Do you know that research has shown that people with bad postures are ten times more likely to have health complications such as fatigue and depression? Do you also know that the ache you feel on your back and shoulders each time you spend extra hours on the computer can actually affect your posture?
Spending extra time on the computer is not the only cause of bad posture. Body pains can also be caused by your daily activities.
Thanks to the geniuses at the big companies who came up with the idea of posture braces. Posture braces simply constrain your back, neck and shoulders and putting them in the right position. With time your muscles shall be trained to stay upright even without the braces.
What Is The Best Posture Corrector Brace?
Posture braces, sometimes called “clavicle braces”, are developed to assist individuals who have poor posture or shoulder slump by constraining their upper body and putting it in the right position.
Posture braces come in different sizes, colors and designs. But some are sold as “one size fits all” and usually come with adjustable straps to fit a person of just about any size. There are even gender specific products, while some are unisex products.
The material used to produce posture braces varies from one product to another. Some manufacturers use stretchable materials while others use non-elastic material such as cotton. In many situations, they are manufactured using a combination of several different types of materials.
How To Improve Your Posture?
Correcting Your Alignment
Most deviations in posture occur because the muscles that work to hold a joint in place are imbalanced. In general, one muscle group will be too tight and the opposing muscle group will be too loose or weak.
When this sort of imbalances occur, overactive muscles compensate for under-active muscles, which leads to fatigue, tension and discomfort. The easiest and most effective way to correct imbalances is to stretch the overactive muscles and to strengthen the under active muscles.
Stop Slouching
Slouching doesn’t always cause discomfort, but over time this position can cause a strain on already sensitized muscles and soft tissues. This strain may increase tension in the muscles, which may in turn cause pain.
Get into the habit of sitting correctly. It might make you uncomfortable initially because your muscles have not been conditioned to support you in the correct position.
Exercises to strengthen your core and buttock muscles, and back extensions, will help correct a slouching posture.
Sticking Your Bottom Out
If your bottom tends to stick out or you have a pronounced curve in your lower back, you may have hyperlordosis. This is an exaggerated inward curve of the lower back that creates a “Donald Duck” posture.
Wearing high heels, excessive weight around the stomach and pregnancy can all cause this posture.
Core and buttock strengthening exercises, hip flexor and thigh stretches, and making a conscious effort to correct your standing posture are recommended to help correct a sticking out bottom.
Standing With A Flat Back
A flat back means your pelvis is tucked in and your lower back is straight instead of naturally curved, causing you to stoop forward. People with a flat back often find it difficult standing for long periods. This posture is often caused by muscle imbalances, which encourage you to adopt such a position. Spending long periods sitting down can also contribute to a flat back.
A flat back also tends to make you lean your neck and head forwards, which can cause neck and upper back strain.
Exercises to strengthen your core, buttocks, neck and rear shoulder muscles, and back extensions, are recommended to help correct a flat back.
Leaning On One Leg
Leaning more on one leg while standing can feel comfortable, especially if you’ve been standing for a while.
But instead of using your buttocks and core muscles to keep you upright, you place excessive pressure on one side of your lower back and hip.
Over time, you may develop muscle imbalances around the pelvis area, which can cause muscular strain in the lower back and buttocks.
Other causes of uneven hips include carrying heavy backpacks on one shoulder, and mums carrying toddlers on one hip.
To improve this posture, try to get into the habit of standing with your weight evenly distributed on both legs.
Exercises to strengthen your buttocks and core muscles will help correct uneven hips: Plank, Side-lying leg raises and Bridges.
Lift Weights
The vertebral compression fractures that subtract from our height—and can lead to the “dowager’s hump” in the upper back that’s a hallmark of old age—are due to the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.
Women—and men—can prevent these changes with weight-bearing exercises, like walking, stair climbing, and weight lifting.
Best Posture Brace Reviews for 2016 / 2017
Here is the list of the top ten Posture braces we’ve compiled for your use.
1. Deluxe Clavicle Support
This incredible posture corrector comes in three sizes; Medium, Large and X-Large. It is elegantly designed to pull the wearer’s shoulders back to ensure that the clavicle is properly aligned. At the same time, it also provides much needed posture support. You don’t have to worry about wearing the Deluxe Clavicle support, for it comes packed with a flat ring construction at the back that reduces pressure on the spine. Its simple enclosures makes wearing or taking it off easy.
Lastly, it has padded straps that make wearing it very comfortable by wicking away moisture.
2. Camp Ben (TM) Medium Posture Corrector
Do you want a posture corrector that can keep injuries away at the same correcting your posture? Then this bad boy comes a with collar bone protection mechanism that keeps the correct position in a healthy hold. It has an easy chest sizing ability that measures under your armpits and around your chest.
The medium size fits a chest size of 28-37 inches while the large fits a chest size of 37-46 inches.
It is padded and cushioned for a reason, its simply for your comfort as it guides you to the precise positioning. It is also simple to setup, just few seconds and you are ready to go.
3. Poscure Premium Quality Back Brace
Though it comes in just one size, the waist belt and shoulder straps are easily adjusted for perfect fit. This posture corrector completely feels comfortable and easy to wear under your clothing. It prevents slouching by keeping your back and shoulders in the correct and healthy position.
It is suitable for children, teenagers and young adults. It gently pulls the shoulders back to alleviate the stress on the spine in the upper back and neck area, and realign your spine curve. It relieves you from pain, while providing support to the surrounding muscles.
