Posture Types

There are several different types of posture. All different types affect the body in different ways. What type do you have?

Below we list the most common posture types – Forward head posture, forward rotated shoulders, flat back, sway back and scoliosis.

But what is a good posture then? Is there an “optimal” posture? A good posture is when there is a good balance between the skeletons, joints and muscles that protect the body’s structures against injury or tension. The weight distribution is even across the different parts of the body and no structure is proportionally subjected to more load than any other.

You can distinguish what a good posture is when standing and sitting. It is important to mention that these are only general guidelines and that there are no exact measures of what a good posture should be. It is also true that a “bad” posture does not necessarily lead to inconvenience. The same is true of the opposite, one may have seemingly perfect posture but still have various difficulties. Posture is often a factor that can lead to pain, but there are many other factors that should also be taken into account.


FORWARD HEAD POSTURE

gamnacke hunchback

Problems:
Often the position of the neck is a direct response to how the spine is positioned. If the lumbar spine is too flat or the chest is too rounded, it can contribute to the bump of the spine. The muscles in the lower part of the neck end up in a stretched position while the muscles in the upper part of the neck become short and tensed. The position makes the head feel heavier than normal and the muscles in the lower part of the neck and upper part of the spine have to work hard to keep the head upright.

Recommended product:
Posture Flexi – Posture harness

Function of the product:
Posture Flexi helps you straighten your neck and reminds the spine to return to its normal S-curvature.


posture-flexi

In-depth explanation:
Forward head posture contributes to an increased load on the erector spinae. The increased load on the erector spinae causes a muscular imbalance between these muscles and our deep postural muscles, in this case the rhomboideal muscle and the ellipsoid. Posture Flexi reduces the load on the erector spinae and provides the body with conditions for muscle balance.

 

3 EXERCISES FOR FORWARD HEAD POSTURE:

Static Back - Knee Pillow Squeezes
Static Back - Knee Pillow Squeezes
● Lie on the floor with your legs up to 90 degrees resting on a chair with a pillow between your knees
● Inhale, push your knees against the pillow
● Exhale, relax
● The work should be done on the inside of the thighs. The rest of the body should be relaxed
● Repeat regularly 10 times

 

Static Back - Pull Over Presses
Static Back - Pull Over Presses
● Lie on the floor with your legs up to 90 degrees, resting on a chair with your arms straight up above your head.
● Inhale, press hands softly to the floor (10-15% of max)
● Exhale, relax
● Work should be done below the shoulder blades
● Repeat 10 times
● If you are stiff in the shoulders, place a pillow under your hands

 

Kneeling - Ankle Squeezes

Kneeling - Ankle Squeezes

● Stand on your knees with only a few centimetres between your knees, maybe keep the balance so as not to tip forward against a chair.
● Inhale, press your feet together against the pillow
● Exhale, relax
● The work should be in the gluteus
● The superficial seat muscles should be relaxed

 

FORWARD ROTATED SHOULDERS

Forward rotated shoulders

Problem:
The foundation of forward-rotated shoulders comes from a back-tilted pelvis (tail between legs). The forward rotation of the shoulders means that the chest muscles are often short and tense. The muscles on the back of the shoulder and between the shoulders work hard to compensate for the short chest muscles, which can lead to tired muscles and pain between the shoulder blades.

Recommended products:
Posture Reminder T-shirt and Posture Trainer

Function of the product:
The Posture Reminder T-shirt reminds your back to return to its normal S-curvature while the shoulders are reminded to rotate back to their normal position.

Posture Trainer helps to stretch your short and stiff chest muscles.

reminder-tshirt

In-depth explanation:
Pectoralis mines and biceps brachii are fascially connected and contribute to forward rotated shoulders if they are short and rigid. Forward rotated shoulders affect the position of the spine and can lead to both increased and decreased lordosis depending on how the body compensates for the position of the shoulders. Posture Reminder T-shirt and Posture Trainer help the shoulders to get in the right position and give the rhomboidus musculature and iliopsoas better conditions to act as postural support.

 

3 EXERCISES FOR FORWARD ROTATED SHOULDERS:

Standing - Elbow Flexes

Standing - Elbow Flexes

● Stand up at a slight angle to the elbows.
● Breathe in, with the slightly bent arms the elbows as far behind as you can
● Exhale, bringing the elbows together in front of the head
● Be relaxed in the abdomen and back throughout the exercise
● Repeat 10 times

 

Supine - Foot Circles
Supine - Foot Circles
● Pull the knee maximum up to the shoulder, obliquely out the side
● The work should be felt in the groin
● Hold the position and make large circles with the foot
● Make 10 circles in each direction before changing legs

 

Static Back - Goal Post Presses

Static Back - Goal Post Presses

● Lie on your back on the floor with your arms out with your sides.
● Inhale, press hands softly to the floor (10-15% of max)
● Exhale, relax
● Work should be done on the back of the shoulder blades
● Repeat 10 times
● If you are stiff in the shoulders, place a pillow under your hands

 

SWAY BACK

sway back posture

Problem:
An increased limb may come from the fact that the muscles on the front of the thighs and / or hip bends are short and stiff. They compensate for lack of stability of the postural muscles of the hip / pelvis / lumbar spine. The effect is that the pelvis is in a forward-tilted position that pulls the spine to an increased limb.

