Thanks to sitting at your desk all day or being hunched over your cellphone most of the time, DMing maintaining a good posture is more difficult than ever. So what exactly is a 'bad' posture, and do you need to work on yours? Do you need a posture corrector?
For starters, a 'good' posture ensures that the muscles that support the skeleton are aligned, stable and energy-efficient. Daily habits, workouts, and your shoe choice can affect your posture and cause you to slump over time. Bad posture can also be genetic or caused by an injury or simply caused by the force of gravity as you repeatedly do things that don't support your body's natural alignment.
Posture is all about the muscular strength of the skeleton, so the best way to fix it is to train your back support muscles back into their natural alignment. This is where posture correctors come into play to help guide your back into its natural position.
If your shoulders are hunched over, your lower back rounded, and the core muscles of your back not engaged, you will need a posture corrector. It will help you train and adopt a proper posture even as you build on strengthening exercises in your routine.
A bad posture or slouching can hurt you both psychologically and physically by making your muscles weak, imbalanced, or too tight, leading to pain, degenerative discs and joints, injuries, and in some cases even cause osteoarthritis. With that in mind, let's look at a few posture trainer and corrector solutions you can use to help you stop slouching.
The Best Posture Correctors and Trainers
1. Berlin & Daughter Clavicle, Chest, And Back Brace Posture Corrector
This two-padded harness is fixed in length with a Velcro waist strap that connects it at the front. The harness can be worn by both men and women. It is straightforward and easy to use, allowing the wearer to adjust the pull on the shoulders easily. A physical therapist would typically recommend using it for 20 minutes a day and preferably when standing upright. Otherwise, you don’t want to weaken your muscles by having them rely too much on the brace.
The mild discomfort you might feel is your body adjusting to the posture correction. Many users have described it as feeling very supportive.
The material used makes it easy to wash and dry up really fast, making sure you always feel fresh when you wear it.
This back brace posture corrector has a comfortable design that gives you enough compression both on your back and waist. This helps prevent that poor posture and hunchback to alleviate the discomfort and pain. You can wear it in two ways that will still help you attain that proper posture.
The first way will need you to close the waistband around the sternum for a medium pull on the shoulders. This is generally best suited for people who are experiencing mild pain and poor posture.
Secondly, you could close the Velcro waistband around the belly button for some extra pull on the shoulder. This is best suited for acute back pain and really poor posture. It gives just enough pressure on your back for a proper stretch on the spinal cord for proper support and, in the long run, reduces back pain.
2. Evoke Pro A300 Upper Back Posture Corrector
- PAINLESS CORRECTION – A great posture corrector should help you...
- ALL DAY COMFORT – Sleek and lightweight, Evoke Pro Posture Helper...
- DURABLE AND SUPPORTIVE – Featuring strong, padded straps and...
- ADJUSTABLE FIRMNESS – The highly adjustable design of the hunch back...
- BONUS RESISTANCE BAND – When you buy your clavicle support today,...
The Evoke Pro A300 upper back posture corrector is perfectly sized, small, and discreet. It has a size that is about the size of the back of a sports bra, so it’s easy to hide under clothes if you're going to the office or if you're on the go. The design and construction of the brace is meant to help retrain your shoulders to a natural upright positioning.
It has a compact, figure-eight design that is simple to wear, similar to how you'd wear a backpack. It comes with soft, adjustable straps that you can use to adjust to your preferred fit. The straps are padded and very comfortable with surprisingly flexible metal brackets.
This upper back support brace is made out of a breathable neoprene fabric that is soft and pleasantly lightweight. This is particularly useful, especially if worn in the summer humidity.
This posture corrector is available in two sizes: a regular and extra-large size that instantly pulls and trains your shoulders and back to rest in the natural upright positioning.
Other posture correctors would recommend that you wear them 30 to 40 minutes a day; however, the A300 posture trainer doesn't have this requirement. A lot of users find it comfortable enough to wear for close to 3-4 hours. Also included in the package is a latex-free resistance band that you can use for strength training.
3. FlexGuard Lumbar Support Back Brace Posture Corrector
- Pain Relief - FlexGuard Premium posture brace helps ease discomfort...
- Body Correction - The posture corrector pulls back your shoulders to...
- Comfort - Discreet by design, our back brace for posture sits...
- Lightweight - Crafted from a stable and breathable fabric, FlexGuard...
- Four Size - Available in 4 sizes, this back support for women and men...
To help you stop having the hunchback and slumped shoulders causing your back pain, the adjustable Flexguard lumbar support back brace and posture corrector helps to better posture and help relieve both upper and lower back pain.
This design is both a back brace and posture corrector to help with proper spine alignment. The Flexguard back brace and posture corrector is widely recommended to people who suffer from both back pain and poor posture.
The brace and support is designed to gently put pressure on your back and slightly pull your shoulders for better alignment back into its natural upright positioning. This way, it relieves pressure off the overworked back muscles. Overall, it provides support to relieve you of pain.
