Poor posture challenges all different age groups. Both young and old people have posture challenges. However, this article would focus on correcting the poor posture of seniors. By the end of the article, you will be having a list of exercises for correcting the poor posture for elders. There are many good posture exercises for seniors. Some of them include the child’s position, wall slides, spine extensions, cobra pose and many others.
What Is A Good Posture?
A good posture might seem to be a challenging issue but having a good posture makes life much easier. You must practice good posture anywhere whether you are sitting or standing. Your posture must remain good. If you find your neck bent or having a hunch back, it means that your posture is bad. Therefore, when you are standing, your shoulder must be back with your head level in line with shoulders.
Your chest must be out. Good posture reduces, back pain, neck pain, spike discomfort, and other upper body pains. As seniors, if you have a poor posture, you might have difficulties in breathing. In addition, you might experience fatigue, headaches, and poor blood circulation. Hence, good posture must be maintained all the time whether you are sitting, sleeping or standing.
What Causes Poor Posture In the Elderly?
There are various things that contribute to poor posture in the elderly. One of the main reasons is the aging effects. As you grow older, some muscles shrink, lose flexibility and they become stiff. In addition, the spine also gets distorted as you grow older. More so, some joints and bones that define the posture weaken as you grow older.
As such, it becomes difficult to maintain the correct posture when seated or walking. To improve the posture, the elderly must eat healthily and exercise to improve bone density and muscle mass. Exercise the weak and stiff joints and muscles to improve and correct poor posture.
Posture Corrector For Elderly.
A posture corrector is a device that you wear to correct the poor posture. The device looks like a top vest. As such, you have to wear it as a top. The device trains the upper body muscles such as the spine. It can align the spine to its natural position. In addition, the device can prevent body pains, injuries.
More so, it can also reduce neck pain and back pain. You can wear the device under the garments during the day or for several hours. It can prevent slouching when you are wearing it. Therefore, adults who are suffering from upper body pains can take advantage of the posture corrector to reduce body pains. Moreso, the device is good for correcting the spine muscles and bones.
There are various posture correctors for elderly people. You can buy it online or from health and fitness shops. Most of the posture corrector devices can easily fit under the clothes. Therefore, adults can easily use them without a hassle.
Posture Exercises.
Having a poor posture can be corrected in various ways. You can use the posture corrector or exercise your way out to a good posture. More so, you can mix various ways to have a perfect posture. However, after correcting your posture, you have to continue practicing good posture to maintain it.
There are various exercises that you can do to correct your poor posture. As you exercise, you have to also maintain a good posture while you are sitting or standing. Below are some of the best exercises that you can do to correct your poor posture. These exercises can be done by anyone regardless of age. Some of them can be done as chair exercises for seniors.
Shoulder Blade Squeeze.
This exercise is good for stretching the shoulders, spine, and back muscles. As such, it loosens tight muscles thereby freeing them. It is therapeutic and it might feel like you are being massaged. As such, seniors can do this exercise with ease. It can be done either seated or standing.
Therefore, shoulder blade squeeze is one of the exercises that can be considered to correct posture. In addition, it reduces back pain. Hence, it can be a perfect exercise for seniors who have fragile bodies that are always in pain.
Child’s Pose.
This is a fun exercise that doesn’t need a lot of movement. Seniors can enjoy doing this exercise because of its simplicity. The child’s pose exercise is good for relaxing the spine. In addition to that, it stretches the spine, neck, and back muscles. As such, it is good for reducing pain. Instead, it promotes the relaxation of tense back muscles.
Wall Slide.
This exercise is easy and can be treated like a chair exercise for seniors. But its ideal if the seniors do the exercise standing on their feet. It can remind them how the best posture looks like when standing. In addition, the exercise is good for stretching the loosening neck and shoulder muscles that are stiff or in pain. It might feel like you are being massaged as you do the exercise.
Walking Around.
Spending most of the tie seated might cause back pain and shoulder tension. Therefore, you must give yourself time to walk around stretching your body. This can make the blood circulate easily. More so, it can improve your posture.
Spine Extensions.
This exercise is good for aligning the spine in its correct position. Furthermore, the spine extensions exercise helps in correcting shoulders and making the chest flexible. As such, it is one of the exercises that can correct the posture for the elderly.
Cobra Pose.
This exercise might be quite challenging for some elderly people. However, it is good in strengthening the muscles called erector spinae. The muscle prevents slouching. In addition, the cobra pose is good for improving the lower back muscle strength.
Shoulder Circles.
This is an interesting exercise that works in bringing the spine to its original position. In addition to that, it is good for improving the flexibility of rib cage and shoulders. In addition, the exercise is good for building muscle tone in your biceps and triceps.
Best Posture Corrector For Elderly.
The market has various brands of posture corrector. However, not all of them are suitable for your condition. Some are meant to be used by women and therefore, they may not be used by men. As such there are posture corrector devices that are not suitable for seniors. Seniors need devices that are comfortable.
As such, a good corrector for seniors must be adjustable and make it easy for them to breathe while wearing it. In addition, the device must be able to support the body parts that result in a bad posture for seniors. Not all the posture corrector devices give the same impact.
Therefore, when buying the device, you might need to access it and also check the reviews written by other customers to make an informed decision. Most importantly, poor posture is a result of various reasons. As such, posture corrector alone won’t solve everything. You have to complement it with other ways to improve your posture.
How To Fix Stooped Posture?
The seniors are not the only ones who suffer from the stooped posture. There are younger people who have bad posture. If you realise your posture is changing from good to poor, work on it fast. Most importantly, try to identify the causes. Knowing the causes of your bad posture might help you to correct it accordingly.
Therefore, some of the things that you can do to correct your stooped posture include eating healthy, practicing a correct posture, exercising regularly, and more. Below are some of the steps that you should take to correct your poor posture.
- Determine the causes of your poor posture. Poor posture can be a result of sickness, lifestyle, bad sitting, walking or sleeping position, aging, and many other issues.
- If you are not too sure what to do about your poor posture, visit a specialist who will access your condition and advice accordingly.
- Eat healthily.
- Avoid spending most of your time in the same position.
- Increase your muscle mass and bone density. Poor posture can be related to weak bones and muscles.
- Exercise regularly. Make sure you stretch your body. In addition, do balance, endurance, and strength exercises.
- Avoid taking alcohol or at least limit the consumption.
- You can invest in a posture corrector of a smart posture trainer.
Final Thoughts
Aging mighty is taking a toll on you thereby making you have a poor posture. You may not run away from it but you can try to improve your posture as a senior. There are posture exercises for seniors that can help you align your spine and exercise the upper body muscles. Interestingly there are chair exercises for seniors.
Therefore, as a senior, you can take advantage of such exercise and correct your poor posture. Try various workouts such as core exercises for seniors, stretching exercises for seniors, and water exercises for seniors.
In addition to that, make sure that you eat healthy foods that are calcium-rich to improve your bone strength. As discussed above, revisits some of the posture exercises for the elderly and keep yourself busy to correct your poor posture.
Which exercises work best in correcting the poor posture for elderly people? Let’s discuss as you share your experiences.