Should i be giving a shit about my posture?

No, back pain is a woke hoax

Yes. Good posture promotes a healthy spine. If you're putting pressure on your spine discs in weird ways 24/7 for years, you are more likely to have herniated discs and other muscularskeletal issues when you are older.

holy fuck yes

As a 42 year old with regular recurring back issues, YES. Correct it while you're young. It's often too late when the issues begin to manifest.

So to correct one thing:

Poor posture is a symptom of poor core strength, particularly, your rhomboids and lower back. If your muscles are both stronger and more flexible, they will literally pull your bones into the correct alignment, without any conscious thought towards sitting straighter.

Start by taking a short walk once a day (free). A 100 day pushup challenge (free) or starting Yoga classes (can be free on YouTube, but in-person has several benefits, including having someone correcting your form, and some social structures to help provide extra motivation) would be a great next step. Longer term, maybe light weights and rows alongside using a treadmill or stationary bike.

If you choose to look into weight training, “Starting strength” is a decent program by Mark Rippetoe that I would recommend.

Posture is so important for health, both as a practice and an indicator.

As a practice, stacking your body up in a good position lets it work better and protects your joints.

It is also an indication of strong enough muscles and bones, very weak people or those with osteoporosis often can't achieve good posture.

It's also free, nothing to buy, a free intervention that can only benefit you, so why not practice it?

Yes. And also, you should be doing stretching exercises.

It might not fix the neck pain depending on why you're experiencing the pain. You should definitely give a shit about your posture though. Your spine is responsible for keeping your whole upper body upright (along with your abdominal muscles and some others). Neglecting and mistreating that is not a good idea long term.

I've had DOGSHIT posture my whole life. Don't really care about it. Otherwise very fit, active, and healthy.

Now I have a bulging disk and a schmorl hernia in my spine. When that shit starts hurting, it's genuinely paralyzing. Worse than breaking a bone, and the spine does not heal from that naturally.

I don't think you have to build a lifestyle around stretching, yoga, proper posture, and mobility exercises, but dear god do some little things to keep your knees, spine, and neck in working order

Yes. I've always had a bit of a slouch. Looking like a bum is one thing, but when my back started aching as I turned 40, I figured something had to change.

Now, when I walk down the street, I pretend my nipples are laser guns, and I pretend to shoot people in the head. It's surprisingly effective.

Yes, or back pain will become a thing.

Yes but not necessarily in the way you think. "Bad" posture is usually linked to weak muscles and lack of mobility/flexibility. If you strengthen/stretch your muscles and connective tissues, eventually it should help correct your posture.

I had surgery for tech neck, so yeah. Chin up people!

I don't have the time to Google atm but there's a growing body of experts shifting to the "it doesn't actually matter". Here's a podcast about it but there are definitely more sources to find: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/the-myth-of-good-posture/13864470

I saw another comment in the thread about ensuring you get movement in -- that's what my PT hammered into me.

Bad posture is also a symptom of a greater muscle imbalance or weakness, not necessarily something you should focus on changing on it's own.

I had very bad posture, but once I started going to the gym and strength training and built a more balanced base of strength, my posture improved greatly on it's own. At least I have noticed significant difference.

Hunched shoulders can be corrected somewhat just by exercising the back with pulling exercises like lat pulldowns, pullups, and rows.

Lower back issues can be helped by training dead lifts, good form for that exercise is extremely important though.

Of course you should also include some yoga and stretching in your routine too, that has numerous benefits. I would recommend getting a personal trainer if you've never been to the gym before to teach you to do exercises correctly until you're comfortable on your own.

As someone who has experienced a lifetime of back issues, absolutely.

Your pain will cause you to find a posture which doesn't hurt. That's probably not the best posture. That will lead to more pain to worse posture to worse pain.etc.

I did some physiotherapy somewhat recently. Traction was the best thing ever. Combined with exercise/physio routine and an awareness of posture, I felt better than I ever had.

It can be very challenging after a life of bad posture. Your body won't like it at first. But keeping at it will produce wonderful results.

Assuming the pain is musculoskeletal and not something more serious.

I get neck pain due to stretched muscles, and will echo what everyone in this thread has already said. Doing the exercises that correct for muscle weakness helps a lot. I strongly recommend it, the difference is night and day.

My hot take is that short-term posture doesn't matter all that much. If you have bad posture but you get up every 20 minutes and stretch/do chores/exercise for 5-10 minutes, you probably erase the original issues.

My one-two punch, if you're looking for advice: make sure you use a chair that makes good posture easy, with your keyboard+mouse & monitor height well separated on your desk (if computing's the main thing you're doing as you work). And then make sure you're getting a lot of activity throughout the day. Spans of 2, 3, 4, etc. hours just sitting at your desk will be really bad for you, no matter how good your posture is.

I guess what I'm saying is if you can either focus a lot on posture or focus a lot on physical activity routines, prioritize the latter. But both are certainly important.

One thing that helped my posture was raising my monitor - a hardback copy of Infinite Jest did the trick. But follow all the good advice here too - core strength, stretching, massage. It is really, really worth the effort.

Good posture also helps you breathe better, which can help you feel more energized and concentrate better. Your diaphragm doesn't work right when you sit hunched over, so your breath gets more shallow.

If you ever need to talk a lot for work or some other reason, good posture is essential so your voice sounds good and doesn't get tired too easily.

And it helps strengthen your core, which is good for balance and other things.

chronic pain is not as much fun as they ought you to believe - turns out it's not that easy to amputate some section of your back

Adding to what others said: there is a saying "your next position is your best position". You should switch posture frequently during the day. Sitting in front of a PC whole day does not make it easy unfortunately. You should just try to switch consciously, walk around a bit, stuff like that.

Try some Yoga. It can be a decent workout and will definitely help with posture, soreness and flexibility if you stick with it. Check out some beginner yoga routines on YouTube to see if it’s something you would be into.

I had severe headaches for years before a doctor that I trusted talked me into getting help from a local chiropractor with a good reputation. I've since learned a lot and would recommend a massage therapist or PT over a random chiropractor. Even then was skeptical. But this chiropractor was able to demonstrate exactly where in my neck the pain behind my eyes was coming from, provide me with some immediate relief, and help me with a path to long-term recovery. Biggest takeaway: posture is critical. Good posture is uncomfortable and tiring at first. You'll get better at it and your muscles will adapt. It's well worth the sacrifice. Wish I'd learned twenty years ago but better late than never.

Everyone talking about pain so I'll add this: A person is shitloads more attractive with a straight posture. Shoulders back, head high y'all. Fake it until it's a habit if you must.

If you got any kind of pain for at least 1 week go to a doctor and see a specialist.

You never know if that could be a stiff muscle or something worse

Ultimately, it depends on the source of the neck pain. But, also it is something free you can do that can only help.

Also too much stress can cause neck and/or shoulder pain. (Which posture can at least help a little)