Best devices for correcting bad posture?

I seem to recall a technique that was along the lines of a pen or stick you wore on/near your abdomen. The idea was that if you slouched, you felt the slouch in your stomach and corrected yourself by pain avoidance. A brace becomes a crutch you can never ditch. Slouching is really a deep abdominal muscle issue.

-C

I realize that you're looking for a quick and easy fix to a slow-developing but deep-seated problem, and I fear I don't have a simple device I can suggest. I did, however, find that Pilates exercises---classical Pilates, done in a well-equipped studio, with a well-trained instructor---made surprising differences. I had not realized how posture pervades everything: it's a full-body problem and (alas) requires strengthening the muscles and ligaments that pull our bones into place and learning how to control that. For home use, I can recommend Classical Pilates Series: The Complete Mat Workout Series, a $15 DVD that clearly shows the mat exercises for the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced levels, but aso includes a "Pre-Basic" set to get up to speed.

By recognizing the problem you've taken an important step. Addressing the problem will, I fear, require more than purchasing a device. (YMMV)

The Alexander Technique was invented for this very reason.

And as LG above said, it's a slow solution to a problem that took you a long time to have.

Google it and find an instructor. You'll notice the difference in two hours. Worked for me!

Seth

Get a good chair and use your brain. Do self-checks and if you find that you're slouching, leaning or favoring one butt cheek over another, straighten up.

Live with your mother!!!

As a physical therapist, I recommend that you go see a physical therapist for a postural evaluation, training in how to set up your work station (including the right chair) so it is ergonomically suitable for YOU, and for teaching you exercises to strengthen your postural muscles, which include more than just your abdominals and core muscles. Each person is different. Each human body is different. I caution you to take blanket advice about this online. In 2-3 sessions with a P.T. you will be very knowledgable on how to correct your posture and prevent this from getting worse. I don't recommend a brace...especially advise against wearing a brace for a prolonged period of time....it might correct your posture while you have it on but it creates muscle disuse atrophy in your postural muscles...and you will be MUCH worse off in the long run as a result.

As a physician of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation I also agree with Beth M. Her answer is the ideal solution. But if you are not willing and/or able to see a therapist at the very least her later point deserves a paragraph of its own.

You do not want a device to hold you in a better position - unless you simply want to appear to have good posture. Such a thing would further weaken the muscles you want doing the job.

However a device such as Christopher mentions; something that 'reminds' you to employ the muscles you should be using would not do any harm (as long as it is encouraging the right posture, and not causing too much damage as it does so ...which may or may not speak to the idea of living with your Mom).

Esther Gokhale has developed a method, published a book, and conducts seminars on improving posture and easing back pain. It's the single best approach I have encountered. (I'm the publisher of Stretching, by Bob Anderson, and especially impressed by Esther's methodology.) http://egwellness.com/ http://egwellness.com/8-steps-pain-free-back

Lloyd Kahn

A 65-cm stability ball like this one:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/valeo/bodyball.html?MCID=CAMZ

instead of a desk chair.

You don't have to do a thing but sit on it.

Pilates, Alexander Technique, Yoga, etc. can all be quite helpful. PT sessions can be good, but you must treat PT as a partnership/participatory activity instead of something done to you. I'm sure Bob Anderson's book is good, and I like Pete Egoscue's "Pain Free" books.

You did nail one thing: the critical step is awareness. Moshe Feldenkrais figured this out about 50 years ago; he developed Awareness Through Movement lessons. I love the Feldenkrais ATM classes: each hour-long session plays like a little science project.

I'm also quite fond of Eric Franklin's work and books. Franklin has created some of the best exercises plus imagery anywhere to restore our bodies to a state of fluidity/grace/pain-free. There is a huge linguistic component to healthy posture and movement; Franklin has done the best of modern instructors to address the linguistic component of body/mind work. @FranklinMethod puts out some great tweets on this topic: follow him.

What's the right one? It depends. If you had a friend who you trusted who was an instructor of Body/Mind discipline XYZ, I would recommend doing that. The most important thing is what you bring to the table -- what you're willing to commit to do. And there's no rule you have to do only one body/mind discipline. Find what you love to do, and do it.

Structural Integration is a fantastic thing to do, but it's a serious investment and you shouldn't commit to the 10-session (some schools are 12-session) series unless you're ready. I really like SI, and I really like the individuals who have become SI practitioners. They seem to march to a different drummer than most body/mind workers.

