I have posture issues . . . help?

[Loves Vintage]

I've always carried stress in my upper back and shoulders, which causes them to tighten. I've always noticed a propensity to carry my shoulders forward, sort of rolled forward a bit. In my late 20's/early 30's, I had a few personal trainers here and there, and always mentioned this issue. They would nod and say they could help me with it, but because I was primarily going to a trainer to build muscle, this little shoulder issue was never really focused on, discussed again and I never really felt like I could find someone to help me with it.

When I try to hold my shoulders back, and particularly during stressful times, it feels exhausting! Like, I really can't hold my shoulders back for any extended period of time.

Now that I am in my late 30's, and after having and caring for a baby and a job that is primarily reading (I tend to hunch forward then too), I notice the shouders-rolled-forward is much more pronounced. Like a decade ago, it was something that only I noticed, but now, yeah, it is noticeable.

Any ideas on who can help me correct this? Should I/Can I go to a physical therapist and just pay out of pocket? Should I finally open the neck and shoulders yoga dvd I bought a few years ago?

 

[lliang_chi]

LV, you should look into Yoga or Pilates videos to help with your shoulder posture. Also you can maybe look up light weight (5 lbs tops) exercises you can do for upper back/shoulders. They're called "postural exercises" or that's at least how my personal trainer referred to them.

 

[rubybeth]

Okay, I am nowhere near being a medical professional (English major with a library science masters), but I can share my experience. I, too, was a 'huncher.' I grew fairly tall in my teens and slouched a lot because I was shy. I took professional voice lessons, which focused a lot on posture for correct breathing, and still I slouched. I did yoga, but still slouched. I had a fancy office chair that was supposedly ergonomic, and, you guessed it, still slouched.

The ONLY thing that has helped me to correct my terrible posture is... weight training. Seriously, starting in May, I basically did all the weight machines at our gym that focused on upper back/neck/shoulder areas, and laid off on the chest press, and actually got a compliment on my excellent posture last week. You are likely slouching and feeling pain when you try to sit or stand 'straight' because of weakness. I experienced the exact same thing. Sitting correctly was uncomfortable. Having strong muscles, specifically in your back, will help you keep your shoulders pulled back and your ears above your shoulders. Slouching will become uncomfortable. If you overdevelop your chest muscles, though, that can cause you to slouch even more, so avoid that. Also, make sure your computer monitor is close enough so you don't need to bend forward to see the screen more clearly.

 

[JewelFreak]

Agree, LV -- yoga, pilates, or qi gong can really make a difference. It probably feels exhausting because those muscles are unused to the position, so you need to strengthen them. I LOVE yoga; I do 30 to 45 min. w/a dvd every morning & it has done wonders for my back. Plus -- and maybe more important -- it's a wonderful tension-reliever.

Another dvd that's great for shoulder & neck tension and condition is Karen Voight's "Pure & Simple Stretch." She has others that are good too, here: http://www.karenvoight.com/store/dvds.asp This one is easy & often cures my tension headaches.

You're very smart to think about it now! As you get older, it's harder to correct -- you don't want to end up a hunched (cute) old lady. Seems like a long way away, but the big surprise is how fast the time goes, sigh.

--- Laurie

P.S. Rubybeth wrote the same time I did. Good suggestion too!

 

[soocool]

LV, you should look into Yoga or Pilates videos to help with your shoulder posture. Also you can maybe look up light weight (5 lbs tops) exercises you can do for upper back/shoulders. They're called "postural exercises" or that's at least how my personal trainer referred to them.

Ditto, yoga and pilates. I do both 3 days a week and weights 2 days a week and walk and/or bike 6 days a week. I always had tightness in my shoulders and yoga has done wonders for all my muscle tightness and at my age 55 I have no arthritis soreness/stiffness whatsoever. I will do yoga nd pilates well into my 100s!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I've heard that poor posture can also be caused by low muscle tone. If you find that yoga/Pilates/weights aren't helping, perhaps you might look into low muscle tone as a potential cause.

 

[Andelain]

It might be a good idea to get yourself checked to rule out any medical cause for the change. In my teens, my posture got bad. I found out many years later it was caused by scoliosis. It might have been reversible if my father had taken me to a doctor.

