Slouching ISN’T bad for you, claims leading spine specialist – and he says there’s no evidence trendy standing desks will ease your back pain

Forget what you were told at school: slouching is not bad for you, according to one of Britain’s leading spine specialists.

A slouched posture, often considered undignified or rude, has long been thought to be bad for your back.

But Dr Chris McCarthy, a Harley Street consultant and researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University, says there is no evidence of this.

And modern “standing desks,” which claim to improve posture and reduce back strain, offer no benefit to the body, he says.

“Our spine will not be damaged if we sit a little, even if we are moving our fingers on a keyboard at the same time,” Dr. McCarthy said.

‘Standing for a long time is no more comfortable for the spine than sitting for a long time.

‘There’s a very good reason why slouching doesn’t harm our spine, and that’s because our spine is designed to allow for movements as diverse as Olympic weightlifting or limbo dancing.

‘If you are experiencing back or neck pain, you can rest assured that the posture you adopt when walking or sitting is probably not as much to blame as you would have been led to believe.

“Instead, it’s probably more related to other life characteristics, such as how stressed or physically active you are and whether you’ve previously had back pain.”

‘If you are slouched, rest assured that it is not really bad for you and is as good as any other posture you adopt. Comfortable postures are safe and sitting is not dangerous.’

Dr McCarthy, writing for the academic blog The Conversation, said there have been a “large number of rigorous clinical studies” showing there is no relationship between slouching and spinal pain.

There is also no evidence that people who slouch are more likely to suffer from back or neck pain compared to those who don’t.

Even the latest government guidelines on office working put less emphasis on posture at workstations.

Dr. McCarthy said the best way for office workers to make their bodies more comfortable, increase their productivity and improve their mood is to take regular breaks to walk, stretch, stand or sit.

Slouching has been associated with aspects of a person’s worth, dignity, respectability, and morality.

The term itself comes from Medieval Norse and means “lazy type.”