Let’s face it. Sitting is a dilemma. We are sitting more and more and there is no magic chair that’s a one size fits all for everyone.
Here are a couple of things to consider.
Could you actually be sitting up too straight?
I see this pattern in my practice all the time. People are sitting and sort of perching in their chairs. We have all been told “sit up straight” and if we have had low back pain we tend to try this as a first line of defense against further discomfort. The problem with this position is we can actually be compressing the back of our spine instead of relieving the pressure in this area. If this sounds like you, try these simple tips:
Sit up straight, place a pillow lengthwise behind your back, then relax your breast bone/Sternum or you could just exhale and relax the lower front rib angles. If we are a “percher” we tend to stick our rib angles out or forward. If we could just relax these a bit our lower back will decompress.
The other issue with sitting for some is their chair is too deep. So once again, filling in the chair with a pillow behind your back will help alleviate this issue.
Also, a lot of people tend to sit with more weight on one sit bone and its usually the right. This causes asymmetry which leads to discomfort. One solution is to simply find your left sit bone and ground it into your chair. Just be more aware of the balance between these two bones when sitting in a chair at work or with driving.
