If the fetal position is such a natural sleeping position, why does slouching while sitting down negatively affect the spine over time?
In: Physics
The fetal position (recovery) is on ones side and is a laying posture. Gravity is effecting all of your body equally.
Where as slouching the chair is taking the force of gravity off the shoulders and pelvis and your legs are being supported by the ground…
That leaves all 9.807 m/s² of gravity to affect your middle and lower spine in a way it was not designed for. Your spine being designed for pulling along the vertical rather than longitudinal axis.
Fact: slouching is good. Sitting at 90 degrees destroys the lower spines about 135 degrees reclined is the optimal
Sitting is just really bad, no matter the posture and you should actually rather slouch and change your position frequently, better yet stand up.
All of the above answers are good! Adding in the added idea that when you slouch you are reversing the cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) curves, as well as increasing the thoracic (mid back/rib) curve. It also tends to cause forward head posture, especially if you are slouching at a computer screen.
Your spine is built in such a way that the curves act like a spring. They are supported by postural muscles whose express purpose is keeping you upright (and sometimes movement too). When you slouch, other muscles have to kick in to support the weight of your body. The head alone weighs about 8 pounds, which is a lot of weight given the size of the muscles that move it.
Additionally, putting the body in this position causes some muscles to stretched out and others to tighten from being out of alignment. It can also cause joint capsules to stretch, making you more susceptible to injury. This is especially relevant at the shoulder and hip.
Both joints can become imbalanced. At the shoulder girdle slides forward, stretching out the back and tightening the pecs. At the hip, the pelvis tucks under and can cause shortened hip flexors, leading to low back pain.
TLDR: slouching makes the wrong muscles work and puts others in a position where they can’t work as well, frequently leading to pain.
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