Can your favorite chair cause back pain and bad posture?

Actually, yes! Your favorite chair can absolutely cause back pain and throw off you posture …

It’s the truth, and I know this from personal experience.

Remember your New Year’s resolution to get up and walk around once an hour? When you are busy working on things in a sitting position, that whole thing often goes out the window.

Then all of a sudden, you realize you’ve been sitting in the same chair for three hours, and your back is stiff and achy again!

Over time, I’ve actually found myself having a bad long-sit reaction to several different types of chairs!

But before you disappear your chair to the Good Will store, take a look at what happened to me …

Back pain, is your chair to blame? –

The first time I had a bad reaction to sitting in a chair was when I was caring for an elderly relative and I had to sit a lot.

I happened to be sitting in this old jalopy of a recliner that once belonged to my father.

It had good bones and a slightly-battered brown leather exterior, but it sat well: sinking into it made you feel safe and wrapped up snugly … like a sleeping baby.

And I loved the chair’s shape. With its over-stuffed back and bucket seat, it had a tinge of moth-eaten grandeur.

(I liked the chair so much that I patched it up, got it a chair cover and took it with me when I moved.)

This strong, aging chair had only one problem: it had a bad effect on my posture.

And in fact, with long use, my spine started curving and leaning forward. And I had a hard time pulling my shoulders back to stand up straight.

(My father may have had a similar reaction to this chair and never realized it.)

This experience made me wonder just how many other people could be having a physical reaction to a chair they sit in.

I tried several things to fix the situation. Focusing on posture, I tried using one of those strap-like devices that goes around your shoulders and pulls your back into a good postural position (uncomfortable.)

Also, I attempted using a type of belt that was meant to fix posture, and I also tried leaning back over a foam roller to stretch my back, but nothing helped (still suspected the chair was the problem.)

I kept trying different approaches – this is my way — and eventually I found my answer. Sitting in that old chair with a half-moon shaped pillow for back support made all the difference for my posture.

This type of pillow — for posture support — helped the chair help me to keep my spine in a balanced, healthy position, and it can be used for any kind of chair.

My posture improved after about a week of sitting in that well-worn chair while using the half-moon-shaped pillow behind my back. (This type of pillow is sometimes called a bolster.)

The second time I had a bad reaction to a chair …

The culprit was a desk chair –

For some reason, I ended up with two of the exact same desk chairs, and these swiveling desk chairs were supposed to be good for posture and sitting.

The chairs seemed perfect, and I used them both often, riding bareback (no seat pillow.)

But a few months later … I noticed that I was having a bad reaction to those chairs, resulting in back pain.

To combat this problem, I began using somewhat dense memory foam seat pillows in both chairs, which worked for a few months until they didn’t … so I had to quit using them (and those pillows were expensive!)

Eventually, my massage therapist friend suggested that I try using a pillow made specifically for Piriformis Syndrome, and this has worked for me so far (crosses fingers.)

With these experiences, I realized several things. First, when you have a lot of sitting tasks, you need to keep evaluating the kind of chair (or furniture) you are sitting on to see if it’s helping or hurting your back and your posture.

Evaluate your chair! –

To evaluate your sit, just plant yourself on a different chair every day trying to spend some extended time on each chair.

And when you get up, evaluate yourself for pain and discomfort upon standing.

Whichever chair seems to have the best effect on your posture and reduces pain – best feeling when you stand up — use that one!

Possible Piriformis Syndrome? –

You can also be checked for “Piriformis Syndrome.” (It’s a lot like Sciatica.) This is simply a condition in which you get spasms in a muscle located in the butt, often affecting one or both butt cheeks.

Sometimes with this condition, one butt cheek tenses up and becomes smaller than the other one (I’ve seen this happen.)

I know everyone wants a tight butt, but when the Piriformis muscle tenses up, it can cause some serious pain in the lower back and legs: similar to sciatica.

And some people even have trouble walking when the Piriformis muscle acts up.

If you suspect that you may have Piriformis Syndrome, you should definitely search for a chair pillow that is made specifically for that condition.

And this type of pillow is often softer than other chair seat pillows.

This whole subject bought to mind a home-made girl scout device called a “sit upon,” which was basically a large, water-proof square, tied around your waist to protect your butt when you sat out in nature.

And I wondered if the sit-upon would “make It” in today’s world, I mean, walking around with a silly-looking square on your butt is not something you want on social media!

This article was written by Vanna Silverwood, medical writer and outspoken advocate for natural medicine. See more at simplynaturalmedicine.com. Encouraging stability, helping you clarify your health goals … we are always“Natural by Nature.”