健康生活:用正確的坐姿避免後背疼痛
Why is good posture important? 爲什麼姿勢正確很重要？
When it comes to posture, you. mother did know best. Her frequent reminders to stand up straight and stop slouching were good advice.
一提起身體姿勢，媽媽總是知道得最多，她不厭其煩地提醒你要站直、別懶懶散散的，而這些都是正確的建議。
Your spine is strong and stable when you practice healthy posture. But when you stoop or slouch, your muscles and ligaments struggle to keep you balanced — which can lead to fatigue, back pain, headaches and other problems.
在健康的姿勢下，你的脊柱強健而穩固，但當你彎腰駝背或懶散而坐時，肌肉和韌帶就不得不努力保持身體平衡——進而導致疲勞、後背疼痛、頭痛和其他問題。
Your spine's curves脊柱的生理彎曲
A healthy back has three natural curves: 健康的後背有三個生理彎曲：
An inward or forward curve at the neck (cervical curve) 頸部向內或向前的彎曲（頸曲）
An outward or backward curve at the upper back (thoracic curve) 後背上部向外或向後的彎曲（胸曲）
An inward curve at the lower back (lumbar curve) 後背下部向內的彎曲（腰曲）
Good posture helps maintain these natural curves, while poor posture does the opposite — which can stress or pull muscles and cause pain.
正確的姿勢有助於保持這些生理彎曲，而錯誤的姿勢則相反——其將壓迫或拉伸肌肉並引起疼痛。
Good standing posture 正確的站姿
When standing, keep these tips in mind: 在站立時，記住以下幾點：
Hold your chest high. 挺起胸部。
Keep your shoulders back and relaxed. 保持雙肩向後並放鬆。
Pull in your abdomen and buttocks. 收腹提臀。
Keep your feet parallel. 保持雙腳平行。
Balance your weight evenly on both feet. 雙腳均勻承重。
Try not to tilt your head forward, backward or sideways, and make sure your knees are relaxed — not locked.
儘量不要讓頭部向前、向後或向兩側傾斜，同時膝蓋不要用力，保持放鬆狀態。
Take the wall test 做牆壁測試（做靠牆測試）
To test your standing posture, take the wall test. Stand with your head, shoulder blades and buttocks touching a wall, and your heels about two to four inches (five to 10 centimeters) away from the wall. Reach back and slide your hand behind the curve in your lower back, with your palm flat against the wall.
用牆壁測試來看看你的站姿是否正確。站立時，將你的頭部、肩胛骨和臀部緊貼牆壁，而腳踝距離牆壁2-4英寸（5-10釐米），雙手向後，沿後背下部的彎曲處滑下，並保持手掌平貼牆面。
Ideally, you'll feel about one hand's thickness of space between your back and the wall. If there's too much space, tighten your abdominal muscles to flatten the curve in your back. If there's too little space, arch your back so that your hand fits comfortably behind you. Walk away from the wall while maintaining this posture. Keep it up throughout your daily activities.
理想情況下，在後背和牆壁之間，你能感覺到有一隻手厚度的空隙。如果空隙過大，收緊腹肌使後背的曲線變平。如果空隙太小，挺起後背使後部的空間能夠容納一隻手。保持這樣的姿勢離開牆壁，在日常活動中也要保持該姿勢。
Good sitting posture 正確的坐姿
When seated, keep these tips in mind: 在坐立時，記住以下幾點：
Choose a chair that allows you to rest both feet flat on the floor, while keeping your knees level with your hips. If necessary, prop up your feet with a footstool or other support.
座椅選擇要求：在保持膝蓋與臀部在一個水平線的同時，能使雙腳掌平放在地上休息。如有必要，用腳凳或其它支持物墊起雙腳。
Sit with your back firmly against the chair. If necessary, place a small cushion or rolled towel behind the curve of your lower back.
保持後背緊靠椅背。如有必要，在後背下部的彎曲後面放置一個小靠墊或是捲起的毛巾。
Stretch the top of your head toward the ceiling, and tuck your chin in slightly.
頭向上擡起，頭頂與天花板保持平行，並將下頜稍稍向內收攏。
Keep your upper back and neck comfortably straight.
保持後背上部和頸部舒適挺直。
Keep your shoulders relaxed — not elevated, rounded or pulled backward.
保持雙肩放鬆——不要聳肩、垂肩，也不要向後用力。
Keep your shoulders straight 保持雙肩挺直
Whether you're sitting or standing, pay attention to the position of your shoulders. Slouching or rolling your shoulders forward shortens your chest muscles and reduces their flexibility. On the flip side, pulling your shoulders too far back causes your abdomen to stick out too far in front.
無論是站立還是坐立，要注意肩膀的位置。肩膀低垂或是內旋會使胸肌縮短並且彈性降低。反之，將肩膀向後拉得過遠，則會使腹部過度前凸。
Check out your reflection 對鏡檢查
To see if you're keeping your shoulders straight, stand in front of a mirror or ask someone else to evaluate your shoulder position. Aim to keep your shoulders in the same position as shown in the image on the left.
站在鏡子前或是讓別人來檢查你雙肩的位置，看看雙肩是否挺直。目的在於雙肩保持在和左圖相同的位置上。
It all adds up 總結
Although good posture should be natural, you may feel wooden or stiff at first if you've forgotten the sensation of sitting and standing up straight. The key is to practice good posture all the time. You can make improvements at any age. Stretching and core strengthening exercises can help, too.
儘管正確的姿勢感覺起來應該是自然的，但如果你早忘了如何坐直和站直，那一開始做起來可能會感到呆板和僵硬。關鍵在於時刻保持正確姿勢，在任何年齡你都能得到改善。伸展運動和核心肌羣訓練也能有所幫助。
