Retraining posture

[Naetha]

I've had bad posture all my life (I blame excessive swimming between the ages of 8 and 12, and my schoolbag being too heavy!) and I have really rounded shoulders.

Does anyone know any exercises to help reduce this? I really struggle to "force" them back - I can manage it for a couple of minutes, then my back really aches.

Has anyone successfully retrained their posture at the age of 30?

Would Pilates help? I've heard Alexander Technique is good, but the only place near where I live charges £35 a session, with a recommended 10 sessions to fix a problem - I can't really afford that!

Pilates is great. You can get a good selection of dvds for next to nothing on Amazon so keep trying until one suits you.

I have this problem too though in my case it's because I have hypermobile joints. It might be that you are the same - are you really quite flexible? If you are forcing your shoulders back you could be puching it too much, and doig damage the other way. Instead try imagining a thread coming out of the top of your head and pull it up to the ceiling.

There's no easy way to retrain your posture. It takes a lot of hard work.

I think any posture-focused exercise should help, get a pilates dvd from the library to get started maybe, or join a class?
When my ds was poorly balanced (much younger than you), I took him to the osteopath, who basically worked on losening him up. I think it helped a lot, he also made me aware about factors I hadn't considered, like that the fact my ds was wearing soles of his shoes asymetrically was not due to just his feet, but the whole body posture as he was overcompensating poor balance. (And the ortho just gave him foot insoles!!)
It will be about same price per session, but if you have a private ins maybe you can get this paid for? Also, some do HSA, that works out apparently cheaper if you join(?). You would prob need 6 sessions as a start, but you probably can stop and start again as you usually pay as you go.

This is a timely thread.

I am currently undergoing physio for exactly that.

As I have got older I've found my neck getting more and more painful, plus I reckon I've lost an inch in height from being round shouldered.

Physio has given me exercises and a week in I'm already feeling straightened out.

I also did a lot of swimming in my teens.

I use a physio and a properly qualified personal trainer. It's expensive but worthwhile.

I'm not at all flexible, so I don't think I have an issue with hypermobile joints (am constantly astounded how 10mo DD comfortable sits in the full splits position to play though!). I do however wear my shoes unevenly, so it may be worth looking into.

I've been doing the 30 day shred as an exercise DVD but might intersperse it with a Pilates one - can you recommend any?

There's also a pilates class nearby I should be able to go to for a few weeks to master the techniques so I'm not going it all wrong.

Thanks for your help :)

Why was that deleted DrPhill?

I saw the link earlier and thought it looked good, but lacked the appropriate webcam.