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Its a problem for older women, especially.
My husband drew my attention to it and I looked in the mirror, sideways and was pretty horrified.
I've googled up some exercises and yoga is often recommended.
My SIL had scoliosis/kyphosis and was all bent over by the time she was 80 - could barely swallow her food.
She wound up have 12++ hour long corrective surgery but years later she became hunched over again as she didn't do any followup exercises, get a new mattress, etc.
Now she is in a wheelchair.
I was just wondering if anyone has been able to ameliorate this situation to any extent and what did you do?
I'm thinking of ordering a small posture correcting brace from Amazon.
Thank you.
It depends on the cause. Have you been screened for osteoporosis? When you have your next check-up of physical, ask your doctor if he/she would recommend that you have a DXA scan. If it is determined that exercise could correct or improve the kyphosis, physical therapy might be beneficial.
I had some corrections through both doctor, physical therapy, chiropractor, all combinations with wearing weight on my head and walked a straight line. It did open up my neck, they used to measure the angle and told me how much it improved, I forgot the angle. I planned to do more when I retired but somehow my problem went away. My neck is no longer as supertight. The improvement is in recent evidence that my vision has improved, I now can see 20/20 with glasses on both eyes, last year it was 20/25 on one eye and 20/30 on another. Optometrist said she never saw a reverse like this before, not somebody at my age. But I spent a lot of money on my problem, it’s not cheap. But I think it can be improved slowly of course, not a miracle. But I’m the type, I would try anything, as long as it doesn’t hurt me.
Rounded shoulders or rounded back? The very first thing you want to do is ask your doctor to write a scrip to have a DEXA scan done to determine if you have osteoporosis. There are specific exercises you will need to avoid if you do have osteoporosis. I have osteoporosis and it was not until I had a trainer with a background in physical therapy that I learned how to determine if a particular exercise was ok for me to do. Rule of thumb, always maintain a neutral spine, no severe twisting of the spine and no explosive loading (i.e. running, jumping rope etc.).
I also have mild scoliosis. Over 70 years the mild scoliosis had resulted in some muscles getting tighter as I aged. As a result tight hip flexor muscles caused quite an arch in my lower back and that in turn was causing me to round my shoulders. It also caused the muscles in the left side of my back to be stronger than the right side. The imbalance had an impact on my balance as I aged.
Once you know if you have osteoporosis and/or scoliosis (or just poor posture) you can work with someone with a background in physical therapy to design an exercise program to improve your balance and posture. Group exercise classes, yoga class instructors etc. often have no clue what you should not do. Before you start doing any group classes work with someone with a background in physical therapy to learn the fundamentals that are specific to your particular issues.
I was lucky to find a trainer with a background in physical therapy and have had excellent improvement in my balance and posture. Most unfortunately call themselves trainers after they pass a written test on the internet. For that reason you might want to ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist for an evaluation and recommended exercises after you get the results of your DEXA scan back.
I also probably have a bit of the rounded shoulders.
I am joining a gym. It's not a gym like the chains - you have an assessment done and then a trainer works with you. This is my present to myself for 2019. It's not cheap and I know it will take a lot of work.
I'm going to have my husband do it also but he has perfect posture (6'3").
It will keep me accountable.
I have vision issues and always bent over a desk because I could not see. It's been all my life.
Mary 2014 - Very informative information; thank you.
Since becoming increasingly blind, I've hunched over a bit to reduce head bumps. In order to decrease this tendency, there is exercise i do in fits and starts. Lie flat on your back on the floor, no pillow, and try to keep your chin as low as possible with the back of your head resting on the floor. Now gravity is holding your back straight. Hold this for a few minutes, and I found that over a couple weeks, there is steady daily improvement in the ease with which you can do this.
I suspect a lot of your posture is muscular, not skeletal, and has just become habitually misdirected.
I had some corrections through both doctor, physical therapy, chiropractor, all combinations with wearing weight on my head and walked a straight line. It did open up my neck, they used to measure the angle and told me how much it improved, I forgot the angle. I planned to do more when I retired but somehow my problem went away. My neck is no longer as supertight. The improvement is in recent evidence that my vision has improved, I now can see 20/20 with glasses on both eyes, last year it was 20/25 on one eye and 20/30 on another. Optometrist said she never saw a reverse like this before, not somebody at my age. But I spent a lot of money on my problem, it’s not cheap. But I think it can be improved slowly of course, not a miracle. But I’m the type, I would try anything, as long as it doesn’t hurt me.
No, I didn’t say it was reverse, I’ve already had LASIK years ago, but I had to wear glasses for long distance, but my eyes can see long distances with glasses at 20/25 and 20/30, not 20/20 like I do now with the same glasses. Improvement, not reverse.
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Poor posture is my problem