Thomas Myers, who has his own SI school, wrote the fantastic essay "Spatial Medicine" (available here. In that essay, he describes a way of thinking about our health and what role "spatial medicine" plays in it. Some body/mind workers speak in a very "woo woo" fashion, but Myers speaks in a way that everyone -- including the geeks and engineers -- can understand and enjoy.

The poster "Dead Ernest" was dead right: no widget will fix what ails you. What will address your concerns is a comprehensive whole-system approach to your posture and movement: a new mindfulness to bring to your posture and movement. It's not a thing; it's a way to approach everything.

Finally, check out the essay The Great Unwinding by the late Dr. Marvin Solit. I don't agree with everything he says, but many of his words are tremendously satisfying to me. Marvin was a mathematician, an inventor of many cool toys and puzzles, and a body-mind worker. I consider myself quite lucky to have met him before he passed away.

I apologize for the large answer. You have asked a vast question. It looks like a simple question, but it is not. Nature builds in whole systems; profound changes to whole systems must themselves be systematic.

1. A mirror next to you

2. A standing desk. I just had a craftsman make me a beauty combo desk and bookshelf and it's womderful

Thai massage.

Conscious efforts to correct my posture created muscle soreness. Same result with a Balans chair. Rolfing helped a little. Then I retired, moved to Thailand and eventually found a masseuse who knew her craft, knew anatomy and was willing to put in the hard work. She transformed my body. My anterior pelvic tilt is gone. The lesser problems of hunched shoulders and carrying my head forward instead on top of my spinal column are almost gone. When I get up and start walking, if I fall into my old posture habit it just feels wrong and I correct it. I am far more flexible than at any time I can remember.

I have friends with very positive experience using the Spinalis chairs. They mimic the therapy ball. http://www.spinalis.com/

I displaced a disc in my back years ago and used a device called a 'Backfriend' which was a huge help to my recovery. It is a moulded backrest and seat which can be placed on a chair (or I guess anywhere you need to sit) to provide far better support and help you to maintain good posture. In my situation I used it in a lot of different places: driving, flying, on buses, trains etc. but also on an office chair when working at a desk. My longer term solution was to get an office chair from a specialist supplier which provided good lumbar support and had a seat section which sloped forward slightly (which I believe encourages good spinal curvature) and also could pivot as I moved back and forward. My chair is made by a Danish company, Rabami, and looks like it is an old model (789) which has now been superceded. I can recommend both these products as an aid to good sitting posture - but for a portable, flexible, cheao and effective solution, the Backfriend certainly ears a place as a 'Cool Tool'

Backfriend: http://www.medesign.co.uk/shop/backfriend.php

Rabami chairs: http://www.rbmfurniture.com/products/segments/office-chairs/

I've been using the TruComfort back support for the past 15 years (you can Google it; when I try to include the link here my comment gets trapped as spam). It's a simple hard-foam straight support for your back that can be used with any chair, including a car seat. I use it currently with a Steelcase Leap chair; the Leap itself (and the Herman Miller Aeron chair I had before it) doesn't provide anything like the support of the TruComfort device. My Alexander Technique teacher recommended the TruComfort device, as it helps promote a neutral posture. It looks uncomfortable, and probably is if you're not starting out with good posture.

A Jewish grandmother.

What worked for me: tai chi... like the other long-term solutions suggested here, it's a committment to self-care alongside everything else I'd like to have in my life...

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Posture Corrector Mobile App

After years of all day sitting in front of computer for work it started to show it’s bad impact on my posture. I did lot of research to correct my posture. I found lot of things on the market for that reason. Having all the belts, gadgets etc. did not help! Then found out real and important thing for better posture is being aware of it.

App Store

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/posture-corrector/id446997673

Google Play (Free)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sss.posture.activity

Amazon App Store (Free)

http://amzn.com/B005DAZ3B8

Thanks, SQUBE LLC

Hi there,
Have you heard about the Up t-shirt already? Check it here – http://www.UpCouture.com
It looks like a beautiful t-shirt, but in the inside it has a unique patented technology integrated in it, which pulls when you slouch. It acts as a physical reminder for your to sit or stand up straight. This t-shirt makes poor posture uncomfortable, so that you straighten up and train your back muscles. It contributes to straight and relax the shoulders, which induces higher posture. Moreover, it enables freer breathing – the t-shirt exerts no compression on the torso.
It’s easy to wear (it’s a t-shirt, nobody is going to notice that it has this technology inside, unless you tell them) and because it is made of organic cotton and elastane it is also super comfortable to wear for longer periods of time, such as in the office, workout, chilling out with friends, etc. UpCouture, the company which create the Up t-shirt, developed it to be for everyday use, or, as they call it, „your back’s best friend“.
Cheers, Luci