Nov 20, 2024 08:12 PM
https://psyche.co/ideas/in-defence-of-sl...od-posture
INTRO (excerpts): Many of us have been told at some point in our lives to stand or sit up straight – and usually, with a sense of guilt or embarrassment, we unthinkingly comply. That erect posture is good for you is a truism that we rarely examine or question. Claims about the benefits of uprightness abound in popular media...
[...] Having spent more than a decade studying the posture sciences of the past and present, I am still stunned at how often these fear-mongering articles appear, especially since there is negligible evidence to support a causal link between slouching and back pain in an otherwise healthy person. Studies show that, for back-pain sufferers, individually tailored posture work with a physical therapist can help, and good form can help prevent injury in certain sports such as weightlifting.
But using posture training as a preventive measure for back pain – especially the crude mandate of ‘stand/sit up straight’ – seems to have little effect. Indeed, a recent Australian study found that, for young women, a slight slump in the upper back may actually be ‘protective of neck pain compared with upright posture’.
Why, when many health experts and journalists know that the aetiology of back pain is notoriously complex and opaque, do they revert to simplistic, reductionistic claims warning against the bad effects of slouching? One way to understand the staying power of this misleading health message is to look into its historical origins... (MORE - missing details)
INTRO (excerpts): Many of us have been told at some point in our lives to stand or sit up straight – and usually, with a sense of guilt or embarrassment, we unthinkingly comply. That erect posture is good for you is a truism that we rarely examine or question. Claims about the benefits of uprightness abound in popular media...
[...] Having spent more than a decade studying the posture sciences of the past and present, I am still stunned at how often these fear-mongering articles appear, especially since there is negligible evidence to support a causal link between slouching and back pain in an otherwise healthy person. Studies show that, for back-pain sufferers, individually tailored posture work with a physical therapist can help, and good form can help prevent injury in certain sports such as weightlifting.
But using posture training as a preventive measure for back pain – especially the crude mandate of ‘stand/sit up straight’ – seems to have little effect. Indeed, a recent Australian study found that, for young women, a slight slump in the upper back may actually be ‘protective of neck pain compared with upright posture’.
Why, when many health experts and journalists know that the aetiology of back pain is notoriously complex and opaque, do they revert to simplistic, reductionistic claims warning against the bad effects of slouching? One way to understand the staying power of this misleading health message is to look into its historical origins... (MORE - missing details)
