Posture braces are a good aid in correcting your posture, but knowing what bad posture looks and feels like is just as important as a good posture brace. Hopefully I can shed a little light on what bad posture is, so you can be more informed.

How many times did you hear “don’t slouch” or “stand tall” while growing up? I must have heard that a million times from my father and grandpa. Both in the military, but they knew that having good posture was more than just looks or portraying confidence. They knew that having correct posture also lead to a healthier back. Having correct posture can be broken down into two specific segments.

1.    Dynamic – Dynamic posture is described as your bodies alignment while in motion or performing a task. Examples of dynamic posture would include lifting, bending, running, or any other movement where your spine will be changing angles.

2.    Static – Static posture is where your spine is in a idle position. If you’re sitting while reading this post, then your posture is in a static position.

Knowing what correct dynamic and static posture feels like will help you in identifying where your opportunities exists and eventually you will start correcting your posture naturally. As with any habit breaking exercise, patience is crucial. That’s also why a posture brace might be able to speed up the process, but I will dive into what to look and feel for without posture aid device.

Static Posture

Standing, sitting and sleeping are the three static posture activities that you deal with most. So it goes without saying that those three activities I will touch upon.

Standing is the most complicated activity (at least in my mind). There are perceived correct standing positions. Standing at attention is one that often gets mistaken for correct standing posture. In reality if you stand with your shoulders back for a considerable amount of time you will notice just how uncomfortable that stance can be. It also puts a strain on your shoulders and lower back.

What you should do is to get in front of a full length mirror and start sizing yourself up. Take a look at your natural standing position. Don’t try and correct yourself when your assessing. Take note of your shoulders, mid-section, knees and head position.

• Shoulder Position - Your shoulders should be aligned with your spine. Curvature on the spine will cause your shoulders to slump forward. This slumping position will create havoc on your lower back.

• Mid-Section - Some of us are a little more heavier than others, so this might be subjective. In the mirror turn to the side and check the middle of your back. What you don’t want to see is a reverse C or sway back. In other words you don’t want your back bow in. Suck in your mid-section and you will see what your back should look like. As the picture to the right indicates…imagine a dotted line from the center of your head down to your ankles.

• Knees – Knees are simple. Slightly bent and never stand at a great length with your knees locked. Have you ever seen someone pass out at a wedding? Besides nerves people in stressful situations lock their legs. This causes restricted blood flow to the brain leading to loss of consciousness. Just remember, feet shoulders width apart and knees slightly bent.

• Lower Back - The lower back and mid-section goes hand in hand. You want a slight natural curve in your lower back.

Practice, Practice, Practice

A good exercise to getting you to feel what correct standing posture feels like is to practice the wall exercise. Place your butt up against a wall with your heels roughly two inches off the wall…remember knees bent slightly. Now place your shoulder blades and the back of your head against the wall.  This feeling should mimic the look of correct standing posture.

Some other best practices to improving your standing posture:

1. For the ladies. High heels are terrible for your lower back. Yes, they are a must for fashion, but for overall posture health…they are a posture faux pas. A comfortable ergonomic shoe might not look sheik, but it will save your back down the road.
2. Don’t stand for long periods of time in one place. If you work where standing one place is part of your job, then try to take breaks or stretch often to keep your back muscles relaxed.
3.  Exercising your back. Through out my blog I touch on exercises that built back muscle. A fit and strong back will promote a healthy standing posture.

More to come…

I have received several emails on how to create good solid posture for those who are professional piano players. From my understanding with concert Pianist, they get judged on how their posture is while performing. Again, I know very little about pianist, but thought I address some of the email that I received.

Really when you think about it the posture you try to perfect while performing should be the same as when your at a desk or workstation. Computer posture is always something that day to day people are trying to perfect. The trick and what I have found out is not masking your bad posture, but rather training your body to sit upright while sitting or performing. Elbows in, chest out, both feat on the floor and knees shoulders width apart. Not truly knowing the ins and outs of judging a pianist on Posture – I’m only giving you my thoughts here. I have seen some great modern day piano players like Billy Joel, Ray Charles and Elton John WOW crowds with their performances. It does always seem that they are more about the performance and getting the audience involved, so correct posture is not even a consideration to these guys. But on the other hand, classical pianist like Gershwin, Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin are more about the performance and seemed to always have an upright and strong forward C arch to their backs while performing.

