How often each day do you spend looking down at your smart phone or sat at your desk and felt yourself hunching forward? In this technological age, it can be many hours a day. This not only makes you look like the Quasimodo, but also plays havoc with your upper strength, flexibility and wellbeing. When you slouch, your shoulders turn in, which then as a result causes your chest to cave in. If you keep yourself in a slumped-over position day in and day out for hours at a time, you’re going to lose a great deal of flexibility in your shoulders and chest, which will effect everyday movements as simple as putting on a shirt or reaching above your head.

Your head is actually quite heavy – it weighs 4.5-5kg! When leaning your head forward as little as 15 degrees the head now feels more like 12kg, and looking down with a 60 degree angle, causing it to feel like 27kg (that’s a third of the average person’s body weight!) You can imagine the negative effect that all this weight pulling forward has on your back and spinal column. It may have to endure this for extended periods of time day, after day, after day.

In the short term it can cause headaches and irritability, but long term can lead to a postural condition called Kyphosis, or a back like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. This isn’t just an aesthetic problem, it can cause breathing difficulties due to decreased chest space, neck and back pain, and decreased shoulder movement.

So what can be done?

• Look forward when using your smart phone (not down), and try to limit the amount of time spent using it
• Stretch the chest most days of the week- Stand inside a doorway, bend your right arm 90 degrees (like you’re giving a high five) and place your forearm against the doorframe. Position your bent elbow at about shoulder height. Rotate your chest until you feel a nice stretch in your chest and front shoulder. Hold it for about 30 seconds. Repeat with the opposite arm.
• Complete two back exercises such as a seated row or barbell row (not lat pull down) to each chest exercise, this will help to improve strength in the muscles of the back that pull your shoulder blades together
• Be mindful of your posture – sit and stand tall and as upright as possible
• Set up your office to ensure that computer is in line with your eyes so you don’t look down

By following the information above it can alleviate any inclination you have of spending the rest of your life in a bell tower like Quasimodo.