Posture, Muscle Tension and Exercise

I get really tight shoulders and jaw too, what's helped me is doing some gentle stretching while watching TV and using a heat pack before bed. It makes evenings a bit easier.

Ive had the exact same problems when i was younger and i have no problems with my posture or lower back pain anymore, ive been training for almost 7 years and studied health and fitness in college. 

ive found that its best to never force yourself into any certain posture, for years i had people saying i had to sit up fully straight but that made my back pain worse, i found that if i keep a somewhat bent back when sitting or just keep my chest high when standing i dont get any back pain anymore and my back is less bent than before, this is on top of all my training of the core muscles that i think have helped so much.   

As for chairs the one i brought i made sure was a material i can handle and that the back can be reclined, also much sure the height is right for you.   

It helps a ton to stretch often so i very much recomend lower back and pelvis stretches as they would provide alot of relief for you, you can pretty much do them anywhere and daily as long as you dont go crazy with them.

I love the gym but i like training at home too, but i also dont want to change clothes so i just lock my door and train in my boxers in my bedroom, it also saves washing more clothes when i wash afterwards, that could be an option for you.   

Doing any exersise is good, the best for your back and posture would be anything that uses your core muscles, like planks and sit ups if you dont have equipment, it would help alot in building strength and resistance for your posture, also jogging and running helps a good deal with it as you mentioned walking.

There are loads of exercises you can do at home with no equipment that will help tone and strengthen. Squats, lunges, curls, press ups, calisthenics, etc. Plenty of good vids on YouTube for ideas.

For chairs, years ago I went to Staples and just sat in a load and picked the comfiest. I used to sleep in that. I have a gaming chair now.

I see Staples chairs start under £100, but they have no physical shops in the UK anymore, it's just online. I am not sure where you can go to try anything. Dunelm or Currys have office chairs for sale. How many they have in store I don't know.

I've been fortunate enough to work in this field one way or another for some time.  What people think of as exercise varies from culture to culture.  

Posture is complicated, the best examples of it are probably toddlers and dancers in my opinion...  Oh, and maybe it's not just the chair but also how one is sitting on it.

In respect of tension and posture the exercise our body is doing is holding itself up and in a shape versus gravity and atmospheric pressure - not something people necessarily think of as being exercise however if you think about it that is the reality of the physics of the situation.

In context posture is not just what is being done but how it is being done.

Depending on what floats your boat there are different "styles" of exercise that address this.

Some exercises are more "external" e.g. lifting weights or hitting a ball around maybe.

Things like Pilates, yoga, taichi/qigong (however you like to spell) it are perhaps more "internal" exercise systems.  In these the focus is perhaps more on acquiring skills that enable rearranging of the tensions in the body so that the body is more comfortable to inhabit and more efficient at doing physical work - including maintaining posture, breathing etc....  Pick your teacher and style and maybe try out a few (again often not what is being done but how...) - and be prepared to challenge your ideas about what feels "right" in your body in order to find a way of feeling more comfortable.

Whatever way you go I would encourage you to think that exercise is not about flogging yourself to death - it is about being able to do more with less effort - OK albeit with putting effort into it while learning how to do so.

All the best

What about yoga or tai chi? You can get books or video's. You don't need any expensive kit or equipment, yoga in particular takes up very little space, you just need a mat, to do it on, so that your knees and hips etc aren't on a hard floor with no padding.

I have a kneeling stool and have had one for years, they really do help your posture and stop you slumping in the middle, improving breathing and digestion as well as posture. People either swear by them or at them, but i would highly recomend giving one a try, you can get them for less that £100 on amazon and probably other places for less.

My sympathies. I work through a tedious physiotherapy routine every other day, and it will likely be continued in some form indefinitely. I really hate doing it but needs must. 

I’ve tried using fitness apps in the past but they really annoy me. They all seem to play the same type of music and it becomes too much. If you happen to be a member of Benenden, they have some good quiet routines. 

Have you tried listening to podcasts related to your interests while you are exercising? 

Millicent_Bystander said:

The obvious answer would be to get a new office chair, but where do you start, there are thousands to choose from and the cost of one of those ergonomic chairs is eyewatering.

Keep an eye on the likes of eBay and Facebook Marketplace - you can often get the ergonomic chairs secondhand at decent prices and you then just need to give them a really good clean.

Millicent_Bystander said:

Being tense all the time is tiring,

I can recommend elements of meditation, specifically the parts where you close your eyes, breathe deeply and focus on the tense muscles to release the tension. It takes a minute of so and can really ease off the tension.

Learning when to spot that you are tensing up is a great way to halt it in its tracks too - it takes  bit of a change in mindset to be able to do this but it reallty does work when you can see the tasks coming and just accept them without letting them cause stress.

Millicent_Bystander said:

Despite knowing I feel good after exercise my tiredness is making changing my routine a bigger struggle and the sensory challenges of changing my clothes, a noisy fitness app, I can't find subtitles yet to turn off the incessent chatter and loud music, the gym is a no-no

Eating well is a big part of this, plus also knowing what to eat, and when. I can recommend having a session with a nutritionist to work through your needs, understand your food limitations and to build a plan for you to eat well, healthily and in a way that lets you feel much better.

You can switch the phone to mute mode and go running instead - no need for gyms if you don't like them, but you do need to be prepared for the cold and wet.

Can't hack running, how about getting a cross trainer for home? They are not terribly expensive and I found they are great to sit an iPad on the display part and watch a TV episode or film while working out.

There are always solutions.