Now I’m sure there are some classical piano players out there that can chime in and maybe comment on providing some tips for good posture at the piano. By all means chime in give us some tips for those looking for better posture while performing.

A posture brace worth checking out is PostureNOW. PostureNOW is a revolutionary new product in the health and fitness arena and is aimed at people with poor posture.

Bad or poor posture is something that more and more people are being effected by. Whether it be due to years of slouching at a computer desk, or whether it be to other work-related tasks, or maybe the cause for your poor posture lies in your genetics. There’s no hiding from the fact that it’s effecting more and more people as time goes on, and this is generally due to the massive increase over the past 15-20 years or so of people sitting at computer desks day in, day out, hunched over a keyboard and staring at a monitor.

Poor posture doesn’t just look bad. It can cause all sorts of health problems. Here are some examples:

• Back pain – One of the more obvious symptoms. Back pain is a result of poor posture as the constant leaning forward or leaning backwards put strain on your musculoskeletal structure, trapping nerves, and sending pain signals to your brain.
• Rounded shoulders – Leaning forward as a result of bad posture can sometimes create rounded shoulders. Not only does it not look good, it can also effect your muscular strength in your arms.
• Forward leaning – One of the main results of bad posture – this one is more predominantly caused, in recent years, in many hours working at a computer workstation; ‘forward leaning’ can lead to back pains, aches, fatigue.
• Muscle fatigue.
• General aches and pains – Caused by the constant irritations on nerve endings and caused by a curved spine (resulting from poor posture).
• Poor posture can also effect the times it can take for your nervous system to send signals from parts of your lower body to your brain, and back again.

This is where PostureNOW can help. Comprising of two armbands made from neoprene, joined together by an adjustable elastic ‘tension band’, this patent pending ‘posture corrector’ is designed to be worn by both men and women, of all ages.

Product Features:

• Pulls shoulders back and pushing your chest forward, straightening your back and spinal column; preventing your from slouching and resuming your poor posture state.
• Made from hard-wearing, long-lasting neoprene and elastic, ensuring satisfaction time and time again.
• Patent pending technology.
• Revolutionary new design.
• Un-obtrusive, and can be worn whenever, and wherever you want.
• Makes your own muscles strengthen and do the work.

Posture is slowly corrected by pulling the upper-arms and shoulders back, while the adjustable tension band applies gentle pressure to your back, pushing your chest forward – painlessly, I must add – and straightening up your back and spine.

Advantages:

• A natural approach to correcting your posture.
• Makes your own muscles strengthen and do the work in improving your posture – unlike other braces on the market.
• Can be worn on top of, and underneath clothing.

Disadvantages:

• Two different sizes – not a ‘one brace fits all’ solution.
• Only comes in one colour – Black.

What other reviewers have said:

Many reviewers we found welcomed the new innovative design and the new innovative approach to the ‘posture correction’ market. The new patent pending technology of PostureNOW is a revolutionary design, and this was commented on by many people who have bought and reviewed the product.

Another feature also welcomed was the un-obtrusiveness of the PostureNOW posture corrector, and the fact that it can be worn underneath or on top of clothing. Which makes it a perfect posture brace for men in uniforms. This particular problem I see come up quite a bit with men in the military trying to improve their posture. PostureNOW is a perfect aid in helping the fine men in our military to improve their posture.

We also found the following comments:

“…the posture strap, which is lightly cushioned, will not irritate you when it is worn and you can use it when you are at your house or work.”

“…I don’t blame Posture Now for being proud of their posture brace, it is the most innovative on the market. Using tension bands to correct you posture is ingenious and being able to wear it inside your clothes makes it extremely practical.”

“…personally, I think this is the best posture brace on the market but I could not give it a 10 because it does have a few things against it that some people may find important.”

Conclusion:

PostureNOW’s new approach to the posture correction arena with their patent pending tension band technology I believe will put them up on top with their comfortable, innovative ‘posture corrector’. Using light, variable tension to correct your posture naturally – unlike many other brands in the posture correction market – will help you get your good posture back without being obtrusive, painful, or unsightly; the ability to wear PostureNOW underneath your clothes means you can wear it wherever and whenever you want. Be it while in work, down the shops, or just at home while you’re relaxing. Nobody will never know.

I would personally recommend this product as it gets results without the hassle that other posture braces cause. Although at the higher end the market with the premium price-tag, you would expect this from a new and innovative product such as this.

How to purchase:

To buy directly from the manufacturer (and ensure you get their 30 money back guarantee) CLICK HERE!