It comes in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from XS to XL. All these sizes come with adjustable straps that make it easy to find the right fitting that is comfortable and beneficial for an upright proper posture.
The design may be a little bulky to wear under regular clothes. But if you are experiencing regular back pain due to your poor posture or occupation, this back brace and posture corrector is definitely going to be a huge help.
It is easy to wear, and you can put it on without requiring anyone’s assistance. You only need to put your arms through the armholes; once you're all settled in, you can then adjust both the lower back and abdomen part of the brace. It is fully adjustable, so it can easily be adjusted even while it is worn
It comes with an instructional booklet with plenty of extremely helpful exercises for people who want to correct the wrong posture before getting worse. On the other hand, for people who are already experiencing acute levels of these issues, the Flexguard posture corrector and back brace support works great with aids and treatment of posture-related conditions. For instance, it works great with exercises or physical therapy.
4. Glamorise Women's ComfortLift Front Close Lace Posture Back Support Bra
- Comfort lift design features a cotton lined inner shaper
- Posture back crisscross bands
- Elastic straps are adjustable in the front
- Multi adjustable front closure
- Designed in new York
Wearing a posture corrector bra is an excellent way for ladies to ensure they don't put their neck and back under excessive strain as they go on their daily activities. These back support bras are built to relieve tension off your back to help retrain the muscles to stay in a natural upright position.
This patented close lace bra design and posture support assures you all-day support and comfort. It has an inner cushioned band that provides maximum bust support with a great shape. All this, and it doesn't have a wire.
The Lycra spandex and cotton bands at the back of the bra provide additional shoulder support with posture support. It has extra-wide, back adjusting straps that assure ladies of a great fit that is totally comfortable.
The Glamorise Magic Lift Posture Back and Support Bra is one of the best posture correctors ideally constructed to suit a woman's body construction and a great choice for ladies who experience back problems or simply need full support.
The construction takes care of the bra malfunctions and everything else you wouldn't want your bra to do. The main features include:
- The band doesn't ride up. It should sit below your shoulder blades
- Both the band and straps don't dig in into your chest, ribs, or back. These two do most of the supporting
- The straps don't slip
- The construction fits perfectly and doesn't have bulging sides
- For firm support, it has rigid straps with no dropping bustline
- It doesn't have poking underwires
This brace bra is made out of silk, elastane, and polyester and gives a relaxed, comfortable fit. It also comes with changing bands at the back to help optimize your posture. It also has a front hook that is easy to fasten to adds flexibility and comfort.
The Magic Raise formula doesn't include the wire in the bra construction, while the interior cushioned band provides your bust with an excellent lift and form. The extensive, flexible braces at the back help with back alignment.
5. Upright GO 2 Posture Trainer and Corrector
- POSTURE CORRECTOR AND TRAINER: The UPRIGHT GO is a comfortable...
- PERSONALIZED TRAINING PLAN: The Upright app generates a personalized...
- PRECISE INSIGHT AND STATS: The UPRIGHT GO wearable device attaches...
- TRACKING MODE: The UPRIGHT GO can be switched to a mode with no...
- WHAT YOU GET: In the box you will find the UPRIGHT GO posture device,...
The Upright Go 2posture trainer and corrector is a small device that you stick on your back. When it detects a poor posture shift, it gently vibrates, almost like someone is tapping on your shoulder annoyingly enough to have you straighten out your back.
It's simple to use with an easy setup that comes with a companion app. The application is connected to your phone via Bluetooth. You can place it on your back and hold it using an adhesive strip or a separately bought necklace.
Its two main functions are to track and train. The tracking function tracks and records how much of the day you spent hunched over your work like a troll. The other function being training. The vibrations kick in during training as you're wearing it.
Under this function, the Upright GO posture trainer and corrector gives you three options based on your level of activity:
- Stationary - for long hours of sitting or standing
- Standard - when you are moderately active
- Active - for people with dynamic routines
Factors to Consider When Buying the Best Posture Correctors for Women
- Usability and whether you can wear your brace or corrector under your clothing
- The corrector should avoid passive positioning and encourage active correction. This means that your muscles should be realigning with something that reminds you to correct your posture and not force you to sit or stand straight in a specific position
- Different back braces and correctors correct on different types of wrong positionings
- The material of the device should be breathable
- The device should work with your body whether you stand or sit
Frequently Asked Questions on Wearing Back Support Braces
1. Are back braces and correctors safe?
If used correctly, they shouldn't harm the user in any way. However, overuse of the devices can cause atrophy. Also, they're not the sole solution to chronic shoulder, spine, neck, lumbar, upper back, and back problems.
2. How long should I wear a back brace and corrector to stop slouching?
This is different in different devices. Some devices can be worn longer than others. It also depends on your familiarity with the device.
It is generally advised to start wearing the device 15 to 20 minutes a day and then add more time, close to 30- 60 minutes a day, until your body is physically accustomed to its proper physical positioning.