 

[monarch64]

I think Rubybeth gives great advice. I attribute my good posture to years of piano lessons and training. I am tall, and tall girls are prone to slouching for whatever reason, but I never did because I would've received a beat-down from my piano instructors, parents, brother, etc. However, RB makes a great point in that weight training worked for her; so do something that pleases you and will build physical AND mental confidence!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I typed up this reply last night and sooooooo glad I copied it because then PS went down, and I went to sleep, haha!

LC - I will google postural exercises, thanks. Why do you think lighter weights are better? Do you go to a trainer regularly? I wish I could justify the expense, but it seems, in the past, I will work out for as long as I am working with a trainer, and then will just stop when my visits are up and then I stop working out entirely.

rubybeth - I was hoping someone with firsthand experience would reply! Just did a quick google search and looks like it's important to stretch the chest muscles as well. It's funny because I recall doing a lot chest presses with my last trainer, with a lot of weight too, because my goals were to build muscle and lose weight. Absolutely the hardest machine for me, and this is over the course of years and years and many different gyms, was the shoulder press. I had an aha! moment when I was thinking about your post. It truly never occurred to me that the reason it was so hard was related to my posture issues. I don't know that I thought about it at all, at the time, but I do know it was always hard for me to do that machine! I've also done shoulder presses with free weights, but never in any regular routine. I'm so happy to hear what a difference weight-training made for you! I'm going to put together a little instruction sheet for me to follow, with the stretches and exercises and hope to see improvement too. Thank you so much for your post!

Laurie!! - Every morning, huh, good for you! I wish I could fall into a routine like that. I used to do some yoga videos years ago (when I had a very stressful job, uggh), and it helped me cope with the stress. I will look at the Karen Voight site. Thanks for the tips.

Soocool - That's great that you are so active and feeling so great. I need someone to kick me out the door to walk regularly too. I do enjoy walking, when I actually do, but I have been using the heat as an excuse lately. Not ideal.

LS - Thanks for the tip. Hopefully the strength training will do the trick!

Andelain - Sorry to hear about your scoliosis. I will mention it to my dr next time I'm there, given that I've been there frequently lately (on-going sinus infection, bah!), which is something else that has been contributing to my exhaustion lately.

Monarch - I'm a tall girl too, but no piano lessons, unfortunately. I do have very little self-confidence, despite being accomplished professionally and also having what I would describe as a deep inner knowledge of who I am, and being very happy with WHO I am, this just does not translate into confidence for me. I've been very aware of this for years, and feel like the shoulders-rolled forward is a symptom of this lack of confidence, and it is also very much a comfort. Like I said, it can be very difficult for me to hold proper posture, so I don't, and even more so, it is such a comfort to hunch forward!! I do think that is both a muscular/physiological issue, and a mental issue as well (which you very succinctly pointed out in your post!)

 

[rainydaze]

LV, my sister is currently finishing her studies to become a Massage Therapist. She (and her school) are into massage THERAPY (the guy who owns it works on athletes), i.e. using massage to target and address problems, not just relieve stress and relax people. She's been sharing a lot of what she's learning and I'm surprised at how much there is to it. Anyway, I slouch too and she explained that by slouching, you are not using your upper chest muscles. Therefore over time they shrink and pull your shoulders down more. If I recall correctly, she had said that stretching my back muscles wouldn't help because they are already over-streteched from the pulling-forwad motion of slouching - I need to focus on my chest, both stretching those muscles and massage to *help* stretch and other technical stuff that I am not recalling right now!

So in addition to weight lifting and strengthening your muscles, I would also suggest going for therapeutic massage, if you can find someone who is truly into using massage to help heal. Good luck! I'm starting to feel the daily drain of my poor posture now too, and it's no fun!

 

[rainydaze]

Also, my DH gave me one of these to help with my posture at the computer. He did a fair amount of research on ergo chairs and this one was consistently reviewed well by users - something about the angles, knee height vs. bum height. I'm such a great sloucher that I can still find a way to slouch on it, but when I care to sit properly it really does make a difference. He liked it so much that he ended up getting one too and it makes him sit better too.

http://www.relaxtheback.com/office/ergonomic-chairs/kneeling-chairs/variabletm-balansr.html

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi Rainydaze, How lucky you are to have a massage therapist in the family! I've been doing some stretching of my chest muscles and definitely feel the tightness. I can see how massage would help too. Thanks for the idea. Is your sister going to be able to help you? Neat chair, I could see myself slouching in that chair too, lol.