Posture support that leads to good posture is something as we get older get’s more important in our lives. Research has shown that the older you get the more likely your are to develop bad posture. Elderly people develop what is known as Hyperkyphosis or dowager’s hump.These types of prognosis can lead to difficulty breathing, depression and severe back pain.

What we do in our daily routines is what eventually will to lead to living with bad posture. Living a healthy and clean life will aid in the prevention of bad posture. Focusing some of the posture exercises on this site will develop your back muscles in a what will result in posture support down the road. Stomach fat is notorious for putting extra strain on your lower and upper back. Not only posture support, but all the other added benefits of leading a healthy now…will help you enjoy your golden years. Yoga is a perfect outlet for developing spine alignment, reducing back pain and staying fit. Before visiting a Yoga class be sure to talk to the instructor and tell them your focus and what you are looking to get out of the class. Believe it or not they have many classes targeting back pain and posture support.

Of course a posture brace will aid also with all the above ways to increase posture support, but just note that’s it’s only one aspect of overall posture support.

On this site we do talk a bit about using a posture brace, but there are also some excersises that you can do to help improve your posture.  Here is a great video that shows shoulder squeezes probably the most simple and effective way to help with your posture.

Obviously the purpose of posture braces is to correct your posture and keep your shoulders from slouching forward causing more stress on the lower and mid back.  For those of your that work at a computer for the majority of the day knows just how painful bad posture can be.Posture braces will aid in pulling the shoulders back while putting some pressure on your middle back causing your midsection to be forced outward.  This simple application of force will ultimately lead to better posture.  Not only are posture braces used by people looking to improve there posture, but they are also used by many industries where having good form is a must.  One such industry is dancing…there are many dancers that use a posture brace so they can be less cognizant of keeping proper form through there routine. I have also seen several service men wear them as bad posture in the military is very frowned upon. They make some braces that are unnoticeable under a uniform.

With corrective posture brace you will benefit from less back pain, fewer tension headaches, increased circulation and best of all correct posture will give you a sense of confidence.  This can be a achieved with a simple posture brace and there are many on the market to choose from. Knowing as much as you can about these devices will help in your purchase, so let me walk you though some key points.

There are many manufactures of posture braces such as Shoulders Back, Underworks, Benchmark, Footsmart and FLA Orthopedics.  This is just a handful of manufactures and there are several more.  All provide great posture braces for unique situations.  It’s recommend that you you try several braces so you can find one that best fits you.  Yes, it’s a pain and you might spend more than you like, but all to often someone will go out by a posture brace only to not like how it feels on them.  They do take time to get use to and you will feel some discomfort after the first couple days of use.  But, the longer you stick with the sooner you will be on your way to perfect posture. Once you find a brace that you like I would recommend buying a couple so you can swap them out as you wear them.  Wash one and have the others ready to go…they do tend to get a bit sweaty and washing them often is a must. How often you wear your brace is up to you, I normally wear mine at least ten hours a day. Usually an hour before work, eight hours at work and hour when I get home.

I would also like to ad that posture braces are highly recommended by physical therapists and chiropractors, at least mine recommended the use of a brace.

The best to place to buy your brace will be one of the many online retailers.  I can’t recommend a certain one, but there are plenty to choose from.  Price on posture braces will also vary in range.  I have seen some premium posture braces sell for as high as $300  and the low being about $20.  Not ever having a expensive brace I can’t really comment on them, but I’m quite happy paying the $50 that mine cost. I use a Shoulders Back brace and love it.

Using posture braces will help with correcting your posture.  Posture braces are also good for helping lower back pain as they will help support the back muscles.  Living with bad pasture can be a pain and you need to look at posture braces as a tool to the end result which is correct posture, so go out there and buy some posture braces to get on the track to perfect posture.

Did you know that they can make a posture brace for every part of the body.  Posture braces support any part of the body which is put under immense strain or pressure, such as the back knee joints, elbow joints or shoulders. They can be used to either correct or support pain, slouching or any type of posture problems in order to help correct and control certain areas of the body.

A shoulder supporter is useful for someone who has a slouched back posture. It can be easily worn as an undergarment by slipping it over both shoulders and adjusting the straps to provide support. A corrective brace would pull the shoulders back, helping to straighten the back and do this in a way which would be comfortable to the wearer.

