Therapeutic gymnastics (exercises) for stooping

We tell you how to change your body and thoughts. Today, a personal trainer explains why we slouch and often have back pain. He also shows exercises to combat this.

Angelina Mazieva- trainer in a mixed martial arts club, personal trainer, methodologist of training programs for fitness instructors.

MY BACK PAINS SOMETIMES. THIS IS FINE?

This is not normal: your body is yelling at you and asking you to solve the problem. But for many it’s like this: in the evening the back hurts, it goes away in the morning, and the person doesn’t see much point in going to the doctor. And your back should never hurt.

We have developed a rather unpleasant attitude towards our body: we only exploit it, although first of all we should take care of it. Getting diagnosed by a doctor is the least you can do for yourself. And there are many ways to get rid of the problem: exercise therapy, yoga, Pilates, individual lessons with a trainer.

And even if you don’t have pain, it’s not a fact that everything is fine with you. The body is a single system; it will always twist itself out to ensure mobility. You will be capable, but the question is - at what cost, what losses will you incur: will you limp or walk with a crook?

WHERE DOES IT PAIN MOST OFTEN?

In the lumbar region, and I will explain why. Previously, our ancestors either hunted or gathered, that is, they were constantly on the move. And they rested lying down or reclining. Then people invented a chair and began to spend more time sitting, and this position puts compression on the lumbar spine. And the lower back suffers when walking incorrectly.

WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG?

We forget to control ourselves every day. First, we must ensure that our workplace has proper ergonomics. Secondly, control our postures: how we sit at the table, how we bend, how we eat, etc. It’s hard to do this all the time - any important task will immediately distract you and turn you off. But it will become easier if you do exercises that will help properly strengthen your muscle corset.

We wear uncomfortable shoes. Our feet are everything to us; we spend most of our time on them. Therefore, comfortable, and ideally individually selected orthopedic shoes (or shoe insoles) are needed by everyone.

We move little. You shouldn’t be surprised that there is no result if you sit at work for 8 hours in one position (preferably the right one!), then study for an hour, and then come home only to fall onto the sofa or chair in front of the computer. You need to move a lot, every day. At least walk a lot.

We do nothing about hearing and vision impairments. If you have problems with this, address them immediately. A person with poor hearing or vision will unconsciously pull his chin forward, and this leads to deformation of not only the cervical spine.

We don’t go to doctors, but self-medicate. The cause of back pain can be anything from a deformity in the foot to a deformity in the hip joint. We forget about the important thing: the articles and exercises we read will help you live with the problem, but will not solve it. If the stoop is due to a curved pelvis, then no matter how we straighten the back, it will still return to the wrong position, simply because it is more convenient for the body to maintain balance.

People who do everything right do not live with pain, but go to kinesiologists, orthopedists, get diagnosed, and work competently with their body.

HOW DO YOU NEED TO SIT CORRECTLY TO HARM YOURSELF LESS?

First, keep your back straight. Secondly, do not cross your legs: this affects the hip joint, blood flow and lymph movement. Third, don't sit still. It is harmful to sit for two hours, moving only your hands, even if you are sitting correctly. We have fascia in our body (a connective tissue membrane covering organs, vessels, nerves), which many people forget about and for which it is important that we change our position every 15 minutes. This is necessary to avoid stiffness, muscle spasms and tightness. Even in sleep, we move all the time, and do not remain in one position.

Therefore, 15 minutes have passed - change your position a little, one minute in a different mode will not hurt. Walk, sit down, pour yourself some water, etc.

WHY DO WE SLUSH?

The first reason is muscle imbalance: The back muscles are very relaxed, and the pectoral muscles (sometimes the abdominal muscles) are shortened.

The second reason, one of the main ones, is school-office lifestyle. Lifestyle affects everything. Yes, many people work out for 1-2 hours a couple of times a week, but getting all the other poses and movements right is just as important as exercising in the gym.

And the coolest reason - psychological. For some people, stooping is an indicator of subconscious submission to a stronger person, a desire to hide, to hide. For example, they shouted at a child in childhood, he cowered in a corner, he got used to it. And now, when he sees the elders, he automatically tries to shrink.

AND WHAT DOES THIS THREATEN?

Because a person's shoulders are bent forward, the mobility of the chest and the vital capacity of the lungs decrease: you breathe from the tops of your lungs, there is no full inhalation and exhalation.

