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Posture Supports: A Good Thing Or A Trap?

By: Natalie A. Cordova, D.C.

Have you tried posture supports and fallen into the "trap?" Have you been seeking a way to finally fix your posture problem and your posture-related back pain and decided that you needed the best ergonomic back support you could find? Do they work? Are there any side effects? Anything that you should be particularly careful about when using them? They seem harmless enough, right? What could go wrong?

You start out with the best of intentions; you want to improve your posture problem. You start reviewing all of the possible options and see some dramatic photos that show that if you just strap the right thing to your back, your back pain will be over and your posture will look great!If it worked for the lady in the picture it's bound to work for you, her posture is even worse than yours!

The problem with deciding to fix a posture problem by removing the muscles from the equation, it will be short lived at best. If try to fix a structural problem by eliminating the very thing that holds everything in place, you're going to have problems. How could you possibly address wrist pain while working at the computer without taking a look at your keyboard. You wouldn't! If you're going to address issues related to muscles, you have to look at the muscles that are associated with the problem!

So you decide to wear the support today. Let's say your muscles are operating at 100% of their abilities before you put on the posture support. The posture brace then improves the overall strength of your back muscles to 120%. You feel great and you are fully supported! Life is good and the back pain is finally gone.However...

... you are not using your back muscles any more! The back brace is doing all the work and while it's in place your muscles are slowly getting weaker and weaker. Let's say that you lose about 1% of your muscle strength each day that they go unused. The next day your back muscles are at 99% and the posture support brings them to 119%. Life is still good and you are still out of pain.

Now flash forward a few months and your back muscles are operating at 70% and the brace brings the overall strength to 90%. Your back is starting to hurt again and you can't take off the brace without everything hurting. Now what?

This is the trap I'm talking about. This is how you can get stuck in the wrong pattern in trying to make a change to your posture and end posture-related back pain. Posture supports are best used when your spine is in crisis. You're in pain and you've got work to do. You use the support to help you get through your day.

You'll still need to address your posture issues with changes to the spine by exercising. Lack of exercise (or unbalanced exercise) is how you got this way in the first place. You'll have to exercise your way out of it.

Article Source: http://www.healthandwellnesscentral.com

Natalie A. Cordova is a Chiropractor and expert in teaching posture exercises in Houston, Texas. More information can be found at her website at www.postureconfidence.com


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