Posture

[Blondiemumtoteen]

I’m not sure if this is the correct area to post, but DD is 14 and has terrible posture. She will only ever stand/ sit upright for a couple of minutes before slumping from the waist and rounding shoulders. She leans if standing, is always curled over and often curls her toes and feet outwards.

We try to encourage her to stay upright, sit upright etc, but are generally met with rolled eyes. She is active and engaged in sport, although she isn’t the most physically able, she is doing ok (and we don’t have any expectations of her, other than to benefit from being fit and healthy).

She was diagnosed with mild hypotonia (low muscle tone) at the age of 3, but we were told there was nothing which would help her with this, it just might mean she took longer to reach some physical milestones, such as riding a bike (which she could already do by the time of this diagnosis, much to the paediatrician’s surprise!)

She has none of the problems associated with low muscle tone, she’s a very bright girl and we’ve never made a big deal of it. The problem is now, with her posture I am really worried that she is doing long term damage to her neck and back from being constantly curled over. She is substantially and noticeably more hunched than her peers when I see her amongst friends.

Does anyone have any experience of anything similar amongst teens. I have a call with the GP next week to request a referral for physio, but is there anything else I should be considering/ asking the Dr. about??

Hi OP, my dd nearly 14 is also like this. Rounded shoulders etc, She also doesn't swing her arms at all when she walks. I am getting her assessed at the moment for various other reasons. She's extremely bright but quiet and shy. Apparently ND children can be prone to bad posture. Just putting it out there, I've been looking into this. Does that ring a bell with you?

And the massively heavy bags that they lug between classrooms is very bad for the developing and still pliant spine.

DTs are like this, hunching over phones / laptops doesn't help. They are both severely hypermobile too.

Thanks for the reply, good to know it’s not just her. I don’t think she is ND, she doesn’t display any other symptoms at all. I think she’d like me to get off her case about posture, but I also think she’d probably like to be more upright, but only if it was easy to achieve!!

Definitely this. I’m constantly asking whether she needs everything in her school bag. It weighs a tonne!

That's the thing, it's only dawned on me lately with the diagnosis of her brother. Girls are brilliant at hiding any symptoms of ND. And looking back it was there under my nose. No one would know or think there is anything going on with her, but me! Yes to unbelievably heavy bags and also maybe just feeling a bit embarrassed with puberty, growing breasts etc. Is she very tall for her age?

Yes, she is very tall. I don’t think she’s embarrassed though, she loves being tall and I don’t think she’s too embarrassed about breasts either, so I’m not sure it’s a conscious decision to ‘hide’.

I definitely don’t have the best posture, but feel it’s something more than this with DD. I’m sure it will be related to muscle tone. I just feel like she can’t really help it.

I was like this as a teen and now have a rounded back at the age of 60. It isn't attractive at all and I had limited shoulder and arm mobility.

I have been to physiotherapy and had a personal trainer to help my posture.

When walking she should make sure her hands are turned so her thumbs are facing forward. This turns the arms and makes her shoulders less hunched.

I do climbing ladder exercises where I stretch my arms over my head and work them as if reaching for the next rung on the ladder while trying to get my upper arms alongside my ears.

I do cobra yoga poses to strengthen my core and have the muscles to hold my shoulders and neck up, and wall angels to increase flexibility in my shoulders and get my head back into the right position. I also have to lie on my stomach with my arms straight out in front of me and try to lift them over a brick placed in front of each arm. I still can't do that one with both arms at once. I also have to lie on my side and swing the arm that is uppermost in an arc over my head so I am touching the floor all the time - that is really difficult for me too.

Instead of telling her to straighten her shoulders, ask her to try holding her abdomen in when walking. I find it very difficult to breathe when walking with a tight abdomen unless I am standing up straight. Standing up straight will also make her look slimmer, even skinny people have a bulging stomach when they slouch. I found focussing on keeping my stomach and mid back straight as if wearing a corset was easier than trying to roll my shoulders back and that improving my core strength has improved my posture.

A couple of sessions with a physiotherapist might be a good idea for her to get her an exercise regimen. If she has weak muscles have you looked at her spine to check for scoliosis?

Please check her for scoliosis. (Adams forward bending test)

I started slouching as a teenager. I hated getting breasts and I was always trying not to be noticed. If I walk tall with good posture, I feel like I'm showing off, though I was very confident in many ways, happy with public speaking etc. I definitely hated my chest feeling prominent. Your DD may well feel the same but not notice it.

Additionally I am hypermobile and can't stand at the kitchen worktop without leaning over to rest on the worktop. I stand on the outside of my feet too. So I roll them out so my big toe is highest and my little toe is touching the floor. I find it a big relief for my ankles.

Also, FWIW I hated it when my parents pointed out that my posture was bad. People constantly told me off for slouching. I remember it well and I'm 47 now.

This may be too simplistic, but it’s worth a go……get her a balance ball to sit on when she’s doing homework/watching TV, gaming. You have to sit up properly otherwise you roll off. She’ll also end up with a surprisingly strong core, which is a nice byproduct.

* Update *
I spoke to the GP who agreed it probably did require some investigation and referred DD for physio assessment.

Thankfully, the NHS referral came through very quickly and she had an assessment this morning. She now has to go for X-ray and possibly MRI to check for scoliosis and scheuermann’s as they’ve noticed some prominence on the right side (although I also checked her before speaking to the GP and didn’t notice anything, clearly it’s taken a trained eye to see this).

The physio also gave her some exercises to do in the meantime, but just goes to show that it’s worth asking questions if you think something isn’t right!