The vertebral artery may become compressed, which threatens to reduce the blood supply to the brain: dizziness, faintness.

The pectoralis minor muscle shortens (but this may also be the cause of stoop), under which we have lymphatic ducts. As a result, the ducts are compressed, and as a result - swelling in the face, arms and legs. Don't be surprised, it's true!

Under the pectoral muscles there is a neurovascular bundle, which can also be compressed, and this leads to numbness of the limbs. And due to a violation of intrathoracic and intra-abdominal pressure, we experience prolapse of the internal organs.

AND HOW TO CORRECT SLUPPING?

Slouching is a general concept. It has many varieties, and each has its own solution and set of exercises. Well, yes, lower back pain can be caused by problems that have nothing to do with the lower back, and you may have a hernia, but it will not hurt. Therefore, the best decision is to be examined by a specialist.

It is also important to remember that it will take a long time to recover. We have lived with deformities for many years, and a month of training once a week cannot correct them. But you can’t do it without physical activity: if the muscles aren’t engaged, it’s impossible to keep your posture straight all the time. Therefore, with the help of exercises, we change the usual posture to the correct one. The muscles get used to the new position, and it becomes easier for you.

EXERCISES

Many, trying to get rid of stoop, begin to pump only the back muscles, but this is not entirely correct: with spasming pectoral muscles, the result will be minimal. Therefore, we first relax them, stretch them, and only then work with the back so that there is proper distribution of the load.

These exercises will not harm you in 90% of cases, but they will not solve all problems. This is a minimal complex that can make your life easier.

1. Relax the pectoral muscles

First you need to find a pressure point. We do it this way: we place four fingers in the armpit and look for the point where the thumb connects to them through the muscle. Place the ball in place of the thumb.

We fix the ball with a light block or book and begin to press it with rotational movements - 4 turns.

Then we still press on the muscle, but make a circle with the elbow of one hand. Also 4 times.

4 twists and 4 elbow circles are one series. We need to make 4 such series on each side. This is a very deep and targeted study of the pectoralis major and minor muscles.

There is a variation of this exercise against a wall. We do the twisting while rising on the toes, and the rotating arm is not bent at the elbow.

This exercise is painful, and that's normal. Therefore, if you are in a lot of pain, alternate sides, rather than doing all the approaches to one and then the other.

Important: contraindicated for nursing mothers, pregnant women, people with inflammatory processes (mastopathy, etc.) and with implants.

2. Stretching the pectoral muscle

We do the exercise either at a pole or against a wall. One hand rests against the wall (the elbow should not be bent), the other on the belt. We make a rotational movement with the body. We do everything smoothly, while exhaling, and under no circumstances tolerate pain.

We change the position of the hand: a little higher, straight, a little lower. This helps to capture and stretch more fibers. We do 2-3 approaches for each hand in all positions, with a delay on the turn for 15-20 seconds.

3. Stretching the pectoral muscle and opening the shoulder joint

Lie on your stomach, arms to the sides parallel to your shoulders. We place emphasis with one hand and slowly, with an exhalation, turn around. First, we place one foot on the floor, then the other, then we move our hand and pause. But under no circumstances tolerate pain! We turn around to our limit: for some it will be only a couple of centimeters from the floor. You can’t try to put both feet down and turn around completely.

We do 2-3 approaches with a delay of 5-7 seconds for each hand. We alternate hands. The exercise helps test the mobility of the scapula - or achieve its mobility

Important: the stationary arm always lies in line with the shoulders.

4. Scapular row exercise

Shoulder, elbow and hand - in one line. Two shoulders and two pelvic bones forward, the stomach is toned, the buttocks are squeezed, the shoulders are lowered. We pull our body forward through the movement of the shoulder blade, without bending the elbow. We do this 15 times for each hand.

5. For back muscles

The exercise allows you to engage the middle and lower portions of the trapezius and the deep layers of the back muscle (rhomboid muscles).

We bring the shoulder blades towards the spine and pull them down, only due to this we rise. The lower back is completely relaxed, the upper part of the body rises low, the arms are spread to the sides and bent 90 degrees. We do 7-10 repetitions with a delay of 5-7 seconds.

Another version of the exercise: we do the same thing, only the arms are spread out to the sides, and the thumbs turn upward when lifting the body.

