Posture support - does it work or make things worse in the long run?

I have very poor posture. My back is already quite bowed. It is making me more breathless which has a knock-on effect on just about every facet of my life. My mother had the same problem. In her case her back almost completely collapsed in the months before her death. She had osteoporosis very, very badly. I really, really don't want to end up being the same shape as my mother!

I am not well enough to exercise, but I wondered if something like this might actually help?

https://thenaturalposture.com/products/womens-back-brace-posture-correction-support-band

I have never been convinced that having something to brace muscles is a good idea. Surely it results in the supported muscles ending up even weaker than before? So, for example, someone wearing a plaster cast for a broken leg has wasted leg muscles once the cast is removed. Isn't this back support thing I've linked going to achieve the same poor result and weakening of the supportive muscles?

 

I think it works more by reminding you of your posture than by actually holding you up (ie., makes it uncomfortable to slouch), in which case I wouldn't worry about losing muscle. There are other products that connect to an app and buzz if you slouch as well, if you're uncertain.

 

Thanks, @andypants . Unfortunately I have an old dumb phone, not a smart phone, so I can't run apps. I'll have to stick with non-electronic ways and means of improving things.

 

Another question on the same topic...

These posture support things often come with magnets stitched in. According to this page :

https://thenaturalposture.com/collections/back-brace/products/adjustable-magnet-posture-corrector

the magnets are supposed to be attracted to the iron in blood. It sounds like preposterous woo to me. Has anyone ever tried magnets in connection with muscle issues before?

 

From scifi the answer is still nonsense. Yes iron is magnetic, yes it could be affected by magnets, but the strength of the magnetic field necessary to get metal to stick to you by magnetism alone would almost certainly be fatal. And elastic, sticky thing, and fastening mechanisms exist.

If it was practical then people would be getting stuck to MRI machines all the time - only they wouldn't because MRI machines wouldn't exist - who would develop such a thing if it had that effect?

As to the question at hand - I have no idea.

 

The support sounds like woo-woo to me.

What I would say is that it is probably well worth while having something to remind you several times a day to keep a straight posture. I have one of these - called my wife.

It is interesting that some people start to hunch or bend forward with age and others do not. There are studies that suggest the difference is simple - the hunching is due to a bending forward posture, not the other way around. People who bend forward squash down the fronts of their vertebrae and so become hunched. People who keep a ramrod posture do not squash their vertebrae. (To simplify.)

It might be useful to wear a proper brace but it would almost certainly need to be rigid plastic with a collar to keep the neck up. I think having a reminder to keep straight is probably better. I have so used it fe telling me that I stay straight on my own these days when I go out.

 

Thanks, Trish. I don't know why I didn't think about looking for myself - a temporary blank I think.

Thanks, Wonko. I should have thought of MRI machines - I've had a few MRIs in my time. And I've also got a nephew who tests and services MRI machines in far flung places around the world. He probably would have laughed himself silly at the very idea.

Thanks, Jonathan Edwards. I will hold my hands up and agree that my posture problem is self-inflicted. It seems to affect all the females in my family for some reason, and we all start hunching at quite a young age. Can bad habits be genetic and hereditary?

I'm not keen on the idea of having to wear rigid plastic with a collar - it sounds far too painful. I think I'll risk the expenditure of £10.99 plus postage and packing (for the version without magnets!) and see if it works as a reminder that I must sit or stand up straight. If it doesn't then I'll learn from it and move on.

 

With bent posture the muscles across the front of your chest become shortened leading to a vicious circle. Years ago I fixed my slightly bad posture with a couple of undemanding stengthening and stretching execises on the advice of a physio.

The petoral stretching exercise involves standing in a doorway, putting your forearms and hands flat against the door frames on each side of you (not too high or low) and taking a step through the doorway with one foot. Hold for 1 minute at the very least. There are other ways to stretch the pectoral muscles but with this one you can't lean forwards if you keep your arms in place. I do it often because it feels good.

After years of using various ways of reminding myself about my posture I've settled on telling myself to "open my chest". For me it works instantly and with no effort.

 

Its going to be hard to use with ME

I also have bad posture but see a good chiropractor who was able to fix it over time but she told me unless i can build core muscles i will revert. So its a maintenance situation until we have an ME treatment.
As for osteoporosis the best answer is Vitamin A and Vitamin K2. The research backing it up is there and still building. Add Vitamin D to prevent arterial plaque formation, it creates Matrix GLA protein which the K2 will activate.

 

@oldtimer Thanks for the description of how to stretch pectoral muscles. It sounds doable so I'll give it a try.

@Alvin Thanks for the vitamin suggestions. I already supplement with vitamin K2, but I've let my vitamin D supplementation lapse. I do intend to re-start it. I haven't supplemented vitamin A for ages - I got a bit spooked by all the bad press it gets for liver health if taken in excess, and gave it up after the first bottle. I'll do some more research on that. I can't imagine I would be able to build core muscles, but I'll look into that too.

 

Vitamin A creates Osteocalcin which K2 activates.
You only need the upper level intake of Vitamin A (~3000ug/day or 10,000IU), you don't need to overdose.

 

Thanks. I think I was taking well within the upper safe intake. But when I get spooked by something, logic tends to fly out the window.

 

I'm not sure if you have to be straightened out first or if just building them will help
In my case i can't build them even if i made myself worse so its best to stick with the maintenance situation for now

I understand but as long as you don't do anything unsafe you won't have a problem
You can also take lower doses, it will just build bone more slowly.

 

In addition to long-term ME/FMS I also have moderate to severe OA in my spine, neck and joints, so I need to constantly mind my posture. I think that braces are necessary during a flare, because the support is needed, but otherwise it won't help in the long run, because you're right that what you need is to develop your muscles. For this you need to see a competent physio for advice. I've also found YouTube very helpful for specific muscle exercises. The most valuable one I was taught is to imagine a tennis ball on your spine between your shoulder blades, then squeeze it using your shoulder blades (not your shoulders). This may be very tough at first; it was for me and took a fortnight for me to begin managing the squeeze, but boy has it been good! The big benefit is that it opens the front of the chest, so my breathing and asthma greatly improved and the terrible muscle tenderness along my sternum has ended. After a while of this, I learned gradually to squeeze the muscles each side of the spine, up and down from tail to neck and it has been hugely beneficial for me and feels great, because I build up a lot of muscle tension through the day and this releases it all. My back is much stronger, plus it involves no exhausing routines and can be done sitting or lying down. Try it.

 

Thanks, @longtermcase . I'll try the imaginary tennis ball.

 

Did you know that in the C18 it was customary for upper class girls and women to wear backboards to ensure perfectly upright posture?

 

Yes - and they also had to walk around balancing books on their heads to train them to walk absolutely upright. I remember trying it as a child and not being very good at it.

 

My mother would have a go at me in various ways for slouching, which was a bit like the pot calling the kettle black - she was a sloucher too. My shoulders were round from an early age. In my case my problem became much, much, MUCH worse when I started using a) a PC at work (1984) b) a Spectrum ZX at home (1985) c) a PC at home (1987 or 1988). I quickly became a computer game addict - something I didn't overcome until my concentration, memory, reflexes and brain fog got too bad in the last 5 - 10 years. During those years playing games, then latterly just browsing the web, my shoulders and upper back got very rounded and are now effectively fixed in that shape.

If I felt well I would embark on a stretching and exercising routine to try and strengthen my back and stretch the muscles on the front of my chest, but I'm not up to it.