Occupational Therapists Advocate for Good Posture

While you are reading this article you are most likely slouching in a chair or bending your neck down. Most of the time, we do not notice when we have bad posture or slouch. Because of our increased use of technological devices to recieve information, occupational therapists are stressing the importance of practicing good posture. This, they feel, will help avoid a wide variety of muscle aches, injuries and other challenges.

In a recent article, Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported that posture related muscle aches and injuries occur in more than 600,000 Americans a year. To avoid this, occupational therapists provide tips and benefits of maintaining proper posture.

But the article also acknowledges the issue of habitual slouchers, people who spend hours in front of a computer without stopping for a minutes to stand or walk around.

According to Satch Purcell, Director of Occupational Therapy of Stanbridge College, “Many people do not realize that they improve their posture by changing the positions of the devices they are using all day long. For example, people can elevate their desktop computer monitors to align their eye level and subsequently straighten their posture.”

How many times a day do you catch yourself slouching? Is your office desk or home office set up to help your posture or hurt it? Share your thoughts here and at http://www.facebook.com/stanbridgecollege.

To learn more about the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Stanbridge College visit www.stanbride.edu.