Back/shoulder brace to facilitate good posture at computer

In My Humble Opinion
1

Does anyone have any experience with this type of brace:

At dinner yesterday, I met an aerialist (yup, one of those people who slither up and down the long rope/scarf things and fly through the air) and she was telling us that they use this kind of brace (in addition to lots of stretching, etc.) to help with posture and to relieve back strain. I (like many here, I’m sure) spend hours and hours at the computer and have achy upper/middle back and shoulders. She thought a brace like that might help with upper back strain due to many computer hours.

Any practical experience with this type of device? Or other suggestions for back/shoulder stress due to too much computer time?

2

Braces are a temporary fix that weaken your muscles in the long term and should really only be used by people recovering from injuries or who are unable to develop the muscles to hold themselves up.

To have good posture you need to develop the muscles that create good posture. There’s no substitute for core strengthening and constantly correcting yourself. Its boring and it takes months if not years. Yoga and Pilates both work if you exercise better in a class environment, or there are lots of videos you can watch on youtube.

Work on your workspace as well; many offices will provide ergonomic items (such as a footrest if you are too short for your desk, or a standing desk, or an adjustable keyboard tray, etc), but only on request.

3

What Hello Again said. I suspect an aerialist has good core strength and works out regularly, so a brace doesn’t do her much harm. But for most of us, they’re a spectacularly bad idea for routine or long term use. They relieve tension temporarily, but turn you into a squishy slug in the long term.

They’re dated and dorky but I love sitting on an exercise ball at the computer. Great for small muscle adjustments, circle exercises and pelvic floor and core strength, and they force you to adopt a more aligned posture, which all reduce stress and pain both short and long term.

4

↑ ↑ ↑ What she said but…

I would soon die from broken bones and sever bruising from falling off an exercise ball every few minutes. :frowning:

I’ll just sit here in my chair and … I did take the arms off the chair and that is as much danger as I can stand… :smiley:

5

Other suggestions: lift your monitor up higher, and see if that encourages you to sit more upright.

6

i think the Nada Chair works great.

7

I use a laptop. I do raise and lower my chair, however.

8

Interesting. Seems like it would have the same issues as a brace.

ETA. It’s my upper back that bothers me not, thankfully, my lower back.

9

I use a Lumbar Roll at home and at work. Only $18. Worth every penny.

10

So do I. That’s your problem - screen and keyboard too close together. Raise the laptop up on a stand, and use an external keyboard and mouse. Or plug it in to a monitor, and again lift up the screen.

I use one of these stands. That’s overkill unless you need portability - use a stack of phonebooks or whatever to try it out.

11

Get yourself a good office chair; I use a Herman Miller Embody. And take a break for 5 minutes every hour. Go make yourself a cup of tea or something.

Perhaps also you might check that your bra isn’t contributing to the problem.

12

No, that shouldn’t be it.

I usually just wear a sportsbra when I’m working