Credit: iStock.com/ClaireLucia
Let’s be honest, many of us have bad posture. While it may seem comfortable, if it continues for too long, it can lead to a condition called kyphosis or hunchback posture.
But fear not, as we’ll look at exercises to improve posture, as well as tell you how to get rid of a hunchback with hunchback treatment exercises.
Understanding Good Postures to Avoid Hunchback
One of the keys to avoiding hunchback posture is understanding what good posture is. Good posture can not only help avoid hunchback posture, but it can also eliminate some of the issues that can come with bad postures like headaches, back pain, neck pain, and fatigue. Good posture can add much to your health.
So, what exactly is good posture? How can it be identified? What can be done to maintain and improve posture?
Let’s start with identifying what good posture is. Essentially, what you should be aiming for is a relatively straight line from your ear lobes down to your shoulders, hips, and knees, to the middle of your ankles while keeping your weight evenly distributed between your feet.
You should keep in mind that the spine does have natural curves in it. It generally has a subtle “S” shape, but it can be more pronounced in some people due to various issues. If you are trying to make that straight line and you are experiencing pain, stop right away, as you may be trying to force your spine into an unnatural position.
To have good posture, you need to maintain your muscles, especially those in your back, shoulders, and core. You can achieve this with strength training and yoga. There many other exercises and techniques that can also help strengthen the muscles, but we will discuss those in greater detail in the next section.
Bad posture can become the normal state of your body when you start doing it enough, and the same can be said for good posture. By consciously having a good standing posture, as well as sitting and walking postures, you can get your body on track unconsciously to keep that same good posture.
You can find a proper standing posture by keeping your feet shoulder-width apart with your weight on the balls of your feet. Then, square up your shoulders with your body straight.
A good walking posture is a good extension of this. Keep your shoulders back and chest out. Also, make sure your eyes are straight ahead and avoid pushing your head forward.
It can be a bit more complicated to attain a proper sitting posture, but many of the same principles apply. Keep your back relatively straight with the back of the chair, and ensure your shoulders squared up with your chin up and straight. If possible, adjust the arms of the chair, so that your arms aren’t causing stress to the shoulders and back.
Unfortunately, trying to keep good posture while sleeping is rather difficult as the body does what it wants when you are sleeping. Having a good mattress and a good pillow can help. Try and keep your shoulders straight if you sleep on your back, but if you’re a side sleeper, use a small, flat pillow between your knees to keep your posture straight.
How to Get Rid of a Hunchback
One of the best things you can do is stretch and exercise to improve hunchback posture. This can include stretches, muscle training, and yoga as ways to strengthen and train the muscles to keep your posture straight. People at most fitness levels can try the following hunchback exercises at home.
1. Stretches for Hunchback Posture
There are numerous stretches that can help straighten out your posture, as well as prevent a hunched back. Not only that, they are a good way of stretching out the muscles and warming them up before exercising to prevent damage.
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Chest Stretch
Start by facing the corner of a wall. Extend your right arm and put your hand against the wall. Then, turn your body to the left and lean forward until you feel a stretch in your shoulders and chest. Keep your arm in line with your shoulder while doing this stretch. Hold this position for 30 seconds and then switch sides.
Both sides represent one repetition. Do this stretch for three reps.
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Crucifix Stretches
Stand straight with your arms extended out to your sides at about shoulder height. Turn your wrists until your thumbs face backward. Begin to pull your arms back as if you were stretching the chest.
2. Exercises for Hunchback Posture
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Bridge
Lie flat on the ground with your hands flat on the ground and bend your knees, keeping your feet flat on the ground. Then raise your back off the ground while keeping your shoulders and arms still flat to the ground. Keep your back as straight as possible with your feet and hands supporting you during the rise. Hold for a few seconds and then lower your torso back to the ground.
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Bird Wing
Start with a 90-degree bend in your elbows and at your sides with gentle pressure at your ribs. Place your forearms forward with your hands open and palms pointed up. While inhaling, press your shoulder blades down towards your spine and roll your forearms in, keeping your hands in front of your elbows. Then exhale and roll your forearms out, but keep your elbows at your ribs.
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Cobra Pose
Lie on your stomach with your elbows bent under your shoulder with your palms flat on the ground. As you inhale, bring your torso up, lifting your elbows three to five inches off the floor (you should also be pulling your chest forward and feel your sternum, upper abdominal, and solar plexus muscles widening). Exhale and contract your glute muscles around the upper thighs.
During this exercise, avoid hanging your head down and make sure you don’t feel any pinching.
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Cat or Cow Position
Place yourself on all fours with your wrists below your shoulders, your knees below your hips, and your toes tucked under. Inhale and relax your belly and move it towards the floor as you arch your back, tilting your tailbone and your chin towards the roof. While exhaling, gently round your spine and bring your chin back towards your chest and untuck your toes.
Repeat this position six to 10 times.
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Child’s Pose
Place yourself on all fours and then sit back on to your heels. Place a hand behind your head with an elbow pointed towards the floor and rotate your chest until the elbow points towards the ceiling. Bring yourself back to the starting position.
Perform this movement six to 10 times and then switch elbows.
If you find that one or more of these exercises is causing pain or muscle strains, then stop doing that exercise. If none of these are working out particularly well for you, you may want to talk to a doctor just to make sure that your issues aren’t something more than bad posture.
No One Wants a Hunch
Having hunchback posture can eventually lead to health issues that no one wants to have. This condition can ultimately lead to spinal damage and an unsightly lump forming in your upper body. And, it can make things like sitting and sleeping difficult, which in turn, can affect your day to day well being.
Luckily, if you follow some of our tips and suggestions, you can easily start yourself back on to a path of good posture and better spinal health.
Related Articles:
Upper Back Spasms: Causes and Home Remedies
Military Neck (Cervical Kyphosis): Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments
Sources:
“Don’t Slouch! Five Exercises to Fix Bad Posture,” Top.me, http://www.top.me/fitness/dont-slouch-five-exercises-to-improve-bad-posture-1464.html, last accessed July 28, 2017.
“The 7 Best Posture and Kyphosis Exercises for People Who Sit All Day,” Fitness Reloaded, June 16, 2017; https://fitnessreloaded.com/best-posture-exercise-hunchback-kyphosis-slouching-too-much/, last accessed July 28, 2017.
Risher, B., “12 Great Exercises That Fix Your Crappy Posture,” Men’s Health, March 23, 2017; http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/exercises-to-fix-bad-posture, last accessed July 28, 2017.
Ryan, W., “3 Exercises To Reverse The Effects Of Poor Posture,” Breaking Muscle; https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/3-exercises-to-reverse-the-effects-of-poor-posture, last accessed July 28, 2017.