4. StabilityAce Posture Corrector & Support
Back posture Brace by StabilityAce can be worn anywhere, either at home, in the office or in the car. It comes in different sizes, so find the right fit for you. This posture corrector does not discriminate, it is Unisex and can fit both males and females.
The first time you try wearing it, you might need the assistance of someone, but subsequently you start to get comfortable in it and it will adapt to your measurements. It relieves you of much stress as it is lightweight and can be washed.
The movable D-Rings admits for suitable adjustment for optimal patient fit. if you have a fracture, sprain, shoulder instability and collarbone pain, then this posture corrector brace is suitable for you as it gently pulls the shoulders back to align and stabilize a clavicle fracture or provide postural support.
5. Medical-Grade Adjustable Magnetic Posture Support Back Brace
It was designed to fit both men and women, and it aids in comfortable back support with its ability to gently pull your shoulders back and straighten your spine to urge the correct posture.
It is provides strong support, but it fixed this by being comfortable, like, very comfortable! If you do not want people to know that you are using a posture corrector, this awesome posture brace can go on stealth mode, completely undetectable under your clothing.
One of the reasons the FDA approved it was that it has 12 magnetic points which provides relief from muscle aches. Its other strong points are; it is, lightweight, easy to wear and easy to wash.
6. Comfymed Breathable Mesh Back Brace CM-SB01
Do you want a posture brace that allows you breathe comfortably? You are in luck, this back brace comes fully packed with permeable materials, so every inch of your skin can breathe. To experience ultimate comfort, Comfymed breathable back brace adjusts and hugs your body specifics and offers a customized support and compression which aids in keeping you cool and comfortable.
The support belt that follows it, effectively support your back without restricting movement and gets you back on your feet. It is notorious for its lumbar pad and has easy grip handles that allows you wear the brace easily.
The Money back guarantee is definitely something to look out for. If you don’t like the quality of the back brace, simply return it and you will be refunded.
7. Vector Back Brace
This posture brace prides itself as number one targeted for Lumber compression. It is highly recommended by Chiropractors and Spine Specialist.
The recommendations for this product increases as over 40 professional teams trust it to keep their athletes functioning at the highest functioning level. It is elegantly designed with vector technology which has a bi-lateral cinching system that focuses compression on the exact point of back pain. It is can also be adjusted either to the left or right for relieving inflammation or muscle spasms. It also offers an additional heat/cold therapy for soothing relief.
8. FlexGuard Medical Back Brace
If you are a person who always hunches his back, then this posture corrector is the perfect fit for you, it corrects your posture and straightens you spine. And it is quite affordable for the many features that it comes with.
Relieve that back pain with this posture corrector, as it was specifically designed for that. You won’t feel the weight of wearing something extra for it is lightweight and made of breathable cotton with dura-stitching.
They have a help line that is always available for any questions pertaining their product. It is durable, and the design allows effective assistance while being comfortable to wear. With this you are sure to get your body’s natural posture.
9. Comfort Posture Support
Say hallelujah if you are one of those suffering from a slumping or slouching back. It helps promote a healthy back by pulling your shoulders back and helps to realign the spine. Suitable for people of all ages.
It can be worn over a t-shirt for not longer than two hours a day and not less than an hour a day. This durable brace comes with adjustable shoulder and waist straps to fit most sizes. With this you can be sure that your back pain will be relieved, reducing spinal pressure at the same time.
10. Comfort Posture Corrector Brace
The manufacturer of this product has over 15 years’ expertise in the design and production of orthopedic appliances, and it is no surprise that they came up with a product that can correct posture of both kids and adults.
They understand a posture corrector should not be worn for an extended period, that it is why its instructions are that it should be worn for 3-4 hours daily. At first, they advise that you wear it for 15-25 minutes and slowly increase the time so your back and shoulders will slowly adjust to it.
It is perfect for rehabilitation after injuries and surgery of the thoracic and upper lumbar sections of the spine and clavicle. The waist belt and shoulder straps are completely adjustable to give you an exact custom fit that forms to your body.
Qualities To Consider When Picking The Right Braces
The Price: The price of a product is something many people put into consideration as a condition for buying a product. While price is an important factor, it is not the only one. Don’t get so carried away by the low price of a product.
What you should consider about, is what problem the product will solve. So it is advisable to go for top best, don’t let the price be the only determining factor.
Braces Features: Another factor you should look out for is the features that come with posture corrector. They come in different sizes, colors and style. So the aim here is to look for the one that is specific for your problem.
Check out the list of products very well to find the perfect fit for you. Remember that product that has too many features might actually be on the high side, price wise. So be on the look-out for features that you can actually use or are comfortable with.
The brand: There is a popular “saying that a good name is worth more than Gold and Silver”. A brand that has good reviews and recommendations from a lot of people, simply implies that the brand is actually worth your money.
So, when going for a Posture Corrector Brace you should check user reviews and ratings. Then go for the one with good reviews.
Return Policy: A money back guarantee from a manufacturer allows you return the product if it does not meet up to quality and standard or you bought it with a defect. Check the return policy of every manufacturer to insure you are covered.
Ending
Poor posture is a problem that if left unchecked can lead to health complications in the long run. So our advice to you, is to take your health seriously, read our reviews to know the best posture corrector braces on the market. You will be astonished on good you will feel in a few days.
