Being told to “sit up straight” is a part of many childhoods, and it appears that parents are on to something when they lament the sight of their offspring slumped in a chair.
Incorrect posture has been linked to a range of ailments, such as restricted breathing, chronic pain and digestive issues, whose effects intensify as we get older, making it even more important to maintain good posture in our youth.
“Correct posture is the position where your muscles, bones and joints hold you upright with the least amount of effort and structural strain,” says Dr Yash Bhatia, specialist orthopaedic surgeon at Aster Clinic.
founder of The Sculpt Studio Dubai
“It is not a one-size-fits-all metric and your ideal alignment is completely unique to your anatomy. Every human body has fixed structural traits, such as the shape of the pelvis and the natural curves of the spine. Instead of chasing a military-straight back, true orthopaedic alignment means balancing your centre of gravity directly over your hips.”
Laura Zahiu, founder of The Sculpt Studio Dubai, adds: “We're all built differently, our spines have different curves, our hips sit differently, so what feels aligned for me might not be the starting point for you. I always say posture is less about standing ‘straight’ and more about standing free.”
How to tell if you have poor posture
Incorrect posture can present itself in myriad ways, experts explain. “The easiest way to tell is if you feel a disproportionate amount of tiredness when you remain in the same position for a while,” says Dr Gary Fitzgerald, chiropractor at The Hundred Wellness Centre, Dubai. He says other indicators of poor posture include “neck stiffness, upper back tension, low back pain, fatigue and the need to often shift from one position to another”.
Most people only realise there is a problem with their posture after developing symptoms, says Fitzgerald, adding that “by that stage the body has been compensating for the bad posture for quite some time. Bad posture is not just how you’re moving but how you are holding yourself”.
“There are two quick self-checks you can do,” says Dr Sharmila Banu Eashak Ali, physiotherapist at Thumbay Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital. “Stand with your back against a wall, heels a few inches out. Your head, upper back and tailbone should comfortably touch the wall. Or have someone take a photo of you from the front, back and side while you stand normally and look at where your head sits relative to your shoulders. The level of shoulder scapula and hip alignment is a helpful indicator.” Good posture has the shoulders, scapulae and hips stacked to create balance in what is referred to as the neutral spine.
Physical and psychological impacts of bad posture
Tightness or tension in joints or muscles can be a tell-tale sign of incorrect posture, while weak musculature in certain areas can indicate that the body is overcompensating.
“Over time, poor posture accelerates spinal wear and tear, causes chronic pain, and disrupts your internal organs,” says Dr Bhatia. “Chronic misalignment triggers a harmful chain reaction throughout your entire body through accelerated spinal ageing and muscular imbalances.” He adds that restricted breathing can also be a consequence, as “hunching over compresses your chest cavity, which prevents your diaphragm from expanding fully, and digestive issues because slouching compresses your stomach and abdominal organs.”
Bad posture can become a problem for those with desk jobs who live a primarily sedentary lifestyle. The impact of looking at screens for hours on end each day can compound. “For every few centimetres the head drifts forward, the effective load on the neck rises sharply, which is why desk and phone users so often develop chronic neck pain and headaches,” says Dr Ali.
Incorrect posture not only affects physical well-being, but can also impact mental health, mood and confidence.
“Posture can affect how we feel, as at a physiological level, posture and mood are connected through the nervous system itself,” says Kriti Kothari, psychologist at Thrive Wellbeing Centre. “A slumped position reduces vagal tone – impairing the body's stress regulation – and can restrict cerebrospinal fluid flow, quietly contributing to fatigue, tension and low mood.
“Posture may also act as a kind of emotional gatekeeper. When participants in a 2015 study by Nair et al. sat in a collapsed position, negative memories became more cognitively accessible; when they sat upright, positive ones did,” Kothari adds.
Maintaining proper alignment not only protects your spine from early damage, such as preventing premature wear and tear and reducing your risk of disc herniations, it also reduces daily fatigue and helps the lungs and digestive tract to function at peak efficiency.
Exercise to improve your posture
Awareness is a good place to start. Dr Fitzgerald says that once you're more mindful, there are small daily exercises you can do to make a difference. He recommends starting with “tucking your chin, watching how you are sitting, stretching exercises, mobility work and desk ergonomics, but bring it back to basics and focus on three things: sitting, standing, sleeping,” says Dr Fitzgerald.
Then there are more focused exercises which can strengthen muscles and, in turn, improve posture. “Exercises like rows, reverse flys and wall angels work the muscles between your shoulder blades to strengthen your back,” says Dr Bhatia. “Planks and abdominal bracing help build a strong, natural corset around your lower spine while regularly stretching your chest and hip flexors reverses the tightening caused by sitting.”
Adhering to the 90-degree rule for your workspace is another way to ensure good posture when seated at a desk. It involves adjusting your chair so that your elbows, hips, and knees all rest comfortably at 90-degree angles, with your feet flat on the floor. Computer screens should sit so that the top third of the screen is directly at eye level to prevent the head from tilting downwards. The same goes for phones, which should be held at eye level to prevent neck strain.
For Zahiu, focusing on both mat and reformer Pilates has proven effective. “Pilates gets to the root of it rather than just telling you to pull your shoulders back, which, by the way, does nothing long-term,” she says. “It rebuilds the deep stabilising muscles, the ones that are meant to hold you up without you even thinking about it.”
Particularly effective exercises include swan, to open the chest and strengthen the back line of the body, shoulder bridge, to release an overworked lower back, and thread the needle.
“This is my personal favourite for thoracic rotation, that mid-back mobility is everything, and honestly, something as simple as a well-executed chest lift, done slowly and with intention, can completely reset how you hold your rib cage,” she says. “I tell my clients: think about lengthening rather than straightening. The moment you think ‘stand tall’, something shifts. Small moments make a massive difference over time.”