6. Exercise to engage the external rotators of the shoulder

This exercise is done with light dumbbells or small bottles of water. The weight is needed to be light so that there are no cramps. We lower our shoulders, pull in our stomach, bring our shoulder blades towards the spine, and press our elbows to the body. We keep our arms bent at the elbows at a right angle and rotate our forearms outward (using only the shoulder rotators).

It can also be done on loops, working with your own weight. The most important thing is not to strain the muscles leading from the neck to the shoulder (upper trapezius).

7. Horizontal row exercise

The exercise will engage the middle and lower portions of the trapezius and rhomboid muscles. That is, those who work with a spatula. When lowering the shoulder blade down, the latissimus muscles are also activated.

This could be bands, TRX bodyweight loops, dumbbells, whatever. The main thing is horizontal traction. We bend our knees, providing support for the body, bend over with a straight back, pull in the stomach (it is not relaxed) and work to bring the shoulder blade to the spine. We don’t raise our shoulder to our ear. We pull the dumbbell as if towards our pocket and look at the floor so that there is no overbending of the cervical spine.

This exercise is an example of how to properly pick up bags, a cat, children and everything else from the floor. We either squat or strain our back muscles, but we don’t bend our poor lower back.

8. Plank

This exercise is not for the abs, but for working the muscles of the abdominal area, deep stabilization of the core: the transverse abdominal muscle, the pelvic floor muscle and the multifidus muscles of the back. We focus on the forearms, pull the heels back, straining the calf muscles and quadriceps, squeeze the buttocks, pull in the stomach, stabilize the shoulder blades and stretch the top of the head forward. And lastly, we try to “tear” the floor with our feet.

You need to stand in the plank for no more than 40 seconds: better in sets of 10-15 with breaks of 3-5 seconds. Thus, we bring the total time in the plank to 1-2 minutes. For more than 40 seconds, these muscles cannot work, the person begins to compensate for the tension: bending the shoulders, joints, etc. The exercise can be done either as the very first or as the last.

In order for a person to look beautiful and feel confident, not only “the face, the clothes, the soul, and the thoughts” need to be beautiful, but also the posture. Slouching or curvature of the spine can cancel out all external data, no matter how beautiful they may be. In addition, stooping accelerates the development of dystrophic changes in the spine. Therefore, exercises against stooping are important not only for posture, but also for the health of the entire musculoskeletal system.

The sooner you start doing anti-slouch exercises, the more hope there is that they will be effective. After all, as you know, humans complete their formation at the age of about seven years. This means that it is much easier to correct unwanted curvatures in children than in adults.

Today, many complexes have been developed that contain exercises to correct stooping in children. Some of them can also be used for adults. Gymnastics for children's stoop must be carried out under the supervision of a specialist.

See, for example, how stooping in children is eliminated with the help of exercise machines and regular exercises for children in the center.

Video exercises to correct stoop in children:

In general, posture correction for an adult is carried out from two directions:

• using special correctors (corsets and collars)
• by performing special physical exercises

Causes of stoop

Most often, stooping is caused by behavioral reasons:

• prolonged incorrect postures and uneven distribution of physical activity (this is especially observed in children during homework and when wearing school bags incorrectly)
• lack of sleep with heavy physical exertion or forced sitting for a long time, as a result of which they become overexerted and tired (this is usually typical for adults)

Both of these factors external, and the stooped back caused by them is called acquired, caused by external reasons. To combat it, exercises against stooping are the main method of treatment.

In this video you can learn more about how stooping is formed and how to determine the degree of stooping. The video also contains simple exercises for stooping.

Internal reasons, although less often a factor in stooping, are more varied:

1. Infectious diseases - osteomyelitis, bone tuberculosis
2. Metabolic disorders leading to calcium deficiency - rickets - a common disease in young children, osteoporosis - more often observed in old age
3. of different etiologies: 3 - 4 stages of scoliosis caused by hip dysplasia, due to legs of different lengths
4. Birth defects

Slouching of the back caused by the above factors is called acquired or congenital, caused by internal reasons. In this case, treatment of the defect is more difficult. Gymnastics for such stooping are prescribed at the second stage. The first step is to eliminate (if possible) internal conditioning causes.

Exercises against stooping in children

Let's look at several exercises that are effective for eliminating stoop in children. To perform them you will need a chair, a gymnastic stick, a towel, and weights of 0.2 - 0.5 kg. It is also useful for an adult to do them.

