Sort out your posture and you’ll trim your gut and dodge arthritis. Here are five easy ways to do it.



1. DANGER ZONE ON THE ROAD

“Slouching while driving is one of the major causes of lower-back pain,” observes physiotherapist Dirk Laubscher of The Back Clinic in London.

Fix it “Put a rolled-up towel against the small of your back,” advises Laubscher. Preferably not your own gym towel.
Bonus Reduced blood pressure. The Journal of Neuroscience reported that neck muscles and the part of the brain that controls blood pressure are linked. Bad posture strains muscles and raises blood pressure.



2. DANGER ZONE AT YOUR WORK DESK

Your keyboard isn’t symmetrical – that odd number pad you never use makes it stick out, leading to tendon strain.

Fix it Use your left hand to tame that mouse. Research from Montreal’s Robert-Sauve Institute found right-handers were able to complete computing tasks more easily once they’d made the switch to the dark side.
Bonus Reduced risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI). Mouse use may give rise to aches, so keep the rodent guessing.



3. DANGER ZONE ON A STOOL

Bar stools can be harder on your back than playing leapfrog with a sumo wrestler.

Fix it Sit forward, drop your knees and use the footrest. Or try sitting on one cheek, with one foot on the floor. Lean on your forearms.
Bonus A chest to impress. “Sitting with slumped shoulders shortens chest muscles,” warns personal-trainer Alwyn Cosgrove (alwyncosgrove.com).



4. DANGER ZONE ON THE PHONE

Cradling a phone between ear and shoulder leads to posture problems.

Fix it Invest in a hands-free set. A study by Santa Clara Valley Medical Centre in California found they reduce neck pain by 31 per cent and lower-back pain by 16 per cent.
Bonus You’ll sound better. “Upright posture allows your voice to travel,” says voice-coach Bonnie Raphael, of the University of North Carolina in the US.



5. DANGER ZONE IN THE SACK

“Sleeping on your stomach is bad, because it forces you to face in a different direction to your body for hours,” explains Laubscher.

Fix it Buy a firm mattress and sleep on your side with a pillow between your knees. “It keeps your spine aligned,” reveals Laubscher.
Bonus More sex. Side sleeping reduces snoring for coital bliss.