’re sitting, standing, or walking. Keep your ears over your shoulders, shoulders over your hips and your hips over your ankles (not while sitting). Think of a string pulling your head to the sky. Don’t forget to move often.

2) Stretch Regularly: Perform stretching exercises to improve flexibility and maintain the range of motion in your spine. Focus on stretches that target your neck musculature, chest, hip flexors, and hamstrings. Add in some spinal movement exercises like cat-cow.

3) Strengthen Weak Postural Muscles: Common weak or under postural muscles are the rhomboids, mid and lower traps. These can be trained with rowing exercises and shoulder retraction exercises. Deep neck flexors (muscles in front of the neck) can be trained with chin retractions and isometric neck holds while keeping the chin tucked. Core musculature can be strengthened by doing planks, side planks, and bird dogs.

Have any questions about postural exercises or stretches? Schedule an appointment here!