I am writing this sitting on my twirly stool, feet swinging in the air, slouched over my computer desk with a super curved back and my head poking forward.

I’m loving it.

Do I have a sore neck? No

Am I risking injury? No

Do I need to stop this and sit up straight? No

Do I need to move at some point? Yes

Posture never has and never will cause pain or injury.

You are not broken, or so fragile that the mere act of sitting can render you incapacitated.

Now your doctor, physio, many of the trainers in Newcastle, have played their role in why you think this. But it’s just crap.

Why, then are neck and back pain so common with office workers?

Neck and back pain are common with HUMANS, why would office workers be any different?

What else do office workers have in common with other humans?

Busy, stressed, not sleeping, bit overweight, not exercising enough, poor diet?

When you look at the entire picture, the position of your head or back is almost irrelevant.

Sitting, standing, posture and not moving occur at the same time.

Which is the most relevant?

Not moving!!!!!

Everything in your body loves moving. Not moving tends to make things more likely to get pissed off, but pain is WAY more of a complicated response to merely where you have held your head. Otherwise every single person in the same office would have the same problem. And they don’t.

The funny thing is all this talk of sitting up straight and pulling your shoulder blades back and bracing your “core” and staying still is really hard to maintain.

Muscles that are working all day get tired. Fatigue can be a problem. Guess what tired muscles can do – get sore!!! You could be making it more likely to be sore by trying to be perfect all the time!!

So forget sitting up straight. Relax. Sit however you want, just move, change, more regularly.

When you are not at work, Relax. Exercise. Have fun. Sleep.

I would bet money that if you have a sore neck or back, and you think it’s your posture, if you got an extra hours sleep every night, had an hour every day to exercise or go and do something active and fun and got 10 percent stronger or more mobile, your pain would decrease.

You could still go to work and sit in your shitty chair, but you are so much more durable that your nervous system can deal with it.

Forget your posture. Deal with shit better.

Peace out

Dave