Customer: How does bad posture cause back pain?
Colm Campbell: Take a wooden ruler and bend it. When it’s released it whips back into position so fast you can hardly see it. The reason is that when something rigid is bent stress is built up along its length, and releasing it releases the stress. The stress is greatest down low where it is held. If I continue to bend the ruler it will break exactly in this position. It’s exactly the same with the spine. Sitting with bad posture means the spine is slumped into a forward “C” position and this puts enormous stress on the discs, particularly on the lumbar ones. This is where most back problems occur.
I’ll give you a simple slogan. It should be nailed on the notice board of every office around the world, and domestically should replace the “home sweet home” slogan. If people would always bear it in mind it would greatly reduce the incidence of back pain. It’s this:
“C” = Bad Posture; “S” = Perfect Posture