Postural correction and improvement

The core of posture correction and improvement has never been "forcibly straightening it", and there is no unified training formula that can be applied to everyone - its essence is to first find the unique root cause of your personal posture imbalance, and then make long-term adjustments through a combined program of "releasing tense muscle groups + activating weak muscle groups + modifying daily behavior patterns". 80% of the final effect is actually hidden in small unconscious movements that you don't even notice every day.

Two years ago, I came into contact with a 24-year-old girl who worked in Internet operations. She had rounded shoulders and stretched forward 6 centimeters. She always felt sluggish when wearing off-shoulder clothes. At first, she followed the trend and bought an Internet-famous corrective brace, which she wore for 8 hours a day for three months. After taking it off, the hunchback became worse. She also developed costochondritis due to long-term pressure on her ribs, which took less than half a month to heal. Don't tell me, this is really not an isolated case. Now when you search for "posture correction" on the Internet, what comes up is either a short video about "Saving Goodbye to Hunchback in 10 Minutes a Day" or a correction tool that claims to make you straight when you put it on. There are a lot of people who are trying to take advantage of it.

As for the logic of posture adjustment, practitioners in different fields have actually always had different emphasis. People who do clinical orthopedic rehabilitation will first get stuck: the first step is to check for skeletal problems, such as congenital scoliosis and pelvic bony deviation. If there are posture deviations caused by skeletal problems, blindly practicing internet celebrity movements will only aggravate joint wear, and in severe cases, even compress nerves; physical trainers in the fitness circle prefer muscle adjustments. They first use foam rollers and fascia guns to release the long-term tense pectoralis minor and upper trapezius muscles, and then use exercises such as YTWL and dead insects. By activating the weak middle and lower trapezius muscles and core muscles, the effect is really fast on muscular imbalances caused by long periods of sitting and poor exercise habits. There is also the mindfulness posture school, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. It does not teach movements at all, but first practices "perception" - you must first be aware that your waist is slumped when sitting and your head is stretched forward when checking your phone. Otherwise, even if you practice corrective movements for an hour, the remaining 15 hours will be spent in the wrong posture, and no matter how hard you practice, it will be in vain. There is no distinction between these directions, but they are suitable for different people.

I once accompanied a client who was doing back-end development to his workstation. He practiced clam pose and side plank with me for 3 months, but the height difference of his pelvis was still the same. As soon as I entered his office, I understood: his keyboard stand was 1 higher than the mouse pad. 0 cm. When typing code every day, my left shoulder is always subconsciously hunched, and my legs are always crossed on the same side. Sitting for 10 hours a day is equivalent to "reinforcing" the wrong posture every day. How can it be offset by just practicing three times a week? Later, I leveled his peripherals and put a small sticker on his computer. Whenever he saw it, he reminded himself not to cross his legs. In just two weeks, the height difference of his pelvis was reduced by half, and his back pain after sitting for a long time was relieved a lot.

There is still a controversial statement. Some people say that "if your posture is not good, don't worry about it as long as it doesn't hurt." Others say that "poor posture will press on your internal organs and affect your height, so it must be completely corrected." In fact, the current academic consensus is quite clear: the human body is not completely symmetrical. If you have slight shoulder height and scoliosis of less than 5 degrees, as long as there is no pain or limited movement, there is no need to be so anxious that you have to turn yourself into a "ruler man"; but if you have already developed If you experience tingling in your shoulders and neck, numb hands, or back pain after sitting for a long time, or even feel like your waist can’t touch the bed and you can’t breathe smoothly when you lie down, then you really need to worry about it. These signals are your body’s reminder that unbalanced muscles have begun to compress your joints and nerves, and any further delay will only make it more troublesome.

By the way, while you are reading this article, you can touch the tips of your ears and the outermost acromion of your shoulders. If the tips of your ears are in front of the acromion, gently pull your chin back until you feel a slight pulling sensation on the back of your neck. Hold it for 3 seconds and then relax. Do it twice more. It will be much more useful than saving 100 correction videos in your favorites. Really, don’t believe the nonsense about “correcting head extension in 7 days”. If you have a humeral anterior displacement problem, practicing YTWL blindly can easily wear the shoulder joint, cause acromion impingement, and cause pain that makes it difficult to lift your arm. There are also those kind of tight correction belts that should be worn less often, which is equivalent to "splinting" your muscles. Over time, the muscles will not exert force on their own, but will become weaker and weaker. If you really want to choose an auxiliary tool, it is better to choose one that only has a reminder function. It shakes when your back is hunched over to help you establish proprioception, which is much more useful.

In the five or six years I have been doing sports rehabilitation, I have seen too many people spend tens of thousands on private lessons and imported corrective equipment. The final effect is not as good as reminding themselves to "sit up straighter" three times a day. Posture is not something you are born with. It is the result of thousands of unconscious little actions you make every day. There is no shortcut to improving it. You just need to break back your wrong habits bit by bit. It's really not that complicated.