Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

• Poor posture can contribute to muscle tightness, discomfort, and pain over time.
• Fortunately, regular movement and targeted exercises can help counteract its effects.
• Strengthening key muscles and optimizing your workstation are among the most effective strategies.

Poor posture can affect more than just your appearance—it can lead to tight muscles and tendons and, over time, pain. The good news is that poor posture doesn’t develop overnight. It typically takes months or years of habitual slumping for more lasting issues to take root, said physical therapist Grayson Wickham, DPT, CSCS—and it is possible to course correct before this happens. 

Here are the four simple habits Wickham and Tyler Moldoff, DPT, OCS, a physical therapist at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery, recommend for better posture.

1. Prioritizing Upper Back and Shoulder Exercises

For better posture, both Wickham and Moldoff emphasized that the one habit you should prioritize, if nothing else, is consistent movement targeting the shoulders and upper back. That’s because these are the muscles that most commonly become tight and painful with poor posture, creating a vicious cycle of even more slouching and hunching.

Moldoff’s favorite move, used as a “simple reset” throughout the day, involves gently drawing the shoulder blades down and slightly inward, as if they’re “sledding down the back.”

The goal isn’t to force yourself into a rigid upright position, he said, but to create a light, comfortable engagement of the muscles between the shoulder blades that still allows you to breathe comfortably at your regular pace—in other words, to “encourage regular postural awareness without creating stiffness or fatigue.”

To help prevent the position from becoming too rigid, Moldoff said some people find it helpful to rest their tongue on the roof of the mouth, keeping the jaw relaxed and teeth unclenched.

When beginning, he recommends sticking to movements in a seated position with both feet on the ground before incorporating them into other positions. Aim to do the exercise 10 times a day for two to 10 seconds at a time. 

Wickham’s favorite back and shoulder exercise, meanwhile, is a little more involved. It requires lying on your back on a mobility ball and punching one arm straight forward, which stretches out one side of the upper back. Alternate arms, performing six reps per side and resetting your arm in between reps.

2. Taking Regular Movement Breaks

One way to reduce poor posture is to move around periodically, whether that means standing up, marching in place, walking to refill a water bottle, or taking a quick lap around the office or home. “These short movement breaks promote circulation, stimulate the muscles and joints, and help maintain awareness of body position throughout the day,” Moldoff said.

A rule of thumb: spend at least two minutes on your feet every hour, Moldoff said, noting that “even brief movement breaks can be beneficial” for posture.

If it’s hard to get up throughout the day, small adjustments while sitting, such as changing position or uncrossing and recrossing your legs, can also help interrupt the patterns that lead to poor posture, Wickham said.

3. Setting Up an Ergonomic Workstation

Ensuring an ergonomic workstation is a crucial part of supporting good posture, and experts recommended several steps for optimization. For people whose feet do not comfortably reach the floor, Moldoff suggested using a footrest, which he said “allows people to sit fully back in their chair, distribute forces more comfortably, and maintain an upright posture with less effort.”

He also suggested a chair with a stable backrest and slight recline resistance, which provides support while still allowing natural movement. Ideally, chair height should allow your lower body to fit comfortably under the desk so you can work close to your keyboard and mouse without reaching.

Arm support is another commonly overlooked factor, according to Moldoff. “Ideally, the forearms should rest comfortably without requiring the shoulders to elevate or the elbows to remain excessively bent,” he said. “The goal is to allow the arms to feel supported and relaxed while working.”

Finally, monitor height should “adapt to the individual rather than the individual adapting to the monitor,” according to Moldoff. Position the screen at a comfortable distance and height to reduce squinting, leaning forward, or repeatedly jutting the head forward, he said. If your monitor or laptop stand isn’t adjustable, try raising the screen on a stack of textbooks.

4. Doing Mobility Exercises

Performing a minute or two of mobility exercises multiple times per day “will be very effective at preventing and fixing your tight muscles and pain,” Wickham said. 

Wickham recommends stretching the hamstrings by placing your heel on a bench or chair and moving your hips back until you feel a stretch along the back of your upper leg. While holding the stretch, press your heel downward, which causes the hamstring to contract. Hold this stretched contraction for 20 seconds and repeat three times per leg.

Another effective exercise, Wickham said, is the segmented cat-cow pose. To do it, start in a tabletop position with your spine fully flexed, then slowly reverse the curve, starting at the hips and moving one vertebra at a time until the spine is fully extended. From there, reverse the movement by flexing one vertebra at a time, starting at the neck and moving down through the mid-back and low back. Perform 10 reps.

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Kristina Dawson