As a freelance writer, I do most of my work wearing cotton Old Navy pants, slumped down in a squishy arm chair with a computer on my lap. I also spend a small fortune on massages trying to work the increasingly annoying kinks out of my shoulders and upper back. Coincidence? Nope. The more time we spend sitting in front of our computers, the worse our posture gets. Modern technology is turning us into literally twisted creatures。
身為一個(gè)自由作家，我大部分工作都是這樣完成的：穿著一條舊的棉質(zhì)海軍褲，蜷坐在一張軟綿綿的椅子上，把電腦放在膝蓋上。我還花了一小筆錢買了個(gè)按摩器，希望能緩解我肩膀和上背部的疼痛。巧合嗎?才不是!我們?cè)陔娔X前待的時(shí)間越久，我們的坐姿就會(huì)越差�，F(xiàn)代科技正將我們變成“畸形生物”。
In addition to being detrimental to how your body functions, bad posture isn’t cute. It causes you to jut your hips forward, slump your shoulders, and even breathe inefficiently, according to Pat Davidson, a trainer with a PhD in Exercise Physiology who is the Director of Training Methodology and Continuing Education Coordinator at Peak Performance in NYC. I went to see him for a painstakingly objective and honest assessment of my posture。
除了對(duì)人的身體機(jī)能有害之外，不良坐姿還會(huì)對(duì)你的身材造成影響。帕特·戴維森(Pat Davidson)，是一名運(yùn)動(dòng)心理學(xué)的博士。同時(shí)還是瑞典戶外運(yùn)動(dòng)品牌Peak Performance紐約市健身教育協(xié)調(diào)部主任。他表示不良的坐姿會(huì)使你的胯部突出，肩膀下垂，甚至?xí)䦟?dǎo)致呼吸不順暢。我找到他，希望他能費(fèi)心對(duì)我的姿勢(shì)做個(gè)客觀實(shí)在的評(píng)判。
Davidson explained that bad posture compromises your diaphragm, the big muscle right below the ribs that helps you take deep breaths. So instead, you start using other muscles, like your shoulders, to help you breathe. I found out that I’m guilty of shoulder breathing, which is likely contributing to some of my upper back fatigue and discomfort. I also learned that I “walk with my lower back。” Turns out, people with lousy posture don’t walk correctly, and they count on their lower back muscles to help propel themselves forward. (An adulthood devoted to high heels probably hasn’t helped my walking problem either。)
戴維森說道，不良坐姿會(huì)對(duì)隔膜造成一定傷害。隔膜位于肋骨正下方，在它的幫助下我們才能夠深呼吸。因此，用不良坐姿坐著時(shí)，身體會(huì)調(diào)動(dòng)像肩膀等地方的肌肉來幫助呼吸。由此，我發(fā)現(xiàn)正是我自己造成了自身上背部的疲勞和不適。我還得知，我“靠下背部走路”。事實(shí)證明，坐姿不正確的人通常走路姿勢(shì)也不正確。他們通常依靠下背部的肌肉支撐，推著身體向前走(成年后常穿高跟鞋這一事實(shí)或許也導(dǎo)致了我走路姿勢(shì)的問題)。
Aubin Sullivan, a physical therapist and the Clinical Director of Cynergy Physical Therapy in New York City, sees a lot of women like me in her practice. Here are a few quick fixes she recommends for correcting your slump:
理療學(xué)家、紐約賽諾秀理療中心的臨床主任奧賓·沙利文(Aubin Sullivan)，在臨床實(shí)驗(yàn)中，見過很多情況跟我相似的女性。在這里，她提供了幾條建議，可以快速幫你矯正姿勢(shì)。
• If you sit at a desk all day, don’t perch on the edge of your seat at work trying to sit up straight. The best thing you can do is scoot your hips and butt against the back of the chair, and use it for support—that’s what it’s there for. “You have to support your spine. Your muscles are going to get tired, they will fatigue and you’ll slowly start slumping down,” Sullivan says。
