PLEASE NOTE: Changing your posture is very difficult and can take a long time (certainly months and probably years!) before you see or feel any tangible results so BE PATIENT and don’t give up!!

General Information

When you have poor posture it is usually due to what we as Osteopaths call ‘Upper Cross Syndrome’. This is a way of describing the fact that your shoulder and pectoral muscles are short and tight, and that some of your back muscles are weak and lengthened. This has the effect of pulling your shoulders forward and up, your upper back becomes too curved and your head and neck protrude forwards.

There are 3 elements to good posture:

• Physical/bony structure (usually increased thoracic curve with forward protruding head)

• Muscle balances (shortened and strong vs lengthened and weak)

• Postural habit (you can have a perfect bony structure and muscle balances, but if you don’t habitually activate those muscles you’ll still have poor posture)

The exercises described below are an attempt to remedy these tendencies.

This exercise could be described as ‘postural muscle weight training’ and uses the idea that if your body is tending towards one extreme you can help to improve alignment by going to the opposite extreme.

NOTE- this is in no way a position that you should hold for long periods of time; it is purely an exercise!

Begin by rotating your hands and arms outwards, stretching them downwards and behind you, in order to bring your shoulders back and down. At the same time lift your sternum (chest bone) in order to extend your thoracic spine....KEEP BREATHING! Try not to extend your lower back (lumbar spine) when you do this- if your head moves a large amount then it’s likely that you are. Then tuck your head straight back trying not to put your neck into extension or flexion- it should feel a little bit as if you’re trying to push your chin through your neck! Again, KEEP BREATHING! You can treat this like an exercise in the gym, so start with 5 repetitions of 5 seconds and build it up slowly. If you feel pain at any time stop the exercise. 

Lying on your front rotate your hands and arms outwards, stretching them upwards and behind you. At the same time lift your sternum (chest bone) away from the floor and pull your shoulders up and towards your feet. KEEP BREATHING! Then tuck your head straight back (upwards) trying not to put your neck into extension or flexion- it should feel a little bit as if you’re trying to push your chin through your neck! Again, KEEP BREATHING! You can treat this like an exercise in the gym, so start with 5 repetitions of 5 seconds and build it up slowly. If you feel pain at any time stop the exercise. 

Take an old (not soft and fluffy!) towel and roll it into a tube as tightly as possible; maybe tie string or elastic bands around it to stop it unrolling. Place it on the floor so that when you lie back it goes across the base of your neck; bend your knees in order to protect your low back. NB Its very important to have book under your head to stop your head and neck going into extension. Try to keep breathing and relax onto it. In order to get some extension this far up your spine you will probably need to raise your arms above your head. This position can be a little painful initially but when you feel more comfortable, move along another inch or so by walking along the towel with your shoulder blades (roll onto the right one and lift the left a little and vice versa). It is very likely that at this point you’ll get enough extension without lifting your arms. As your back becomes more flexible you can increase the mobilization effect by raising your arms above your head. Continue along your back, waiting at each level for 10 seconds to 3 minutes (depending on how much time you have available) until you reach the beginning of your lower back (bottom of your ribcage); at this point there is only minimal contact between the towel and your back and so the stretch becomes ineffective. If you experience pain at any time, stop the exercise.

Lying on your back with your knees bent, push two tennis balls (touching together) under the base of your neck. NB Its very important to have book under your head to stop your head and neck going into extension. To increase the contact lift up your pelvis and hold for as long as is comfortable then relax. Then roll along the tennis balls a couple of inches at a time. Do this by lifting your pelvis, pushing backwards with your elbows to lift yourself away from the tennis balls slightly and then pushing yourself along with your feet. Try to keep breathing and relax onto the tennis balls for 20secs to 2 minutes depending on how much time you have available; when you feel more comfortable, move along another inch or so. To increase the stretch, lift your arms directly in front of you; to increase further extend your arms above your head. Roll along until you reach the beginning of your lower back; at this point there is only minimal contact between the tennis balls and your back and so the stretch becomes ineffective. To treat the lower back move the tennis balls apart slightly to work along your lower back muscles down to your sacrum. Do this once a day initially then symptomatically. If you experience pain at any time, stop the exercise.

This exercise is not something that I’d advise you to do in normal life as it would probably cause more problems than it solved- as well getting you some funny looks! To improve your posture, do as follows:

Initially follow the same procedure as the standing exercise but hold the position for a few seconds only and then relax away from the position slowly and only by a factor of about 20/30%. The idea behind this is to ‘kid’ your brain into regarding your new posture as a relaxed position rather than one into which the body has to be dragged, involving a huge effort. It is at this point that I would like to introduce the idea that the head should be visualised as a light object that has the natural tendency to float towards the ceiling rather than a heavy one that is compressing the neck and upper back. So as you relax away 20% or so, it is this lightness that stops you from flopping straight back into your old posture, not muscular effort.

With practice you can do this anywhere- you may wish to ‘tone down’ the movements in order not to draw unwanted attention to yourself on the tube train or at work!!

PLEASE NOTE If you would like to continue with postural work I would recommend regular sessions with a qualified Alexander Technique practitioner: I refer to a local practitioner (Winchmore Hill, North London) or you can use the internet to find somebody more convenient. 

In a standing position, to stretch the left side, place your left hand against a wall or doorframe with your arm bent, so that your forearm is horizontal and at the same height as your shoulder with your fingers pointing forwards. Stretch by leaning gently forwards at the same time as rotating your upper body to the right, the aim being to move your shoulder blade backwards. Hold this for approximately 10 seconds and then repeat 3 times. Vice versa for the right side. To avoid injury, keep the stretch at a mild to moderate level of intensity. If you experience pain at any time, stop the exercise.

Sit on your hands or clasp them behind you in order to keep your shoulders back and down. To stretch, the right traps let the head hang to the left side by gravity, hold for 10seconds then go to the right holding for 10 seconds again. Repeat 3 times in total. To avoid injury, keep the stretch at a mild to moderate level of intensity. If you experience pain at any time, stop the exercise.

Sit on your hands or clasp them behind you in order to keep your shoulders down. To stretch the right side, hang your head forwards and diagonally to the left and vice versa, letting gravity do the work. Hold for 10seconds each time and repeat 3 times. To avoid injury, keep the stretch at a mild to moderate level of intensity.  If you experience pain at any time, stop the exercise.