Posture Correction Course

For the 90% of ordinary people who have compensatory posture problems such as rounded shoulders, hunched back, forward head, and XO-shaped legs, and have already developed muscle soreness, or have a clear need to improve their temperament, reliable posture correction courses are useful, but do not believe in 7-day quick fixes and gimmicks such as curing lumbar disc herniation. Choosing the right appropriate course is 10 times more important than blindly following the trend.

In the past two years, when I was working on content, I sat in front of the computer for 12 hours a day. My shoulders were so round that I couldn’t even stand up when I wore a windbreaker. When I took ID photos, my neck stretched forward like a big white goose looking for food. When I went to take a X-ray, it showed that the curvature of my cervical spine had straightened. The doctor said that if it continued, my hands would become numb. At first, I followed free online shoulder-opening tutorials and practiced blindly. After practicing for half a month, my trapezius muscles were swollen like a small steamed bun, and I was stronger than a boy wearing a sling. Later, I gritted my teeth and signed up for a small class with an offline rehabilitation teacher. Only then did I realize that the pitfall I had stepped on before was actually a common misunderstanding of posture correction classes by most people.

The posture classes currently on the market are essentially divided into two major schools. There is no absolute good or bad, but they are suitable for completely different groups of people. One group takes the sports rehabilitation route. The core is to start from anatomical logic and make an assessment first before giving a plan. For example, if you have rounded shoulders, it may be due to tight pectoral muscles and weakness of the middle and lower trapezius muscles caused by upper cross syndrome. It may also be due to upper body tilt compensation due to the anterior pelvic tilt belt. It may even be that one of your feet has a collapsed arch and the whole person is tilted out of balance. Last time I met a boy who had a shoulder height difference of almost 3cm. After practicing for half a year, his back did not improve. Finally, it was found out that he had mild scoliosis caused by using a backpack on the right side all year round. This requires a rehabilitation practitioner to adjust the movements accordingly, and you cannot practice shoulder opening blindly. This type of class is generally expensive, with offline classes starting at NT$300 per session, and online system classes mostly costing over NT$300. They are suitable for people who already have uncomfortable symptoms such as shoulder and neck pain, knee pain, or have serious posture problems. The advantage is that the problem is solved from the root cause, and there is no rebound after adjustment. The disadvantage is that the results are slow, and most of them take 1-2 months to see obvious changes.

The other school is the body training school, most of which are modified from basic ballet training and model body classes. The core is to practice muscle memory, such as standing against the wall, walking the cat walk, opening the shoulders and chest, and can make you consciously raise your head and chest in a short time. However, the problem with this type of class is that there are many common movements. If you have bone compensation problems, you will easily get injured if you practice standard movements. I had a friend who had a posterior pelvic tilt and a naturally flatter lumbar curve than others. He practiced standing against the wall for half a month following the 99-yuan online bodybuilding class, which required his waist to be pressed against the wall. In the end, he went to the hospital for a CT scan in pain. It was found that his lumbar curve was being pushed straighter. He lay down for a week before he recovered.

I think the two extremes that are currently being debated on the Internet are quite ridiculous. One is that "all posture classes are IQ taxes", and the other is that "poor posture equals a disability. If it is not corrected, it will be ruined for life." The former is most likely caused by improper training, while the latter is simply a business selling anxiety to cut leeks. I currently take two small rehabilitation classes a week to adjust my shoulders and neck, and occasionally practice standing posture with a posture teacher. The biggest feeling is that posture correction classes are essentially to help you find the correct way to exert force. It is not something you can do once and for all after taking ten classes. If you finish the class and still slump on the sofa every day, scrolling on your phone, with your neck stretched longer than a giraffe, it will be useless even if you spend 100,000 to hire a personal trainer.

There are actually not that many ways to learn when choosing courses. Don’t believe in the gimmicks of “building right-angled shoulders in 7 days” or “correcting XO legs in 14 days”. Think about it, you have been hunched over for three to five years and your muscles have formed a fixed memory. How can you get it back in a week? What really has that effect is that it makes you tense up the whole time, and when you relax, you immediately return to your original shape, which may even cause muscle strain. There are also those classes that give you a set of common movements at the beginning, without even asking if you have back pain or injuries. You can just row away. People's posture problems are very different. If you can practice the movements suitable for Zhang San, Li Si may be able to get injured.

Last time I accompanied my sister to try out the get out of class. The teacher came up and touched her crotch twice, saying that her pelvic rotation and uneven shoulders would make her prone to miscarriage if not corrected. I turned around and left with my sister. Really, before you sign up for a class, please feel your shoulders, neck, waist, and knees to see if you have any aches and pains, and then ask yourself if you really need adjustments. Don’t be fooled into thinking that everything is wrong with you with just a few words of PUA. Be calm when you take out your wallet. After all, money is hard to make. Don’t pay IQ tax to unscrupulous merchants.