WHAT ARE THE MAIN BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH WEARING THE POSTURE SAVER?
From a biomechanical viewpoint, with neutral posture, all the core muscles are in their most optimal position. They are properly relaxed and, when solicited, work most efficiently.
Postural awareness increases dramatically, so that the tendency to slouch gradually disappears; as it is replaced by a permanent proper postural reaction.
By reducing the intake of pain medication, and ultimately eliminating the visits to the chiropractor or physical therapist, one can save a considerable amount of money.
The act of breathing is also easier and more efficient with strenuous activity, since the diaphragm and other breathing muscles work better. Performance and endurance are improved , as fatigue and the likelihood of muscle injury are reduced.
WHY DO ATHLETES LOVE THE POSTURE SAVER ?
With poor posture you let your spine and limbs go out of alignment, your form will suffer.
Whether you are swinging a bat, or a racket, or throwing a ball; each of these depends on precise coordination among your joints and muscles, and good posture ensures that.
With good posture good form and good technique are easier to achieve, hence reducing the risk of falls and other sports injuries.
Poor posture leads to undue strain on your joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles. All that strain quickly leads to fatigue and poor performance.
Poor posture (slouching and slumping) makes it hard for your lungs to expand and get the air they need to supply your muscles with enough oxygen and nutrients.
Since oxygen is fuel for your muscles, poor posture will lead to decreased endurance and poor performance.
If you wish to perform optimally as an athlete The Posture Saver will definitely help you achieve that goal.
CAN CHRONIC BACK PAIN CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE?
Patients with chronic back pain show significant brain changes when compared to control groups, displaying atrophy of cortical grey matter of 5 to 11 percent, the equivalent of 10 to 20 years of brain aging in a normal person.
The decrease in volume is mainly localized in the thalamus and the lateral prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for memory, planning, decision-making and rational thinking, while the thalamus acts as a gateway for sensory input between the body and the brain.
Shrinkage of these brain regions explains the psychological, cognitive and sensory abnormalities that occur with chronic back pain.
In addition to brain atrophy, patients with chronic back pain experience other changes in how the brain works.
In a healthy brain, all the regions of the brain exist in a state of equilibrium. When one region is active, others will quiet down. However, in back pain sufferers, the affected brain areas fail to deactivate when they should. As a result, neurons (brain cells) wear out and connections between them are altered, possibly leading to permanent damage.
And now for the good news:
The motor cortex and spinal cord possess the remarkable ability to alter structure and function in response to differential motor training which induces a reorganization of neural circuitry in the brain.
After effective treatment of chronic low back pain, patients’ functional and structural brain abnormalities were reversed.
There is no doubt nowadays that treating chronic back pain can restore normal brain function and anatomy in humans, and The Posture Saver is the right tool for that.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080205171755.htm
http://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/pain/other/brain-injury/brain-atrophy-chronic-pain-call-enhanced-treatment
Effective treatment of chronic low back pain in humans reverses abnormal brain anatomy and function – PubMed (nih.gov)
These images (left) show a comparison between the brain of a chronic pain patient and a healthy subject. We can see with colors how much activation (red-yellow) or deactivation (dark-light blue) was found at each location.
WHY DOES THE POSTURE SAVER HAVE NO COMPETITION ?
STRAPS
The majority of posture braces are built with straps that surround the shoulders, when the straps are in tension the shoulders are retracted and the scapulas are adducted.
Unfortunately, when the shoulders are pulled backwards and the shoulder blades are brought closer to each other, this results in “ forward head posture “; a deleterious position that is to be avoided at all times.
While the prices for these types of braces range from 19 dollars to 349 dollars, It is disheartening to learn that people have spent hundreds of dollars to ultimately get hurt.
The Posture Saver completely avoids this drawback, It is designed according to the most modern biomechanical concepts; that is why its straps have no contact whatsoever with the shoulders.
POSTURE SENSORS
All these devices are built around an accelerometer which measures an increase in the speed of the torso, or an inclinometer which senses the angle of inclination of the trunk.
While the concept behind these products appears modern on the surface, the reality is quite the opposite. With these gizmos, an alarm will be triggered with any forward trunk motion, so even if you bend with proper posture, you will be alerted.
For these devices to properly function, a sensor would need to be placed on multiple vertebrae or the pelvis so that a true position of the spine can be sensed.
This, unfortunately, would require invasive surgery, which would make this a costlier and more complicated venture.
As we already know, a back pain sufferer loses his ability to properly gauge the position of his spine by about 6 degrees, hence the use of these devices cannot be as effective as they are claimed to be.
The Posture saver has none of these deficiencies since it can be adjusted comfortably into neutral posture, while preventing you from slouching at all times without any fancy and useless gimmicks.
Why muscle weakness has nothing to do with back pain?
It is commonly believed that an individual with a strong back is almost destined to never experience back pain; nothing could be farther from the truth. There is no correlation between a strong musculature and lack of back pain.
Our muscles are made up essentially of 3 types of muscle fibers:
- Type I: Slow twitch fibers, work slowly for long periods of time.
- Type IIA & IIB: Fast twitch fibers, are explosive and able to generate great power but fatigue rather quickly. All skeletal muscles are made up of a mixture of various fiber types, with core muscles containing a majority of type I fibers.
With chronic back pain, back muscle fibers decrease in size; furthermore, some core muscle fibers undergo a conversion from type I to type IIA or IIB. These are not desirable changes. Now we understand why back muscles tend to fatigue easily in back patients.
The internet is filled with websites usually run by people who have no clinical training, that heavily push the idea of back strengthening as a silver bullet for treating back pain. This, unfortunately, is a waste of time and energy since persistent back pain is not the result of muscle weakness, but the consequence of a loss of core muscle synchronicity.
My advice is to stay away from any form of power training as long as the back is painful, and to focus on activities, such as pilates, yoga and tai chi since they tend to work on core muscle coordination and endurance.
In a recent Swedish study that followed over 5,000 subjects over a period of 35 years, the conclusion was that low muscle strength was not a good predictor for musculoskeletal disorders. In other words being a strong individual is no guarantee against experiencing back pain.
HOW SOON WILL I SEE IMPROVEMENTS WITH THE POSTURE SAVER?
If you initially wear The Posture Saver for one half to one hour then remove it, you will find yourself maintaining an erect posture without even thinking about it.
Since The Posture Saver is made of a soft fabric, it does not restrict movement and is fully adjustable, it can be worn for any activity and for long periods of time as needed.
In order to obtain permanent results, it will be necessary to use it frequently for several weeks.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM USING THE POSTURE SAVER?
Because The Posture Saver is fully adjustable, It can be used effectively for the following conditions:
- Low, mid & upper back pain
- Poor posture
- Sciatica
- Piriformis syndrome
- Scoliosis
- Status post spinal surgeries
- Spinal stenosis
- Disc herniations
- Spondylosis
- Spondylolisis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Shoulder instability
- Overhead athletic activities
- Endurance activities
- Respiratory diseases
- Patients who suffered strokes or brain injuries
- People with weak trunk muscles
- Ideal for golfers and also tennis players
- Adolescents who suffer from thoracic kyphosis, usually associated with rapid growth
- Senior citizens with excessive forward flexed posture beyond normal aging.
- Basically anybody between the ages of 2 and 122 can enjoy the many benefits associated with wearing The Posture Saver