How to Sit Better

Tompfeiffer
Aug 14
5 min read

This article is going to help anyone dealing with back pain related to sitting. I provide my experience, how to sit better, and options to sit less.

My Experience

My back first started hurting when I was 10 years old and the worst part was nobody knew the cause. Doctors had different causes: scoliosis, bulging discs, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease. The problem was doctors were relying on scans but many of the abnormalities they point out cause zero pain in most people [Source].

Sagittal MRI of the lumbar spine showing vertebrae and discs. White text details scan parameters on a black background. — MRI 2009, 16 years old

The only way I was able to identify the cause of my pain was through personal study. I discovered that my tight hip flexors and poor posture put stress on my spine, and my solution was to sit better. After working with hundreds of clients, I’ve discovered that most back pain is caused by how we use our bodies, not a mark on a scan.

X-ray image showing a side view of a spine and abdomen on a computer screen. A small key shape is visible near the lower spine. — X-ray 2015, 21 years old

Why People Sit Poorly

A pain trigger for me is sitting with poor posture. Doctors don't review posture or movement because they see problems as structural (You are broken) instead of functional (Your habits are broken). It took me a long time to discover the cause of my pain because most people sit poorly, so I was normal. Most seats are designed to make you slouch and most people slouch. If most of your family and friends sit with poor posture, that becomes normal to you. If this habit is left unchecked, it can cause long term back pain like it did for me.

Illustration of a person and skeleton slouching on chairs, highlighting spine issues. Images of various seats in blue and tan shades.

How to Sit Better in 6 Steps

Try this yourself. Be tall and place one hand on your low back and the other at the back of your neck and lean back to feel these muscles relax, then round forward to feel these muscles become firm. This shows how our posture affects our muscles. Better posture balances bones, while worse posture uses muscles and ligaments to hold you up, which can lead to tight muscles, stressed ligaments, and compressed joints and nerves.

Man sitting in three postures: rounded, neutral, arched. Neutral is checked as correct with a green check mark. Text labels each posture.

Let’s pretend you hit your thumb with a hammer 1,000 times. It’s going to be damaged, inflamed, and even the slightest touch will cause you to flinch and feel pain. This is similar to what happens when you continuously stress your back with poor posture and movement. Even the slightest thing can cause you to feel pain because your back has become sensitive. The first step to healing your back is to stop hitting yourself with the hammer. Stop performing the micro damage to your spine by learning good spine hygiene. If sitting is a pain trigger, stop sitting poorly. This article explains first steps if you've recently hurt your back.

Pyramid chart titled Back Pain Priority Pyramid: Spine Hygiene at bottom, Stability in middle, Mobility & Strength on top, with importance levels.

Now let's say you have to sit in a chair and have no choice to choose other options. Here is how to sit properly.

Adjust Seat Height

Find a seat that places your hips slightly above the level of your knees. If your seat is too low, sit on a wedge or tuck your legs under.

Man in a tank top and shorts sits upright on a chair with a blue wedge cushion. Text reads "Sit on a wedge at the back of your seat." Dark patterned wall.

Man sits upright on a white chair, tucking legs. Wears beige tank top, brown shorts, and black shoes. Text: "Tuck your legs back or under."

If your seat is too high, place something under your feet.

Person in jeans and white shoes uses a laptop on a desk, sitting on a gray chair with feet on a footrest. Modern, ergonomic setting.

Roll Hips Forward

The position of your hips is the most important part of sitting well. When the hips are well-positioned and your posture is tall, the spine is balanced and neutral.

Two illustrations of a person seated, showing different spine alignments. Left: slouched posture; right: upright posture. Text explains pelvic balance.

To sit with good posture, sit at the rear of the seat and roll your pelvis forward to sit on the sit bones. You can find these bones by sitting on your hands and feeling for two bony points at the bottom of your hips.

Illustration of the pelvis showing sacrum, coccyx, sitting bones, sacral-iliac joint, hip joint, and pelvis, with labels and light colors.

Imagine you are a dog and allow your tail to stick out behind you. Don’t sit on your tail!

A cartoon yellow dog with a wagging tail stands on a teal background, tongue out and happy, casting a shadow on the ground.

Illustration of a yellow dog standing on a gray shadow with a light blue background. The dog has a cheerful expression.

Sit Evenly

Avoid crossing your legs to avoid uneven stress on your spine.

Man sitting cross-legged on a purple bench, red X over him. Text reads "Cross-legged sitting." Brick wall and windows in the background.

Open Hips

Let your legs naturally open and spread your butt cheeks to widen your base of support and take stress off the low back.

Man sitting on a chair in two poses: legs together with a red X, legs open with a green check. Text labels actions. Patterned wall background.

Man on a white chair demonstrates core exercise. He shifts weight side to side. Text: "Widen your base of support" with instructions.

Be Tall

Once your hips are positioned well, think about balancing your spine on your hips. When we focus on balance, better posture becomes easier and requires less effort than slouching.