1. We rise slowly on our toes, spreading our arms to the sides, raising them up, inhale. As you exhale, lower slowly. We do this up to 10 times
2. Leaning against the wall with your shoulder blades, we put our arms over our heads, lean them against the wall and, while inhaling, bend our back. As we exhale we come back
3. We stand near the wall at arm's length. Do push-ups against the wall, pressing your chest against it
4. Standing with our hands down, we clasp them behind our backs and bring our elbows together, move our shoulders and head back, and bend our chest forward as we inhale. Relax, unclasp your hands, exhale
5. Kneeling and placing your hands behind your head, sit on your heels. Rising from the heels while inhaling, we spread our arms to the side and bend forward. Exhaling, we sit back on our heels
6. We lie on our backs, placing a towel rolled up into a roll 2-3 cm thick under our shoulder blades. We take weights in our hands and alternately swing our arms from the body to the head
7. Get on all fours, resting on your hands. Alternately, as you inhale, raise your left and right legs up without bending them, and as you exhale, lower them
8. We lean our straight arms on the back of the chair, being at a distance of two small steps from it. As you inhale, bend your torso forward without bending your arms and legs. As you exhale, return to the starting position
9. We place the gymnastic stick, holding it with both hands, over the head on the shoulder blades and make turns left and right, inhaling when turning, and exhaling when returning to the starting position

A set of exercises for adults

Adults can use the following exercises for stooping:

1. With our elbows bent and our heads raised, we crawl on all fours around the room in a deep squat. We take about 50 such steps
2. Standing on all fours, we bend and, while inhaling, move our torso forward, as if we want to crawl under the crossbar. When we return, we exhale. Perform the movement 7 times
3. Lying on your back, bend your elbows. Leaning on them and on the shoulders, we lift the chest as we inhale and bend it, and lower it as we exhale. Repeat the exercise 10 times
4. We roll over onto our stomachs. Leaning on your elbows, inhale and raise your head back, bending your back. We lower ourselves as we exhale. We perform the exercise 7 times
5. From the same position, placing your hands behind your head, as you inhale, raise the upper part of your body, and as you exhale, lower it. Repeat also up to 7 times

Watch the video set of exercises against stooping and for spine flexibility:

Ergonomics in the fight against stoop

To combat slouching, it is important not only to perform daily exercises.

Your desk or computer desk and chair should be adjusted to suit your height so that your knees are at right angles, your feet are flat on the floor, and your forearms are resting on the desk. The dimensions of standard furniture are usually consistent with ergonomic standards and are taken from ready-made tables.

In conclusion, useful exercises for women. The video explains how slouching can spoil not only your posture, but also the shape of your chest, and provides simple and accessible exercises for everyone. Taking care of your posture is not at all difficult: sometimes all it takes is 10 minutes a day.

Correcting stoop with exercises

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First, you need to watch your posture. Correct posture gives a person a proud, confident appearance and relieves back pain and stooping.
Secondly, to remove stoop drastic measures must be taken immediately. The following effective ones will help you with this: exercises for slouching. The sooner you start, the more effective the results will be. You can’t pull, because physiological changes called scoliosis can develop in the spine.

Exercises against slouching

If you have developed stoop, set of exercises must be performed over several months to achieve the desired result.

1. Stand with your back to the wall at a distance of approximately one step from it. Lean your back against the wall with your arms bent behind your head. While you count from 1 to 4, inhale and bend forward. And on the count of 5 - 8, exhaling, return to the starting position. performed slowly 6 - 8 times.

2. You need to stand facing the wall, again, at a distance of one step and lean in front of you with straight arms. Counting 1 - 4, inhale and bend to reach the walls with your chest. We return to the starting position at the count of 5 - 8, exhaling. Perform the exercise slowly 6 - 8 times.

3. Starting position - lying on your stomach in front of a chair, arms extended along the body, palms down. While inhaling, on a count of 1-2, raise your torso and, with a wave of straight arms across the sides, grab the edge of the chair. On the count of 3-4, exhaling, we return to the starting position. Repeat exercise for slouching 6 - 8 times.

4. Kneeling, sit on your heels, stretching out your toes, put your hands behind your head - this is the starting position. When counting one or two, rise from your heels, inhaling and spread your straight arms to the sides, palms up, while you need to strongly push your pelvis forward. When counting three or four, while exhaling, return to the starting position. Perform the exercise 10 - 20 times.

