Strength-train your posture<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nAdd rowing exercises (pulling towards you) and overhead presses\/raises to your workouts at least three times a week to open your chest and pull your shoulders back.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018It\u2019s not just what you do for an hour in the gym,\u2019 he explains. \u2018It\u2019s what you do for 10 hours at your desk, on your phone, or in your car that really shapes the body.\u2019<\/p>\n
If the head is repeatedly held in a forward position, he says, strain on the neck increases. Over time, the muscles can adapt to that position, meaning what begins as temporary posture may gradually become habitual.<\/p>\n
\u2018If you honestly calculated the hours a day you spend looking down, I think you\u2019d be absolutely shocked,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n
He describes so-called \u2018tech neck\u2019 as a common modern complaint linked to prolonged phone and laptop use, where forward head posture places extra strain on the neck and upper back.<\/p>\n
Mr Leach adds that patients often do not seek help until symptoms begin to interfere with sleep, work or daily movement \u2013 by which point the body may already have adapted to compensate.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re seeing more children than ever with neck pain, back stiffness and hip pain \u2013 at an increasing rate,\u2019 he says, warning that younger generations are spending more time in sedentary positions.<\/p>\n
Research suggests musculoskeletal discomfort is increasingly common in children and adolescents, with studies linking higher screen use and reduced activity levels to increased reports of neck and back pain.<\/p>\n
He also points to modern working habits as a major factor.<\/p>\n
\u2018Laptops are the ultimate curse,\u2019 he says. ‘Think of a laptop like talking to someone who\u2019s much shorter than you all day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘If, for example, you\u2019re about 5ft 7in and you spend all day talking to someone who is only 5ft tall, you\u2019d be constantly looking down \u2013 and of course your neck would hurt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘It\u2019s exactly the same with a laptop: you\u2019re just looking down at the screen instead of at a short person and that constant downward angle puts huge strain on your neck.’<\/p>\n
This, he explains, encourages rounded shoulders and forward head posture that can become habitual over time.<\/p>\n
However, he insists the issue is not irreversible.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s so simple, it\u2019s too simple \u2013 just getting your knees lower than your hips and your monitor up to forehead height can reduce strain significantly.\u2019<\/p>\n
He recommends simple but consistent changes such as raising screens to eye level, taking regular movement breaks, and avoiding long periods of slouched sitting on soft furniture.<\/p>\n
\u2018There\u2019s always change available,\u2019 he says. \u2018When you\u2019re still growing and when you\u2019re young, there\u2019s always the option to improve.\u2019<\/p>\n
He also highlights simple exercises that can help counteract modern posture, particularly movements that strengthen the upper back.<\/p>\n
\u2018Anything that pulls towards you \u2013 like rowing \u2013 and lifting your hands above your head are massively useful. Doing those a few times a week can help reduce discomfort and improve posture over time.\u2019<\/p>\n
So next time you find yourself hunched over your phone or laptop, it may be worth asking \u2013 how many hours a day is your body really spending in the same position?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the UK\u2019s leading osteopaths has warned that everyday habits are contributing to rising levels of neck and back pain – and it could cause irreversible damage. David Leach, who has nearly three decades of experience treating muscle, joint, disc and arthritic conditions, says he is seeing more patients struggling with posture-related discomfort linked<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[520],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hot"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"'Text](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2026\/04\/10\/14\/81728317-15721913-There_s_also_no_evidence_that_people_who_slouch_are_more_likely_-a-1_1775827158755.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n