Recently, a woman came to one of my programs wearing a device that is supposed to improve your posture. As you can see in the picture I took, this device wraps around your shoulders and almost looks like you are wearing a miniature backpack. While having good posture is important for seniors because it helps you move more efficiently and aids in good balance, can a device like this really improve poor posture? Well, I am going to suggest that regardless of if you wear this product or any like it, you will need more than a device to have great posture.
When I tried the product on, what I initially noticed was that I stood taller, my shoulders were back, and I seemed to have better posture. However, was my posture only improved with the device on, and would it go back to normal once I took it off? Well, I have never had the experience of wearing one of these before, but have any of you worn Spanx, a corset, or even a girdle? If you have, wearing a device that is supposed to improve your posture felt similar to wearing a product that is designed to make you look slimmer through your waist. You see, once you take a girdle off, your real waistline comes back. Similarly, a device to help fix poor posture is only good when you are wearing it and in my opinion, could be bad if it replaces the work of your postural muscles.
While a device like this could seem like it improves your postural problem, as noted earlier I think it prevents you from making the muscles in your back do the work to improve posture. You see, the biggest reason people have poor posture is because they need to strengthen their back muscles, improve their rounded shoulders, and stretch their chest muscles. Even if you have Osteoporosis, which is a big contributor to poor posture among seniors, strengthening the areas that are weak and stretching tight areas are truly the only ways to improve posture in the long run. If I could give you three exercises to improve posture, they would be:
1.Squeeze your shoulder blades together (do this 30 seconds to 1 minute).
2. Stretch your chest (hold for 1 minute),
3. Perform external rotation-type exercises for your shoulders (do this 15-20 times).
While good posture is vital in terms of having a high quality of life, our bodies have to be trained to make sure we maintain the posture we have or improve it. While devices are nice, always remember that sometimes if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. To receive more in-depth content on how to fix poor posture with an informative ebook, please subscribe in the contact box.
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