Help ease your upper back pain and improve your posture with the Bruggers Relief Position

It is common knowledge that we all tend to sit for too long and that too much sitting is bad for us.  You may have also heard the latest slogan that “Sitting is the new smoking”.  One of the problems with sitting for too long is that it can lead to postural deviations and dysfunction. This, of course, leads to aches and pains, headaches etc. The Bruggers Relief Position was developed by Alois Brugger, a Swiss neurologist.  It is a very simple exercise that is best done as a micro break and can help improve your posture or at least minimize the damage from sitting in front of the computer all day. It is well worth trying. Continue reading to see how it is done.

The Cog wheel Model
This is a simple way of showing what good and bad posture looks like.  The cog wheels show how different body segments interact.  You can see in the picture below what poor or slumped posture does to the cogs and how they change when moving into a good posture.  I am a visual person so this works for me.  For those that like a description, we are looking at the 3 keys to good sitting posture.  Brugger named them the three primary movements:

1. Anterior tilt of the pelvis (this is the bottom cog rolling forward)
2. Elevation of the chest (as the bottom cog rolls forward, the middle cog elevates the chest)
3. Elongation of the neck (as the chest elevates, it elongates the neck)

How to do the Bruggers Relief Position
This exercise is designed to be done as a micro break.  Do it every 20-30 minutes and hold for 3-4 deep breathes (approximately 20 seconds).

1. Sit at the edge of your chair, with the legs a little wider than the hips and toes pointing outward slightly.
2. Move into the good sitting position as shown in the cog wheel model.
   1. Roll the pelvis forward so you are sitting on the bones of your pelvis.
   2. Lift up your chest towards the roof.
   3. Elongate your neck (like there is a string pulling it towards the roof) and tuck the chin in.
3. With your arms hanging down beside you, rotate them outward as far as you can.  Your thumbs should be pointing outwards. 
4. Actively pull your shoulder blades together without lifting your shoulders.  Thinking of lifting your sternum towards the roof helps with this.  We dont wont to create more dysfunction by lifting the shoulders up.
5. Take 3-4 deep breaths (it should last approximately 20 seconds).
6. Relax again

The Bruggers Relief Position can also be done in a standing position.  If doing it in a standing position, standing against a wall can help the positioning.

This is just one simple move that I find particularly effective at helping ease the problems associated with long term sitting.  On top of this type of stretch, make sure you have longer breaks where you get up and have a walk around and just move.  We really need to be doing this at least once an hour.

In my next post I will describe a few band exercises that are great at helping ease the problems associated with prolonged sitting. In fact, some of them were developed by Alois Brugger as well.  If you find this post helpful, please share it so others can also benefit from it.