Knee support can be important to provide relief from early onset of rheumatic conditions. A posture brace for the knee can help the knee cap to maintain its position and help to relieve pain. An elasticated wrist strap can provide the wrist posture needed to ease pain associated with injury and rheumatic pain. Those who have suffered an ankle injury know how painful it can be, but following an ankle injury its not always easy to get your ankle back to working the same way it was before. The ankle can feel weak and a posture support brace here would help the ankle by supporting it at the joint where t is weakest until it can return to normal function.

There is a posture brace for just about every part of the body which can suffer a sprain or injury.   Recovering from injury or aching limbs or back is much easier and quicker with posture support braces.

You will need to know a couple important truths about posture braces in order to benefit from the fully. The most important feature of any kind of posture support device is using it they way it was intended to be used. Will posture braces completely fix your bad posture? I’m here to say that back braces in general is not the “magic bullet” for back problems. In the following paragraph I will tell you how my bad posture brace helped me with alleviating many of back aches and bad posture.

I myself work in a office setting, I average roughly eight to ten hours of hard typing and general office work. After about two years I noticed slight back aches which then lead to a noticeable posture problem. It almost looked like I had a hunchback, and I HAVE NEVER had any types of shoulder or back related problems that lead me to this point. I started to see a chiropractor and after several treatment we narrowed my bad posture to my job. Sitting at a desk for several years without doing any kind of stretching or office type exercises lead to my bad posture. I was recommended at first to try shoulder braces, but those seemed not to fixate on my back but more on my shoulders ( I know shoulder braces are for shoulders). I then turned to your typical posture braces that wrap around your abdomen and keep your core straight and narrow. I can honestly say that posture braces do work in correcting bad posture. Using a posture corrector or posture correction application will keep you from slouching over at your desk. This was my flaw at work. Without noticing I was creeping down my chair and by the end of the day I was nearly on the floor! Posture braces do work and will help you correct your posture without a doubt.

As for what type of posture braces to use? Well with some good direction and guidance found on this site, you will be able to make the right purchase. When shopping for posture braces or a bad posture brace, just know that most brands out there will do the trick. Don’t think about name brand while shopping for a posture corrective brace…all are equal.

Defective posture is a common problem among people today and posture braces can be a cure. A person may have all the right attributes in life, but may still fail to make a mark in the social limelight due to a defective posture.  Even to the point of becoming introvert with shear embarrassment after they are made fun of because of a tendency to slouch or be hunched over.  A correct and strong posture represents strength, good etiquette, and one who is self confident.   I mean they built a whole movie around a character in Notre Dame with a hunchback. For those of us that suffered from posture problems, life can turn into a living nightmare.

Posture correction is something you may not even know you need. But you’re in luck, postures can be corrected easily and with taking the correct steps. You will be able to walk tall and put your shame to rest. Posture braces are one of many ways you can correct your posture. This is well known and respected method for correcting posture problems.  Bad posture can result from stiff muscles, orthopedic problem and in some cases even heredity. Injuries due to accidents may also lead someone developing a poor posture. The most important reason for correcting a bad posture is the shoulder and back pain that people will suffer from.

Now you must know what posture braces are and where exactly you can apply them for the desired result? Posture braces are thoracic bands and pelvic bands that are strapped rigidly to apply pressure on the affected portions. There are various kinds available in the market today. Posture braces are used by orthopedics not only to correct posture but also relieve a patient from persistent lower back pains and to correct spine alignment. Specially made posture braces are widely used by Athletes to provide comfort to injuries i.e. pulled pack, herniated disc or a pinched nerve.

But before you go out and buy a posture corrective brace it is essential to seek advise from a doctor preferably an orthopedic specialist. Knowing which brace will best suit your needs is what you will need to find out and only a trained specialist can offer you that information. Once you have an idea what band/brace you will need there is a variety of online shops at your disposal.  It is however important to know your correct measurements as the size and shapes of braces differ quite a bit.  Having this information available to your supplier will make your band that much more effective.

Indeed posture braces are a great piece of technology you can use to effectively regain posture control.  Within weeks your posture will get back into shape. You can wear the padded posture braces day in and day out and you will never feel uncomfortable. Some however believe that holistic treatments like yoga and exercises can work well. Although this can be true you have to bear in minds that yoga related exercise is a time consuming effort and you have to religiously attend the yoga classes. And we all know that after a day of  hard toil in office we neither have time nor the enthusiasm to attend classes. Moreover exercises can create more unwanted back problems if not done correctly. So the safer bet is to get hold of a brace and get yourself corrected.