5. For this exercise we need a gymnastic stick. Starting position - standing straight, feet shoulder-width apart, holding the stick in your lowered hands. While inhaling, counting 1-2, we bend forward with our back straight, and at the same time raise our straight arms as high as possible. On the count of 3-4, exhale, bend your back and lower your arms. On the count of 5-6, inhale, and take the same position as on the count of 1-2. On the count of 7-8, exhale and return to the starting position. Repeat 5 - 6 times.

6. Get on all fours, supporting yourself with straight arms. While inhaling, counting from 1 to 4, bend over, while raising your left leg straight and moving your head away. On the count of 5 - 8, while exhaling, return to the starting position. Do the exercise 8 times, changing legs.

7. Starting position - stand behind a chair at a distance of a long step and lean your straight arms on the back. When inhaling, on a count of 1 - 4, lean forward, do not bend your arms, and move your head back. On the count of 5 - 8 (exhale), take the starting position. After a few days of training, try to do this exercise to correct stoop quickly, springing in the back at the moment of bending. Perform 10 - 12 times in a row.

Tables, chairs and computers wage war on our bodies.

Every day they attack our muscles and tendons.

How do they do this?

It's all about the lifestyle of a modern person. Spending endless hours at the computer, it is impossible not to hunch when your shoulders, neck and head try to move forward.

The good news is that slouching, in most cases, can be corrected on your own by regularly performing a simple set of exercises.

Stop hunching! Smooth posture in 2 minutes - video.

The main problem with slouching and poor posture is that it all comes unnoticed. At first you slouch at your desk, and a year later you notice that you are rounding your spine at home at the dinner table.

How does this happen?

The main cause of slouching in adults and children is poor posture. As a rule, the main reason for this is too much time on the computer. Many of us can sit like this all day without interruption. Hence the muscle imbalance.

When we slouch, our shoulders, and behind them our neck, move forward, disrupting our posture. This position contracts the pectoral muscles and weakens the back muscles (upper part), creating all the conditions for the appearance of a hump.

Getting rid of such imbalances has a number of advantages. Studies have shown that, in addition to the obvious impact on appearance, correct posture affects our mood, self-confidence and even helps overcome feelings of fear.

But is it possible to correct your posture if you are no longer at the age when your body is actively growing and is easily amenable to corrective measures? Yes. By regularly performing exercises against stooping, you can eliminate the problem, no matter how old you are. Next, we have selected a fairly simple workout for you that can be performed both at home and in the office.

1. Stretching

Stretching exercises are the main exercises for correcting stooped posture in any person. Stretching helps release tension in the chest, hip flexors, hamstrings, and quadriceps, allowing the spine to become more upright without the body being pulled forward by hunching the back.

Try to perform each exercise for 20-30 seconds several times a day. If the situation is not as dire as it seems, then just a couple of exercises will be enough to avoid slouching.

Hands behind your back

This is one of the simplest exercises that allows you to open your pectoral muscles and stretch your shoulders. Concentrate on pulling your shoulders back and down, while keeping your neck straight, without moving it forward.

Stand straight, arms relaxed at the sides of the body. Clasp your hands behind your back. Gently move your shoulders back until you feel maximum chest opening and tension in the front of your shoulders.

Hip Extensor Stretch Exercise

Just like spasms in your chest and shoulder muscles, spasms in your hip extensors can cause your torso to move further forward. Relaxing this muscle group will help maintain posture and counteract the tension of sitting for long periods of time.

Try this simple exercise that you can do anywhere:

Start in a classic lunge position: back straight, right leg bent at the knee in front, left leg extended back. Slowly lower your left knee toward the ground until you feel tension in the back of your thigh. To make the exercise more effective, tighten your calves on your left leg. Stay in this position for 20-30 seconds, then do the same with your right leg.

Quadriceps stretching exercise

It would seem that we are talking about stoop. How to correct slouching by paying attention to the lower body? Everything is very simple. Our body is a single organism. Since the quadriceps are located in the front of the body, poor posture causes these muscles, just like the chest muscles, to become compressed. If you spend most of your time at the computer, then doing quadriceps stretching exercises is doubly important for you.

Stand straight, bend one leg at the knee and clasp your foot with your hand. Gently pull your foot toward your buttocks until you feel a slight stretch in the front of your thigh.

