Thanks to laptops, cell phones and tablets, many of us spend countless hours each week hunched over a screen. This less-than-ideal posture has real health impacts, such as neck pain, stress on the back muscles and more. It also makes it harder to practice good posture throughout the day due to muscle weakness or even just the habit of leaning forward. This may mean that some people don't know what their ideal posture is, but experts say there is an easy way to find out: by doing the wall test.
What Is the Wall Test?
According to Dr. Emily Sieg, the director of neurotrauma at the University of Louisville Health's Brain and Spine Institute, the wall test is basically a posture assessment. To perform it, stand with your butt, shoulder blades and head against the wall, with your feet a few inches away. You should be pretty upright. To check if it's proper posture, slip your hand behind the small of your back; there shouldn't be too much space or too little space. A proper lower back curve means your hand should barely be able to slide through the opening.
Dr. Sieg explained: "You stand with your feet just barely in front of the wall and push your butt and then your low back and your shoulders against the wall in order to ensure that you are standing up appropriately and putting yourself in the best posture for your body." Once in this position, walk away from the wall while remaining in this alignment — this is your ideal posture.
Why Good Posture Matters
Bad posture can lead to pain and mobility issues as you age. "Especially in today's society, we tend to hover or crouch over our phone, and I think that really affects our posture," said Dr. Brett Goodloe, an orthopedic surgeon at Virginia Commonwealth University Health. This problem is particularly prevalent in young adults and adolescents, Goodloe noted.
"Having a good posture ... that's important for getting your body in a good position to function, and I think it's really important for strengthening and longevity of the body," Goodloe explained. "In this day and age, especially as people spend more and more time on their phones or working with a desk that is maybe set too low for them, people tend to hunch over for incredible hours of the day, and ultimately, if you stay in that poor posture, it causes a lot of problems over a lifetime," Sieg added.
Health Impacts of Poor Posture
Having your head in a forward position puts more pressure on your spine and forces your upper neck to work harder to keep your head up. This leads to two main issues: chronic muscle pain, tension and discomfort, and reduced ability to take deep breaths or digest food properly because your diaphragm and gut don't function as well when hunched over.
When you spend enough of your life in a hunched-over position, your body has a hard time not being in that position. "You can develop what we call a fixed kyphosis," Sieg said. "A lot of people have seen older folks who kind of shuffle while looking at the ground, and they can't get their head upright, and that is often due to a lifetime of posture that is so poor that your body then becomes unable to completely lift itself into a straight position."
What If the Wall Test Is Uncomfortable?
If the wall test feels painful or unattainable, don't worry. If you've spent years slouched over a computer, standing up straight will feel tough. Dr. Sieg suggests: "If you're initially starting to do this, and you realize ... that it is uncomfortable for you or difficult for you to stand up straight, a couple of times a day just walk over to the wall, do [the wall test], and just show yourself again what that good posture is."
Dr. Goodloe adds: "I know some people who have had bad posture, they put little timers on their phone, and when the timer goes off, they'll check where they're at right now, and if they're in that bad posture, then they refocus and sit in a better spot." Try to maintain that upright position throughout your day. If it's hard to even do that, it's worth seeing a physical therapist.
Additional Tips for Better Posture
Little adjustments — like optimizing your work environment for better posture — are also helpful. This means making sure your computer is at eye level and having a supportive desk chair. "Trying to be more active" is also helpful, Goodloe said, as it helps work on strength and stability. Correct posture requires strong and engaged core muscles, and if your body isn't used to being upright, those muscles are likely weak.
Maintaining good posture or making changes to achieve better posture is important. "If you don't do it, it's going to cause chronic pain, and then ultimately, hasten your disc degeneration and make it more likely that you need to meet a spine surgeon like me," Sieg said. The wall test is a quick and straightforward way to regularly check your posture so you aren't met with pain or mobility issues down the line.