 

[rainydaze]

Hi Rainydaze, How lucky you are to have a massage therapist in the family! I've been doing some stretching of my chest muscles and definitely feel the tightness. I can see how massage would help too. Thanks for the idea. Is your sister going to be able to help you? Neat chair, I could see myself slouching in that chair too, lol.

I wish! She's a four-hour plane ride away; I just happened to visit her recently.

 

[natascha]

Hopefully working with trainers and massage therapists (they can do miracles) will help. Do check with a doctor first.

I too used to have problems with slouching, in my case due to hitting puberty hard and earlier than everyone else. So I would slouch to try and hide my height and chest. Since no amount of telling me to stand up strait worked my father ended up having my back temporarily taped so that it was impossible for me to slouch. While it was not fun in the beginning I now appreciate that I don't have the back problems associated with slouching.

Also check that you are wearing the correct bra size. If the band size is too big (it is supposed to sit quite tight and not ride up at all during the day), then all of the weight will fall on your shoulders which makes you slouch. Depending on your size the bras with metal wires in the sides are quite good.

 

[Fly Girl]

I'm in my late 50s and I have been suffering from tense neck and shoulder muscles for years. I have been doing yoga for nearly 20 years, and while my yoga teacher commented on the tension there, the exercises never got rid of it.

I finally went to a new doctor and mentioned the tension in my neck and shoulders. She prescribed physical therapy and I had about 10 weeks of massage therapy. Also, some muscle strengthening exercises. It turns out my skull was out of position and rubbing on the top of my spinal column, and much worse problems were going to be in my future.

Anyhow, the physical therapist works with you to diagnose and strengthen your muscles and comes up with ways to help your posture. I found I was hunched forward when I drove my car, for example, and I never noticed that before. I needed to sit a bit closer to the steering wheel, in spite of the risk from the airbag. I adjusted my computer monitor at work. I needed work to loosen up my spinal column which had become stiff. I can now sit and stand straight and tall, my shoulders are down and relaxed and my frequent headaches and shoulder aches are gone. By the way, some of the yoga poses are a whole lot easier to do now as well.

I highly recommend a competant physical therapist. Some of these things are not do-it-yourself projects. I would never have figured all of this out on my own. You need a professional to evaluate you. My medical insurance covered much of the cost, but I find that my improved health is priceless.

 

[HopeDream]

The posture wand excercise is pretty easy - Just 15 minutes a day:

Take a broom or mop handle and after rolling your shoulders back 3 times in an exaggerated, 360° manner, insert the handle in the crook of your elbows behind your back. This will immediately realign the posture and you will feel where your correct posture will be. It will also engage the core muscles and take pressure off the lower back and if you practise this everyday for 15-30 minutes for at least a month, your muscle memory for your posture will change and you will develop a new and better unconscious posture.

courtesy of Michele Paradise

I practice this while watching TV

 

[rubybeth]

I highly recommend a competant physical therapist. Some of these things are not do-it-yourself projects. I would never have figured all of this out on my own. You need a professional to evaluate you. My medical insurance covered much of the cost, but I find that my improved health is priceless.

Ohhh, yes, I totally agree about the physical therapy, too. I've injured my back and knee in the past, and physical therapy worked wonders. They can do various things for you, analyse your movements, give you targeted exercises, and do therapy on tense muscles with ultrasound or other techniques.

You might also try a chiropractor, if you haven't already. I have never seen one, but I know some people swear by them. Honestly, I believe in physical therapy more than chiropractors based on my experiences and that of my family members, but to each her own. My sister saw a chiro for her TMJ and it screwed her up even more so she refuses to go back. But my DH insists that seeing the chiro helps him with various issues, though he has to go back every few weeks for the same things. I saw a physical therapist twice weekly for a few weeks, then once weekly for a few more weeks, and in 3 months, my knee felt nearly 'back to normal.' Plus, I can still do the exercises she prescribed, but my DH certainly can't give himself an 'adjustment.'