Hamstring stretching exercise

Sitting at a computer for a long time can lead to stagnation in the muscles of the hamstrings. This congestion can lead to slouching as these muscles are connected to the pelvic spine.

To perform the exercise, sit on the floor, stretch your right leg in front of you, bend your left at the knee and rest your foot on the knee of your right leg. Lean forward until your chest touches your hips, reaching with your hands towards your right foot.

Hold this position for 20-30 seconds, then repeat on the other leg.

2. Exercises For backs

As mentioned earlier, slouching can be a result of weak upper back muscles, core muscles, pectoral muscles, hamstrings, and hip flexors.

Back exercises are another way to get rid of slouching as an adult.

Perform these exercises several times a week, in addition to stretching exercises.

Push-ups for shoulder blades

This type of push-up is aimed at working the muscles of the upper back, which are responsible for the correct position of the shoulders.

Start in a standard push-up position. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed and your body is in a straight line from your head to your heels.

Now bring your shoulder blades together and return to the starting position. The amplitude of movement in this exercise, compared to classic push-ups, is quite small. However, this is a fairly effective exercise for a hunched back.

Perform 5-10 repetitions.

Scapular Raises with Wall Support

Wall-supported scapula raises target the muscles of the upper back and also help return the shoulders to their normal position.

Press your back against the wall. Press your tailbone, lower back, upper back and head against the wall, and move your legs slightly forward. Keep your chin straight, bend your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees and press them against the wall, as shown in the picture above.

Stay in this position for 30-60 seconds. To increase the involvement of the upper back muscles, you can move your arms slightly up and down.

Retracting the shoulder blades using an elastic band

Many people find this exercise difficult at first. Therefore, if you are a beginner, choose elastic bands with minimal resistance.

Wrap the elastic band around a stable object (such as a column or post) at waist level. Bend your elbows at a right angle, pull the band towards you, while bringing your shoulder blades together.

Return to the starting position. Perform 8-12 repetitions.

3. Yoga

At 30 years old, not all exercises for stooping are easy. For example, yoga poses require a unique combination of strength and flexibility. If, despite the previously mentioned exercises, you are still wondering “how to correct bad posture at home,” then we have selected several simple but effective yoga poses especially for you.

Cobra pose

Cobra pose not only allows you to open your chest as much as possible, but also works your back muscles. This exercise is great for slouching, helping to straighten your spine and push your shoulders back.

To perform this exercise, lie on your stomach. Tighten your lower back muscles and push away from the floor with your hands.

Focus on pushing your shoulders back as far as possible, tilting your head back slightly. Stay in this pose for 20-30 seconds.

Downward-facing dog pose

This pose not only opens the chest, but also strengthens the front of the shoulders and lengthens the spine.

Get on your knees, place your hands on the floor so that your palms are directly under your shoulders, and keep your back straight. Gradually straighten your legs while lifting your hips up.

Hold the position for 20-30 seconds.

Upward facing dog

Upward-facing dog pose is similar to cobra pose, except that in this case, the hips are lifted off the ground and the arms are fully extended. This pose helps strengthen the muscles of the chest and abs, as well as the lower back and shoulders.

Lie face down on the floor. Straining your lower back, lift your body off the floor and, leaning on your hands, stretch your head up.

Your hips should lift slightly off the floor.

Stay in this position for 20-30 seconds. This pose can also be combined with upward-facing dog.

4. Core Exercises

Sometimes slouching can be a consequence of a weak core - the core muscles.

The core muscles are not only the abs, it is a muscular corset that holds the entire body.

The primary task of this corset is to fix the spine in the correct position. Weak core muscles lead to poor posture.

Strengthening your core muscles is another way to correct stooping in an adult.

Plank

When it comes to core engagement, the plank is the absolute champion of all exercises.

Get into the starting push-up position, hands resting on the floor under your shoulders, body straight from crown to heels.

If you are a beginner, you can perform a simplified version using your forearms. The main thing is to ensure that your back is always straight and your lower back does not sag.

Stand in the plank for 30-60 seconds.

Exercises with a medicine ball

This stooping exercise will require some additional equipment, which is available in most fitness clubs.

Lie on the floor, lift your legs and arms up, holding a 2-3 kg medicine ball between them (if you don’t have a ball, you can use a dumbbell). Using your core, lower your right arm to the floor.

Then extend your left leg forward, hold in this position for a few seconds, then switch arms and legs.

Do 8-10 repetitions on each leg.

