Rheumatoid Arthritis and Exercise - Posture

Before you start to exercise, remember that before you start hold your body up straight as possible whether you sit or stand to do your exercises, this will help make sure that the exercise that you are doing will have a positive affect on you rather then a negative one that will cause you more pain afterwards.

Holding yourself upright during exercise will also help retrain your body if you slouch or slump during normal activities, which will help your overall posture in everyday life. If you are going to stand while doing your exercises you will want to stand with your feet about hip distance apart, meaning that your hips and your feet should line up, you will also want to make sure that you are not putting too much weight on either the balls or heels of your feet.

Stand so that there is some space between your hips and ribs, but do this without lifting your shoulders, pull in your abdominal muscles so that your tail bone tucks in and your hips tilt back slightly and your buttocks tighten. Relax your shoulders so your arms hang at your sides, your hands should rest on the sides of your legs.

You should now be standing as if you had been pulled up by a string attached to your head. When you first begin to stand up straight it may be a little hard not to revert back to your old posture, you may want to start by doing your exercises in front of a mirror so you can check to make sure that you are still using the correct posture throughout your routine.

If you are going to sit while you do your exercises make sure that the chair you are sitting in supports your back properly. Lower your shoulders and extend your neck pull in and tighten your abdominal muscles so that your spine is straight. Your feet should be flat on the floor in front of you and lined up with your hips with your heels directly under your knees. Don’t cross your legs, this cuts the circulation to your legs and twists your body out of the proper position.

Sitting properly not only helps to make the most out of your exercise routine, but it will also help you feel better during everyday tasks like working at your computer at work or at home. A few others things to keep in mind to keep your joints and muscles from getting strained while sitting, make sure that the chair you are sitting in is adjusted to the right height for the desk or table you are sitting at, don’t sit for too long it is best to get up and move every half hour, this will help keep your joints from getting too stiff from being in one position for too long.

Also, if you are working on a computer, line up your chair height so that the computer screen is at eye level, this will help prevent you from tilting your head up or down to see the screen properly, reducing the strain on your neck.