The Best Posture To Avoid Nerve Pain: How To Sit & Stand Without Triggering Pain

Of course, it can be argued that all pain is nerve pain (can’t feel it otherwise), but this is talking about neuropathic pain, where the problem is in the nerves themselves.

Dr. Amy Konvalin details how to deal with that:

Stillness & movement

First, know: since nerves run continuously from your brain through your spinal cord into your limbs, tension or compression at one point can affect symptoms elsewhere; poor posture increases tension on your spinal cord and pressure from tight muscles, leading to numbness, tingling, and weakness over time.

Being able to correctly align your body is key. Aim for head over shoulders, shoulders over hips, and—when standing—hips over feet; this stacks your spine in a neutral position and reduces stress on the nervous system. A good way to achieve this from standing (not mentioned in the video) is to imagine your head is suspended by a thread from up above. Go up onto your tip-toes, and slowly let your body back down, keeping the imaginary thread as perpendicular to the ground as possible. This should align you nicely with respect to your centre of gravity.

• Standing tips: keep your knees soft rather than locked, especially if you hyperextend; use subtle weight shifting front-to-back or side-to-side during prolonged standing. You can also rest one foot on a small stool for short periods, alternating sides. Avoid letting tension rise into your shoulders by using calm, diaphragmatic breathing.
• Sitting tips: keep your feet under your knees with equal weight through both feet; avoid sitting cross-legged because it increases nerve tension. Ideally, sit with your hips slightly higher than your knees, to open your pelvis and prevent hip pinching.

With regard to your shoulder and upper body posture while sitting, keep your shoulders relaxed rather than lifted towards your ears, especially during focused tasks at a computer, because elevated shoulders strain the neck and increase spinal cord tension.

Whether or not to use lumbar support depends on your natural neutral spine: if your comfortable neutral position includes a small lumbar curve, a towel roll or pillow may help; if your neutral is flatter, lumbar support may push you out of alignment and create pain—listen to your body rather than generic advice on this one.

Movement breaks are also important: stand up and walk at least every 30–45 minutes (never leave it longer than an hour, except when sleeping or if you physically cannot walk). Even short walking breaks, or failing that, just a change of position, can improve nerve mobility and reduce irritation. Hydration helps too.

For more on this and, surprisingly, not much in the category of visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Stand Up For Your Health (Or Don’t) ← our main feature on this also includes more things you can do if you must sit, to make sitting less bad!

Take care!