5. Exercises with a massage roller

If you think foam rollers are only for athletes with injured muscles, think again! First of all, massage rollers help relieve muscle tension.

In addition, training with a massage roller improves blood circulation.

Try doing exercises with a massage roller 2-3 times a week, and the results will not be long in coming.

Upper back exercises

Lie on your back, place the massage roller under your lower back. Cross your arms over your chest and slowly move downwards so that the roller moves towards your upper back. In areas of particular tension, pause briefly for 20 to 30 seconds, or until the tension subsides.

Exercise for the pectoral muscles

Lie face down on the floor, place the massage roller under your armpit. Move your hand up and down.

When the roller reaches an area where the muscles are especially tense, stop for 20-30 seconds, or until the tension completely disappears.

Then repeat on the other side.

Exercises for beautiful posture - video complex

Win the war against slouching

Now you know how not to slouch and what to do if your posture does start to deteriorate. But remember, stooping does not appear in one day and it also cannot be corrected in one day.

Be patient, do stooping exercises regularly and take breaks if possible, do not sit at the computer all day.

A sedentary lifestyle leads to posture problems.

Due to stooping, a person does not look very aesthetically pleasing, and also causes harm to health: the functioning of the digestion, respiratory organs, and cardiovascular system is disrupted.

Gradually, pain in the neck, back, and lower back begins to appear.

Only regular, long-term exercise helps maintain the spine in the correct position.

How to fix slouching at home?

Causes, signs, consequences

The defect manifests itself for various reasons:

1. Congenital. The spine does not fully develop.
2. Acquired. It occurs as a result of a sedentary and sedentary lifestyle, injuries, and various diseases (rickets, flat feet).
3. Psychological factor. The reason may be lack of self-confidence, stress and other problems that can be solved from the inside by adding a set of exercises or yoga to psychological therapy.
4. Spinal misalignment with different leg lengths.
5. Shoulder asymmetry due to improper formation of the muscular framework of the back.
6. Speech hearing impairment. A person bends his back to see and hear better.
7. Nap, which leads to the inability to restore muscle fibers.
8. Bad habits.

The orthopedist will tell you how to get rid of stoop and select the right treatment (corset, massage, swimming, exercises). After consultation with a specialist, this disease is also treated at home.

Characteristic features:

• the back is arched;
• head tilted to one side;
• the head is pushed forward;
• shoulders drooped excessively;
• the stomach protrudes forward;
• the chest is sunken;
• sharp shoulder blades stick out.

Consequences

A slouched back can lead to dangerous consequences for a person. Over time, the pathology progresses, secondary diseases arise:

How to straighten your back?

Ways to eliminate slouching

1. Strengthening bandages and corsets. They are able to support the back and pull the shoulders back.
2. Exercises for the back.
3. Massage.
4. Yoga.
5. Dance classes.

How to remove slouch? Let's consider some techniques separately.

Slouch

Corsets

The design is designed to stabilize the spine and muscles. They wear it under clothes, but not for too long, otherwise the muscles will get used to external support, remain relaxed, and will not be able to independently perform the necessary function.

A back corset for stooping helps only in the initial stages of the pathology. Used in combination with gymnastics. An excellent result is obtained by alternating wearing a bandage and swimming.

The structures can be fixing and correcting, and can also combine functions: holding the spine and correcting posture.

An elastic vest-corset, which also performs a preventive function, helps to combat weak stoop.

It is used at the first signs of poor posture, prescribed to people who sit at the computer for a long time, while driving, and to children while doing homework.

Rigid corsets are designed to combat more serious deviations. Stiffening ribs are built into them to better support the spine. It is difficult to walk in them; they constantly force a person to return his back to the correct position.

Corsets are distinguished by the area of ​​fixation: thoracolumbar, lumbosacral, lumbar.

Independent selection of such products is prohibited! The orthopedist will select the correct design, taking into account the individual degree of curvature and stoop.

Instructions:

1. The back is straightened as much as possible, the shoulders are pulled back, the chin is raised.
2. Elastic bands are thrown forward over the shoulders, passed under the arms in the armpits, and fixed with a cross on the back.
3. Adjust the degree of fixation.
4. Fasten with Velcro fasteners.

Typically, medical corsets are invisible under clothing, which allows children to wear such a vest at school and adults at work without embarrassment. If worn correctly, after about a month the back muscles will become stronger and your posture will improve.