Increased weakness may also be due to the sternum being rigid and / or in a curved position. Then the body compensates for the reduced mobility in the chest by taking out more mobility in the lower back. This posture often causes tired and tense muscles in the lower back.

Recommended products:
Posture Balance seat and Posture Reminder T-shirt

Function of the products:
Posture Balance helps you activate the posture muscles of the hip, pelvis and lower back so that the tension in the front of the thighs can easily release.

Posture Reminder T-shirt helps your chest to become more mobile to reduce sagging.

reminder-tshirt
In-depth explanation:
Increased lameness is often due to a muscular imbalance between quadriceps femoris and iliopsoas and / or muscular imbalance between the erector spinae and iliopsoas. Using Posture Balance activates iliopsoas and can help restore muscle balance between iliopsoas and quadriceps femoris. Posture Reminder T-shirt helps to straighten your back and reduce strain on erector spinae, enabling and improving muscle balance between erector spinae and iliopsoas.

 

3 EXERCISES FOR SWAY BACK POSTURE:

Standing - Quad Stretch
Standing - Quad Stretch

● Keep your knees together
● Pull the tail between the legs
● The stretch should be felt on the front of the thigh

 

Static Back - Knee Pillow Squeezes

Static Back - Knee Pillow Squeezes

● Lie on the floor with your legs up to 90 degrees resting on a chair with a pillow between your knees
● Inhale, push against the pillow
● Exhale, relax
● The work should be done on the inside of the thighs and in the groin. The rest of the body should be relaxed
● Repeat 10 times

 

Cats and Dogs
Cats and Dogs

● Round the entire back, pull in the tail between the legs and cut the maximum on the shoulder blades
● Lower your entire back and collapse between the shoulder blades to meet them

 

FLAT BACK

flat back

Problems:
Flat back posture is often due to a weak postural musculature of the hip / pelvis / lower back. The weakness causes the pelvis to tilt backwards (the tail between the legs) and the spine is rounded backwards and collapses because of this. This posture type can create fatigue and pain.

Recommended products:
Posture Balance seat and Posture Mini Gym

Function of the products:
Posture Balance helps activate your posture muscles.

Posture Mini Gym strengthens your posture muscles so that your body can return to a relaxed upright position.


In-depth explanation:
When you have the posture type flat back, the hip joint is stressed in its outer position and the ligaments are heavily loaded to prevent the body from collapsing. Posture Balance activates iliopsoas, which causes the body to start using its posture muscles instead of the ligaments to keep the body upright. All postural muscles are fascially connected and this activation facilitates the entire body to straighten out. Posture Mini Gym can be used to strengthen the entire postural muscle chain.

 

3 EXERCISES FOR FLAT BACK

Hooklying - Knee Pillow Squeezes 

Hooklying - Knee Pillow Squeezes

● Inhale, push against the pillow
● Exhale, relax
● The work should be done on the inside of the thighs and in the groin. The rest of the body should be relaxed
● Repeat 10 times

 

Supine - Foot Circles
Supine - Foot Circles
● Pull the knee towards the shoulder, obliquely out the side
● The work should be in the groin
● Hold the position and make large circles with the foot
● Make 10 circles in each direction before changing leg

 

Sitting - Single Hip Lifts

Sitting - Single Hip Lifts

● Sit with good posture throughout the exercise
● Inhale, lift knee (approx. 10 cm) obliquely up / out side
● Exhale, lower back
● The work should be felt in the groin
● Repeat 10 times before switching pages

 

SCOLIOSIS

scoliosis posture

Problems:
There are two types of scoliosis.
One type comes from the pelvis being rotated which causes a rotated spine. The rotation of the pelvis often depends on uneven muscle strength between the right and left sides of the hip, pelvis and lower back. The second type comes from the fact that the spine has grown into a rotated position which results in a rotated pelvis. In both cases the mobility of the spine is limited both to the side, in rotation and to the front / back.

Recommended products
Posture Flexi corrector and Posture Mini Gym

Function of the products:
Posture Flexi helps your spine to a straight position

Posture Mini Gym helps you maintain equal mobility and strength in the right and left sides of the body.

 posture-flexi

In-depth explanation:
Posture Flexi helps to straighten the spine, enabling improved and more simultaneous activation of the rhomboidus musculature and iliopsoas. Posture Mini Gym is used to strengthen the entire postural muscle chain, which is important in scoliosis to reduce symptoms.

 

3 EXERCISES FOR SCOLIOSIS

Spider Crawls
Spider Crawls
● The foot is pointing straight ahead and the knee is pointing in the direction of the little toe
● Drop down / forward
● Put as much load as possible in the groin
● Hold the position for 5 breaths before changing sides

 

Hand Leg Opposite Glides

Hand Leg Opposite Glides

● Breathe in
● Exhale, stretch the opposite arm and leg as far apart as you can
● Breathe in hold the position
● Exhale, stretch again
● Repeat 5 breaths before changing side

 

Cats and Dogs
cat and dog position

● Round the entire back, pull in the tail between the legs and cut the maximum on the shoulder blades
● Lower your entire back and collapse between the shoulder blades to meet them