Spine and skeleton on white, flanking stacked black stones on water. Background is blurred green, conveying balance and anatomy theme.

Keep your nose below the level of your ears to maintain good head posture.

Keep your ribs stacked over your hips, and avoid flaring your ribs.

Four skeleton diagrams show spine curvature and pelvis tilt in various postures, with arrows indicating movement. Red and blue colors highlight changes.

Imagine there's a string at the back of your head pulling up to the sky and try to be as tall as possible.

Two stacks of geometric shapes; left tilting and unstable, right upright and pulled by a hook. Arrows indicate force directions. Black and white.

Set Your Shoulders

To set your shoulders in place, reach back with one arm at a time like you’re trying to reach for something in the backseat of a car and then ‘anti-shrug’ your shoulders down to set your shoulder blades onto your rib cage.

Specific Sitting Situations

In the Car

Using a lumbar support can alleviate the discomfort of sitting, but it doesn’t train you to maintain good posture without it and can cause excessive low back arching. This is why I recommend the stretchsit cushion over using a lumbar support.

Man in car demonstrating posture with stretchsit cushion vs. lumbar support. Text highlights benefits of stretchsit for spinal alignment.

Two figures in blue demonstrate correct and incorrect seated postures. Both hold steering wheels; one shows a slouched back, the other upright.

Sit your butt all the way to the back of the seat, press down with your arms to lengthen your spine, and then “attach” your mid-back just below your shoulder blades to the seat behind you. Place a stretchsit cushion or towel at the back of your seat to help you maintain good posture and avoid sinking into the car seat. Solidify this position by setting your shoulders back and down by performing a shoulder roll.

Man demonstrating stretchsitting on a white chair in four steps. Text guides each step. Black patterned wall in the background.

On an Airplane

Place a cushion towards the back of your seat to get your knees above your hips and assist with rolling your pelvis forward. Use a stretchsit cushion or sweatshirt to support your mid back and assist with maintaining a long neutral spine. Take regular breaks to stretch your legs when you can.

At the Computer

Set your screen to eye-level if you can to avoid slouching.

Stick figures demonstrate laptop ergonomics; left shows eye level at 10°, right shows an angle over 20°. Desks and laptops in both.

Keep the shoulders back and down and only rotate your palms down to type.

Man in a floral shirt seated at a table with a laptop. Left: Slouched with text "Avoid slouching" and red X. Right: Straight posture with "Keep spine long" and green check.

Standing desks are great, but you can still slouch while standing. Stand with your feet wider than hip width apart - a straddle or split squat position - to prevent slouching.

Man in palm tree shirt using laptop on kitchen counter; three panels show posture tips: avoid slouching, feet wide, split stance.

A computer posture alternative is the half-kneeling position where you place a cushion under your knee and switch legs regularly to maintain a stretch in the hips and a long spine.

Man in palm-print shirt half-kneeling on cushion at table, using laptop. Background includes microwave, checkmark, and "Half-kneeling" text.

On a Bicycle

Sit with a long spine while riding a bicycle. Ground your pelvis, straighten your back, and relax your shoulders away from your ears.

Man on Citi Bike shows incorrect rounded and correct neutral postures side by side; text captions highlight posture differences.

On the Toilet

Spread your legs and roll your hips forward to maintain a straight spine to avoid straining your back. Tuck your legs under if the seat is too low. Good posture will also make your bowel movements easier.

Man in a palm tree shirt sits on a toilet. Left: slouching with a red X, right: neutral spine with a green check. Beige curtain background.

How to Sit Less

The best posture is variety. If you must sit for extended periods, find multiple postures you can hold so you provide variety to your tissues. Sit on the floor to improve circulation and strengthen your hip, ankle, and knee joints. A nice rug or cushioned floor will incentivize you to sit/lie on the ground instead of on the couch.

Here are some sitting postures you can use to add variety. Many of these can be used while working at your computer. Play around to find postures you like best.

Man demonstrating two prone positions on a blue towel, labeled "Position 1" and "Position 2," against a patio background.

Man in black workout attire kneels on a mat in a brick-walled studio. Text reads "Heel sitting." Calm and focused mood.

Man doing 90 90 stretch on a blue striped mat indoors. Text reads "90 90 stretch." Neutral expression, tan walls, window with curtain.

Man in a black outfit performs a frog stretch on a mat, against a brick wall. Text reads "Frog Stretch." Calm setting.

Man performing pigeon stretch on blue mat, indoors, beside window. Text "Pigeon Stretch" in top right. Relaxed setting with plants.

Conclusion

Fifty years ago, Dr. Vladimir Janda identified patterns of tightness and weakness in sedentary people, and these crossed syndromes help explain how sedentary people form fascia adhesions that make maintaining good posture feel impossible. This is why it's important to learn about your body's tightnesses and weaknesses so that you can improve these and make maintaining good posture easier. If you want help learning about your body and clarifying your opportunities for growth, schedule a consultation to work with me directly.