| Stand in front of a full-length mirror and turn to | | | | and long distance buses cause the reverse spring |
| your side, to reveal your profile. | | | | effect. Badly designed or badly positioned seats |
| Ideally, you should see your shoulders, hips, knees | | | | force torsos to lean backwards. If you do not |
| and ankles aligned. | | | | have a back support yet, place the back of your |
| If these four points do not form a straight or | | | | seat as near to the plumb line as possible. An |
| almost straight line, chances are you will develop | | | | upright seat may not feel too comfortable at |
| lower back pain in the upcoming months or years. | | | | first, but it surely provides a healthier support.o |
| And you are not alone. | | | | Tall people often have to seat with their knees |
| Springtime | | | | way higher than their hips, which is exactly the |
| The spine works as a spring, absorbing pressure | | | | opposite of a good seating posture. Whenever |
| and shocks as you walk or remain seated. | | | | possible, keep your knees below the level of the |
| However, when the spine bends beyond its ideal | | | | thighs. To do so, put something between the seat |
| posture, this natural spring effect diminishes or | | | | and your thighs or, better yet, set the seat |
| works against its intended job. | | | | higher. |
| For instance, some people have a tendency to | | | | However, more often than not, the problem lies |
| lean the torso forward, causing strain in the neck. | | | | with bad posture. Sometimes, an ergonomic |
| When your shoulders, hips and knees misalign, | | | | design is not used in the right way:o Inexpert |
| your face looks slightly downwards. Thus, to level | | | | drivers face a common seat-related problem. As |
| the sight, you need to lift the nose, compressing | | | | they release the clutch pedal with the left foot, |
| the back of your neck. Meanwhile, to recover | | | | they show a tendency to shift the center of |
| balance, your hips have to move backwards; | | | | mass to the other thigh. Just as your shoulders, |
| conversely, if you keep your feet in the same | | | | hips, knees and ankles should ideally align together, |
| place, the knees move to the front for the same | | | | the line connecting shoulders should remain as |
| reason. The result is a profile somewhat similar to | | | | parallel to the hips as possible for an ergonomically |
| an S shape. | | | | correct posture. When these lines are not parallel, |
| In America, where people can hardly do without a | | | | the vertebras in the spine suffer unnecessary |
| car, more than half the population suffer from | | | | compression. |
| pain. Of these unfortunate souls, 25% reported | | | | Take the time to watch yourself in a full-length |
| pain in the back. Pain in the knees and headaches | | | | mirror. For your back's sake, remember these |
| follow (12% and 9%, respectively). Male drivers | | | | tips on ergonomics and get yourself the proper |
| aged between 30 and 49 have double the risk of | | | | car seat support. |
| back injuries and chronic pain. Why? Because they | | | | If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. |
| are getting older, yet remain active. | | | | They'll thank you for it. If you have a blog or |
| Since most of the time you remain seated, an | | | | website, you can link to it or even post it to your |
| ergonomic seat would suffice to prevent injuries | | | | own site (don't forget to mention as the original |
| and bad posture; but, unfortunately, most seats | | | | source. |
| are poorly designed:o Most seats in cars, planes | | | | |