5 Ways to Jumpstart Your New Year’s Resolution for Better Posture

The new year offers a natural reset point to address the postural habits causing your neck pain, headaches, and chronic back discomfort. 

At Spine Care of Manassas Chiropractic Center in Manassas, Virginia, Lincoln German, DC, CPN, and Mikaela Foley, DC, help patients build sustainable postural changes that address the neurological patterns maintaining dysfunction. 

Dr. German’s certification as a postural neurologist allows him to target the automatic motor programs that keep pulling you back into poor alignment.

Here are five effective ways to make meaningful progress toward better posture in the year ahead.

1. Get a professional postural assessment

Generic stretching routines often miss the underlying factors contributing to poor posture. Dr. German evaluates your musculoskeletal, vestibular, nervous, and endocrine systems to identify which factors contribute to your specific postural dysfunction. This assessment reveals:

• Muscle groups that are tight or overstretched
• Movement patterns your body relies on throughout the day
• Balance or coordination challenges affecting posture
• Joints with restricted or altered range of motion

Understanding these elements helps target the root contributors to postural strain instead of focusing only on symptoms.

2. Build micro-habits that trigger postural awareness

Your brain has automated poor postural patterns to free up mental resources for other tasks. Consciously forcing yourself to sit differently fights against years of neurological programming, which explains why most people give up after a few weeks.

Frequent, brief check-ins creates more consistent awareness than lengthy correction sessions you may eventually skip. 

Set strategic reminders throughout your day

Small environmental cues can prompt you to check your posture without relying on motivation or willpower. These triggers include:

• Hourly phone alerts for three-second body scans
• Colored tape on your computer monitor edge
• Small objects placed on your desk that catch your eye
• Specific activities that trigger awareness (every time you answer the phone, check your shoulders)

Environmental cues typically outlast phone notifications because they're always visible and don’t require battery life or app settings.

3. Fix your workspace setup

Even perfect postural awareness can’t overcome a workspace that forces you into dysfunction. Your monitor height, chair position, and keyboard placement actively shape how you hold your body for hours each day.

Making these adjustments removes the environmental factors that constantly pull you back into poor posture:

Adjust your monitor and screen position

Your computer screen should sit at eye level, roughly an arm’s length away. Looking down at your monitor for eight hours daily creates forward head posture that exercise alone can’t reverse.

Optimize your chair and sitting position

Your chair setup directly impacts how much strain you place on your spine and surrounding muscles. Key adjustments include:

• Adjustable height with proper lumbar support
• Feet flat on the floor with knees at roughly 90 degrees
• Armrests that support elbows without forcing shoulders up
• Seat depth that doesn’t press into the backs of your knees

If your current chair lacks these features, consider investing in an ergonomic model.

Position your keyboard and mouse correctly

Your keyboard and mouse should allow your elbows to stay close to your body rather than reaching forward. This prevents rounded shoulders and excessive strain on your upper back.

4. Pair chiropractic adjustments with active rehabilitation

Chiropractic adjustments can help restore joint mobility, but lasting postural improvement often requires strengthening and retraining movement patterns.

Postural rehabilitation combines manual therapy with progressive exercises that challenge your nervous system to maintain proper alignment. The exercises start simple and gradually increase in complexity as your brain adapts to new movement patterns.

This combination approach addresses both the mechanical restrictions limiting your movement and the neurological programs that maintain dysfunction.

5. Track objective measures

Feeling like your posture has improved doesn’t mean it actually has. Your proprioception — your sense of where your body is in space — has adapted to poor posture over years. 

Taking regular photos from the side and front gives you objective feedback. Compare photos every two weeks to spot changes that your internal sensors might miss. Look for:

• Head position relative to shoulders
• Shoulder height and rotation
• Hip level and alignment
• Overall spinal curves

Dr. German uses specialized postural analysis tools to help track measurable changes and guide ongoing care.

Start the new year with lasting postural improvements

Meaningful posture correction isn’t about willpower alone — it’s about understanding how your body moves and supporting healthier patterns. Our team at Spine Care of Manassas Chiropractic Center creates individualized treatment plans that target the specific factors contributing to your postural problems.

Call our Manassas office at 703-257-6221 or book online to start 2026 with a comprehensive postural assessment.