You should wear it no more than six hours a day, but the doctor selects the time individually. After a course of treatment, the design is not immediately abandoned.

The wearing time should be reduced gradually so that the body gets used to the absence of an assistant. You need to keep your back straight even without a corset.

How to get rid of stoop as an adult with the help of special exercises?

With good physical fitness, you can do the following exercises on the horizontal bar:

1. Hang on it. Take a deep breath, tense your back muscles. As you exhale, relax your body. Perform for three minutes.
2. Grasp the horizontal bar with your hands, without unclenching your hands, swing your straight legs left and right.
3. Hold on to the horizontal bar, while turning your body left and right (around its axis). Keep straight legs together.

All of the above exercises for stooping can be performed at home.. They help correct posture without resorting to medical intervention.

But first you should consult with an orthopedist. If stooping accompanies any back disease, physical therapy is performed after the end of the acute period. The exception is problems of the cervical spine.

When performing exercises in water, the load on the spine is reduced. Water also has a serious counteraction. It can slow down sudden movements that harm the diseased spine.

In the water you can relax your spine and work out all the muscles that support your back.

How to treat slouching in water:

1. Slouching and a round back can be corrected by swimming the back crawl. Below the surface of the water they stretch horizontally. The water level passes at the ears, under the chin, at the chest, the shoulders are raised, the pelvis and legs should sink deeper.
2. Front crawl and butterfly styles correct a flattened and concave back.
3. If you have a flat back problem, swimming on your back is not recommended.
4. Asymmetrical posture is treated with butterfly and breaststroke.
5. With pronounced lordosis of the lumbar region, a swimming board is placed under the abdomen or chest.

The duration of classes should not exceed 20-40 minutes.

The professor included well-known physical exercises, elements of Pilates and yoga in his course, and developed a multifunctional exercise machine.

1. Relaxation. Get on all fours and relax your back. Stretches the muscles. As you exhale, slowly arch your back, and as you inhale, slowly bend.
2. Stretch step. Sit on your right leg, bending it at the knee. Extend the left leg back and the right arm forward. The exercise is performed smoothly, 20 times on each leg.
3. Stretching. Get on all fours. Exhale, bend your elbows, lower your shoulders to the floor. They take a breath. As you exhale, straighten your arms and simultaneously sit on your heels.
4. Lie on your back, bend your knees, hold your hands behind your head. They press their chin to their chest, bend their back, try to lift their shoulder blades off the floor, and reach their elbows to their knees.

Treatment in children

How can a child stop slouching? A modern child rarely devotes time to physical exercise; he spends more time at the computer. The vertebrae do not develop fully, the muscular frame of the back and shoulders weakens.

A child’s vertebrae are made of cartilaginous tissue; they are more mobile and elastic. They are easier to change. After 20 years, cartilage tissue begins to be replaced by bone tissue. It is more difficult for adults to remove stoop.

Children are corrected for poor posture using a complex that consists of:

• therapeutic and health-improving gymnastics that strengthens the muscles of the back and shoulder girdle;
• massage;
• swimming;
• An orthopedic surgeon may prescribe wearing a corset.

Dancing and gymnastics classes will also help children develop correct posture.. Slouching without treatment tends to lead to serious complications. She is treated regularly. The older a person is, the more difficult it is to cure it.

In addition to exercising and wearing the brace, you should change your behavior and movement. You need to learn how to sit correctly, lift weights, even sleep.

Let's find out what else needs to be done:

First of all, you need to realize that stooping is a serious problem that leads to serious illnesses. But for many girls, the aesthetic side of the issue is especially important.

You should ask your friends or husband to photograph you or film you from time to time as you prepare food, go shopping, or walk. In this case, you should not know about the shooting.

Photos and videos should be reviewed regularly. This trick will help you look at yourself from the outside and will remind you that slouching is not only dangerous to health, but also unsightly.

Eliminating slouching requires time, work, and regularity. You should not give up exercises after developing correct posture. Muscles have the ability to atrophy.

At the first signs of stooping, you should consult a doctor who will select effective treatment. In adults, posture correction takes longer and harder than in children.

Slouching is not only an aesthetically unattractive problem. This is a serious defect that compresses the chest, preventing the lungs from fully expanding. It reduces the supply of oxygen.

A lack of oxygen in the body leads to a person getting tired faster, irritated, and losing performance.