Correct Poor Posture with Corrective Exercises

Poor posture… we all have it! Some of us more than others! Here’s the thing…it’s not going to get better…unless we do something! It’s time to correct your posture so that you stand up straighter, feel more confident, and take back your health!!

Today we are going to talk about corrective exercise techniques that you can implement in your own workouts to reduce pain and improve posture — so that you can feel like your best self and live the life you want to live!

Poor posture often comes from prolonged periods of sitting. As a result, certain muscle groups will get tight and cause an imbalance in tension. This imbalance causes our joints to track out of alignment which will lead to pain and poor posture. And poor posture isn\’t just limited to your back. It\’s actually possible to have poor posture throughout your entire body – starting from your neck, through your back, hips, knees, and down through your ankles. Fortunately, these imbalances can be reversed, or at least reduced with the help of corrective exercises.

If you know what causes poor posture, and how to identify imbalances, you can make the necessary corrections and get yourself on track to feeling better! This is why corrective exercises get the name, because they correct imbalances and poor posture.

To see if you have any postural issues, here are three of the most common problems to watch for in your own workout – and how to correct them:

1. Knees Inward
2. Anterior Pelvic Tilt
3. Forward-Rounded Shoulders

Knees Inward

Knees falling inward during exercise changes the pressure point in the joint and can lead to knee pain. Did you know that over time having poor knee alignment can cause severe chronic pain and even the need for knee replacements? We don’t want that!

This postural deviation is often due to tight adductor muscles (inner thigh) and glute muscles that are not firing well enough during exercise. Foam rolling your adductors will help to loosen these muscle groups, and allow for more efficient movements.

Corrective Exercises for Inward Knees

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Banded Squat

The band will serve as a mental reminder to get your knees outward and get your glute muscles more engaged!

Banded Single-Leg Split Squat

This move works best with a partner who will pull the band inward, causing you to push the band back out with your knee.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Low back pain is the most common injury in the working world today. If you sit all day at work, these exercises are for you! One potential cause for pain is an Anterior Pelvic Tilt. An Anterior Pelvic Tilt is where the pelvis angles forward, therefore exposing the lower back. Often weak core and glute muscles need to be strengthened to take over for the extra load of the back, and tight hip flexors need to be stretched to release the pelvis from its forward angle.

Here are a few exercises for the glutes and core that will help strengthen and reduce pain!

Dead-Bugs

Glute Bridges

*Important side note: during core exercises, make sure that your lower back is pressed into the floor and does not come up from the ground.

Hip Flexor Stretch

Forward-Rounded Shoulders

Do you spend a lot of time sitting, texting, on the computer, playing video games, or anything else that causes you to have poor posture? Chances are you have forward-rounding shoulders! This is the most typical joint deviation that people think of when they think poor posture. Often this is caused from sitting hunched at a computer while working or studying. Tight pec muscles and weak back muscles are commonly to blame for forward rounding shoulders.

Here are 2 great foam rolls for loosening up chest muscles:

Foam Roll Back (hold the position)

Foam Roll Chest

Here are 2 great back exercises to pull shoulders back and stand more upright:

Banded Back Flys

Banded Rows

Try implementing these into your own workouts to start standing up straighter and reduce those daily aches and pains!

These methods are tried and true! If you have any further questions or need that next level of help to really unlock your body and get into your best possible shape, reach out to an Iron Orr Trainer! You can text us or book an appointment. See you all in the gym!

Take the First Step. Let\’s Achieve Your Goals!

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