For most of us working at our desks long hours, the comfortable, slouched desk posture is our "home-base": it's the one we always return to. However, while slumping in your chair may feel good at the time, poor office posture actually can lead to more back pain problems in the long run.
Sitting isn't at all great for your overall posture and core posture muscles to begin with; studies have shown that prolonged sitting--particularly our slouched desk posture--may contribute to low back pain and chronic back problems.
Whether at a desk working, in a chair eating, or on the couch watching TV, the majority of our waking hours are spent sitting. Sure, we may go to the gym every day, but even that is only for one or two hours. The majority of our body conditioning time is spent -- you guessed it -- in a slouch.
Even from an evolutionary stand point, our body isn't really built for sitting. Humans have been around for almost 200,000 years, but chairs have only been used routinely for the past 500. Our bodies, at the current state of evolution, are simply not built to sit long hours at a time.
To make matters worse, most chairs actually promote poor desk posture, encouraging slouching, rounded upper and lower back, as well as forward head posture. Without the knowledge of basic posture support principles and general good seating habits, long hours of poor desk posture will only lead to lower back pain and chronic back problems down the road.
So what can you do to develop good desk posture and maintain a healthy back? The answer: Active sitting. Active sitting is sitting in a way that engages your body's core musculature. There are various Active Sitting aides available in the market, from exercise ball chairs to discs and pads that can be placed on regular chairs. However, even sitting up straight on the edge of your regular office chair can be a form of active sitting. Basic active sitting devices are useful because their shape allows the hip and pelvis to move on a multi-axial plane, requiring active work from the muscles surrounding them. While it's not as automatic to achieve this on a regular desk chair (perhaps, in part, due the tempting presence of a back rest), it can be done.
The most important element of active sitting is the engagement of the deepest abdominal muscles, the transverse abdominus, which is one of the key posture support muscles. Unlike the rectus abdominis (the most famous abdominal muscle, responsible for that coveted six-pack look), the transverse abdominus cannot be seen or touched. It is deep within the abdomen, wrapped around the torso like a supportive girdle. The major role of the transverse abdominus is to keep the relationship of the torso and limbs stable. Whenever you challenge this relationship, you automatically engage the transverse abdominus.
This is the principle behind most chairs that encourage active sitting. Most of these chairs have a slightly unstable base, encouraging your torso to constantly move and shift ever so slightly. This not only strengthens your core posture support muscles, it also encourages better circulation in the spine, removing waste products and distributing vital nutrients.
Conditioning your body to maintain good sitting posture can not only strengthen your core muscles and give you better posture, but actually alleviate/prevent all sorts of desk posture back pain problems. Most of our back pain problems are caused by poor desk posture, which compresses the spine and robs it of nutrients, leading to brittle, injury-prone vertebral discs. By practicing active sitting you can prevent this downward spiral from beginning (or reverse it, if it has already begun.)
As mentioned in the beginning of the article, simply training yourself to sit straight upright in your chair without back rest is a great way to start. Sit at the edge of your chair with your thighs parallel to the floor and your feet flat on the floor. If your legs don't naturally align like this, you may to sit on a pillow (if your legs are too long) or put a stool or yoga block under your feet (f your legs are too small and don't reach the floor). In this position, tip your pelvis slightly forward to encourage a gentle curve in your lumbar spine, and lengthen through the spine.
Pretend that you have a book on your head, and reach the crown of your head towards the ceiling. This will also bring other important core muscles into action. As you do this, you will feel your spine lengthen and decompress. Every now and then, sway every so slightly, to keep movement and flow in the spine and prevent the stagnation and compression that otherwise comes from sitting.
It will take you a while to build strong desk posture muscles to sit like this throughout the day. Start out doing it four to five times a day for as long as is comfortable, and then build up until you can sit comfortably with a straight back and without back support for most of the day. Remember that practicing proper desk posture is even more important for your core muscles and back than making a trip to the gym each day.
After all, one hour of body conditioning at the gym is easily outweighed by eight hours of body conditioning slouched in front of the computer. If you do practice active sitting at work, you are not only doing your back a huge favor, but you're actually getting paid to "get fit while you sit!"