Does Posture Really Matter?

We’ve all been told to sit up straight, pull our shoulders back, and keep our spine perfectly aligned. Somewhere along the way, we started believing that if we just held perfect posture, our pain would disappear.

But posture isn’t the problem. I see plenty of people with “great” posture who still have pain — and plenty who slouch and feel fine. The truth is, it’s not about the position you’re in. It’s about how long you stay there.

One of my patients, Sarah, learned that the hard way. She spent her workdays sitting tall and stiff, trying not to slouch. By mid-afternoon, her neck and shoulders were burning. When I told her the goal wasn’t perfect posture, but more movement, everything changed. She started standing up every half hour, shifting in her chair, doing a few shoulder rolls — and within a couple of weeks, that nagging ache faded away.

That’s the idea behind what we call movement variability — giving your body different options instead of locking into one “right” position. The best posture is your next posture.

So if you’ve been beating yourself up for slouching, don’t. You’re not broken — you just need more movement. The human body was made to move, and when we let it, it usually feels a whole lot better.

At Momentum Spine and Sport, we help people get back to moving freely — not by chasing perfect posture, but by building strength and confidence to move however life asks you to.