1、如果你要在桌子旁呆一整天，工作時(shí)別坐在椅子的邊緣，要盡量坐直。最好的方法是臀部貼著椅背而坐，用椅背撐住你的腰——這正是它之所以在那里的原因。“你得利用椅子來撐著你的脊柱。肌肉可能有點(diǎn)酸，有點(diǎn)累，而你也會(huì)慢慢地放松，背又駝了起來。”沙利文說道。
• Get up frequently and walk around. (I wear a Jawbone fitness tracker that vibrates when it senses that I haven’t moved in a long time. I also sometimes set my phone alarm to go off every 30 minutes, and I do jumping jacks. Sometimes。)
2、多起來到處走走。(我手上帶了個(gè)Jawbone的健身追蹤器。當(dāng)儀器感知到你長時(shí)間沒有運(yùn)動(dòng)的話，就會(huì)震動(dòng)提醒。通常，我會(huì)設(shè)置以30分鐘為間隔的鬧鈴，提醒自己做些跳躍運(yùn)動(dòng)，不過只是“有時(shí)”而已。)
• If you carry a heavy shoulder bag, make sure to carry it on both your right and left shoulder, switching off as each gets tired. Even better: wear a cross-body bag so that the weight’s more evenly distributed。
3、如果背包很重，確保兩邊肩膀都要用到。一邊肩膀累了，就換另一邊背。更好的方法是背斜挎包，這樣背包的重量會(huì)分布的更均勻。
• Work out your core. Never mind a six-pack—you need to concentrate on the transverse abdominus, the deep abdominal muscle that acts as a “corset” around the lumbar spine, according to Sullivan. To do this: lay on your back with your knees bent, put your hands on your hips, breathe normally, and pull your belly button straight down to your spine. You don’t want your pelvis to tilt or lift, which is why you have your hands on your pelvis. Hold it for 5 seconds and repeat. “Once you get it, you can do it all the time, just sitting at work and it becomes a habit,” Sullivan says。
4、鍛煉核心肌肉。沙利文表示，別再糾結(jié)六塊腹肌了，要多注重腹橫肌的訓(xùn)練。腹橫肌是深層腹肌，做一下幾個(gè)動(dòng)作：平躺，膝蓋彎曲，把上放在屁股上，正常呼吸。然后吸氣，讓肚臍慢慢貼近脊椎。把手放在骨盆上是為了防止骨盆的傾斜或者抬升。堅(jiān)持5秒后，再重復(fù)這個(gè)動(dòng)作。沙利文說：“學(xué)會(huì)這個(gè)動(dòng)作后你可以經(jīng)常做，就像坐著工作一樣。慢慢地，你會(huì)逐漸成為習(xí)慣。
• You can work on your posture in a more hard-core way at the gym, too. Davidson told me to try backwards jump-roping. “If the rope hits you, you have the wrong posture,” he says. He also recommends hula hooping. (Fun!)
5、你還可以在健身時(shí)多練習(xí)核心肌肉。戴維森建議我向后跳繩。他說：“如果繩子打到你了，則說明你的姿勢(shì)有問題。”他還建議可以轉(zhuǎn)呼啦圈。(真有趣!)
• Sullivan recommends focusing on the upper back and shoulder muscles. One of her favorite exercises is having clients stand up against a wall, with their hips touching the wall. Put a tennis ball between your shoulder blades and try to squeeze the ball. Rows are also excellent for improving posture, since it causes you to pull your shoulders up and back。
6、沙利文建議要加強(qiáng)對(duì)背部肌肉和肩膀肌肉的訓(xùn)練。她最喜歡的訓(xùn)練就是讓學(xué)員貼墻站立，并且臀部要觸到墻面。還將一個(gè)網(wǎng)球放在肩胛骨處，然后學(xué)員得努力地?cái)D壓那個(gè)球。劃船也能夠很好的改善姿勢(shì)，因?yàn)閯澊辜绨虻靡郧昂罄臁?/p>
Now stop reading this article and go for a walk。
好了，文章讀完了，快出去走走吧!
