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| Ⓒ Provided by Men's Health |
By Emilia Benton, Men's Health
Standing up straight and having good posture isn’t just about aesthetics. Your posture may give away something about your age and your health. And it’s tempting to purchase a posture trainer in an effort to do something about posture you think is troubling.
According to Corey J. Wallach, M.D., a spine surgeon for the Anderson Clinic who serves as the Medical Director for the INOVA Spine Institute in Alexandria and Mt Vernon, Va. Posture can be affected by a diverse group of factors. Even an infection that was missed, neurological conditions, age, and genetics can play roles.
“It’s also important to keep in mind that postural changes are a normal part of aging,” he says. “Having good body mechanics can help patients feel good and minimize the impacts of aging and the symptoms that come along with it.”
Read More: This 5-Minute Posture Tweak Can Improve Your Mental Health and Reduce Stress
So can a posture corrector help you have better posture throughout your lifespan? Surprisingly, there are actually a variety of posture correctors and posture trainers on the market that may somewhat help to resolve posture change problems. Here's why experts say to proceed with caution and not rely on them alone to resolve posture issues in the long term.
Why is having good posture important?
Maintaining good posture is important for your body’s overall health. “As we get older, as upright creatures, posture is critical because all of the joints in the body are designed to support us in a vertical upright plane,” explains Robert Masson, M.D., a neurosurgeon in Orlando. “Once a person starts leaning to the front or to the side all of the mechanical loads are asymmetrically increased on the joints affected whether it’s the spine segments, the pelvis, the hips, knees, ankles and feet. This increases the wear and tear of any and all of these joints.”What are the risks of having bad posture?
According to Dr. Wallach, the most common impact of bad posture is pain and dysfunction. “These days, that often manifests in lower back pain from sitting in front of a computer, or neck pain from being hunched over our phones,” he explains. “Bodies are not designed to sit in front of screens 8 to 12 hours a day or to have our necks tilted down looking at our phones. But, let’s face it, this is today’s reality, so [it’s key to] recognize what’s going on and see what we can do to avoid those positions by making ergonomic adjustments to our posture, and work with a physical therapist, or do a home stretching and exercise program to strengthen muscles.”According to Dr. Masson, it’s important to take preventive measures to maintain symmetry both front and back and side-to-side as best you can, all throughout your life.
“The risks [of having bad posture also include an] increase in degenerative spine, hip, knee, foot and ankle problems with [eventual] risks of surgeries and disabilities during our best years later in life,” Dr. Masson adds.
Keep in mind there are a variety of reasons someone might have poor posture. It’s important to get evaluated by a physician to get to the root of it and get care that’s right for your situation. “Interestingly, sometimes poor posture isn’t always abnormal, and as an orthopedic surgeon, I am primarily concerned with ensuring my patients have good function, rather than just aesthetics,” Dr. Wallach says.
Can a posture corrector fix your posture issues?
If you’ve seen posture correctors on the market, it’s natural to be curious or intrigued. But as with most things related to long-term health, they’re most likely not a solution all on their own.“Sometimes, devices like posture correctors or other orthotic devices are useful, too, but I typically recommend to my patients these are used short-term,” Dr. Wallach says. “This is because the device can often do the work for your body. In the short-term, when healing, this can be beneficial because it can relieve pain and help to restore function. But in the long term, we don’t want to see muscle atrophy, which can lead to dysfunction again. It can be helpful to think about what happens to a person following the use of a cast, where they’d typically see atrophy and need to rebuild that muscle loss.”
So their best use is as a supplement to a smart, calculated and strategic biomechanics program that’s tailored to you. In other words, if these tools are used without a true commitment to correct your posture through exercises, stretching and front-to-back strengthening and movement exercises, then any effects you see with these devices likely won’t last, either.
Read More: 5 Strength-Training Moves for Your Best-Ever Posture
Are there any downsides or risks to using these devices?
“The downside to relying on any tool that 'braces' a zone is that it limits natural movement, resistance, and, ultimately, agility and strength,” Dr. Masson says. “There needs to be a period of time several days a week where the physical maintenance is earned the old-fashioned way.” That means through time, and a strategic ways to maximize fitness, agility, and strength in the area you’re bracing.So, are you better off just doing posture-correcting exercises?
Yes; according to Dr. Masson, it is more beneficial to regularly do exercises that promote good posture than to just rely on a posture corrector.Just make sure you train both the back and the front of your body. “Everyone who goes to the gym has a general bias towards exercises that they see in the mirror, which tend to be anterior plane or what they see, arms, chest, torso always from the front,'' he says. But for your posture, you need to also work the posterior or rear plane, the back, trapezius, and latissimus dorsi muscles, he adds. You need to work all the structures that support the torso.
That said, posture trainers may be useful in some cases. “Posture correctors, like yoga balls, foam rollers, and the like can be great for some, but not for others,” he says. There's no single best posture corrector that you can buy. “In partnership with your physician, the best course of action is trying different options to see what feels good and relieves pain.”
None of the doctors we spoke with recommended specific products. But be aware that posture correctors come in all styles; some are figure-8 shaped, others wrap around your shoulders and your waist, offering support up and down the spine. Yet another also provides lumbar support. It may take some trial and error to get what you want. Meanwhile, know the risks of bad posture and keep your workouts strategic.
Read More: 5 Shoulder Stretches You Should Try Right Now to Improve Mobility
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