Round back in the upper back, or kyphosis, can be cured in many cases. In the following article, we’ll detail where you can go to exercise, advise on the most effective exercises, and provide further advice on how to prevent round back.
What hyperkyphosis looks like
Your back should be properly rounded into a double-esque curve. With hyperkyphosis, the upper back is excessively rounded with the shoulders pointing forward. The shoulder blades are spread too far apart, the chest sunken inwards. The cause of hyperkyphosis is largely due to poor posture, lack of movement nowadays, e.g. due to long periods of sitting at the computer. Rarely, it can be the result of a birth defect or a serious disease such as osteoporosis, where the bones no longer straighten.
Associated problems
Associated problems related to hyperkyphosis often include various headaches, which can escalate into increasing migraines. With a round back, our body may bend improperly at the hips to compensate while standing, resulting in improper pelvic alignment, which can develop into hip problems. As a result, the pelvic floor is weakened, which has no small effect on straight posture
What needs to be corrected
To improve posture, you need to engage in proper exercise every day. Many people can be put off by group exercise because it is impossible to get into the right positions due to round backs. That’s why it’s important to choose classes that focus specifically on exercises for round backs, or find experienced and sensitive instructors who are happy to help with this problem
However, the good news remains. 99% of the time this disease can be completely cured. It depends on our determination, motivation and strong will to exercise regularly. What parts of the body do we primarily need to strengthen?
By strengthening the interscapular muscles, we bring the shoulder blades closer together. By stretching the pectoral muscles, the shoulders straighten back further apart. Straightening the axis will gradually get our head on a straight axis as well. In no time, the results will come and we can look forward to our confident, straighter-than-a-ruler stance
The right kinds of exercises
The types of exercises that we will enjoy, even with these problems, include more leisurely stretches aimed at strengthening the back, upper body, and firming the pelvic floor or lower abdomen. Not all exercises will work for us right away, after all, it happens to everyone. Some won’t work and some will, which keeps us motivated. We should exercise for 20 minutes every day, and once a week go to a class where the trainer will observe us, register our progress and support us in our efforts. We can choose between Pilates classes, yoga or a combination of yoga and Pilates – yogalates.
Very often we can also find classes aimed directly at stretching the back. A very interesting exercise that specifically addresses back problems is a method called the SM SYSTEM.
The SM SYSTEM method
The SM SYSTEM, or Stabilization and Mobilization System, is a rehabilitation method that consists of a set of exercises with special cables. During the stretching and strengthening of the back, we activate the spiral contraction of the muscles back to the correct axis. The method focuses on correcting poor posture, removing or eliminating back pain in the lumbar, thoracic and cervical regions and treating scoliosis and acute disc prolapse. This method was developed by the Czech physician Richard Smisek, MD, who spread it worldwide
Exercises at home
We can start exercising today. For home exercises, tools such as an elastic band, an elastic rope, a foam roller or a large exercise ball are often useful. Use a foam roller to massage sore muscles, especially in the lumbar region. However, for many of the basic exercises you don’t need any equipment, or you can do with a simple towel.
Are you determined enough to step out of your comfort zone? Let’s do it!
We should not forget to warm up before exercising. Stretch the muscles especially in the back or chest area. To stretch the pectoral muscles, place your elbows slightly above waist height and rest your whole arm on the door frame. The palm of the hand should rest on the door frame with the pinky edge. Step straight forward and stretch
Stretch the back sufficiently by spreading the legs to the width of the pelvis and bowing to the side while standing. Be careful not to lean the body axis forwards or backwards, the movement should only be sideways. For the next exercise, you can spread your legs further apart, lean forward and touch the ground with your hands as far as possible.
The most well-known exercise that improves back flexibility is the cat-back. In the cat-back, care should be taken to ensure that the upward movement of the hump starts from the lower back and ends at the upper back. The next level of the cat-back is that of leaning sideways from this position with the arm raised perpendicular to the ceiling
The back continues to stretch well in the seated position. We sit on the floor, put our feet in front of us and gradually try to reach our toes. We can also bend one leg in a way as if we were going to sit in a Turkish sit-up, and try to reach one leg with only one hand. We can also get a good effect by leaning over a little and trying to reach the toe of the left leg with the right hand, then switch legs and repeat the exercise in reverse.
The “roof” exercise is a bit more difficult. Curl up into a ball, put your forehead on the ground. Then get up on all fours, clasp your hands together and lift yourself off the ground. We form a roof with our bodies. We clasp our hands in a position where we feel our back stretch. We can bend our legs. We rest our weight on the pinky edge at the same time as the thumb edge so we don’t destroy our carpal tunnels.
Most of us are familiar with back strengthening exercises from school gym class. They’re simple but effective exercises
- Lying lifts – lie on your stomach, place both hands in a vice under your forehead. 15 reps for 3 sets.
- Passing the ball while lying down – take any light object in your hand. Lie on the ground, still on your stomach, and lift your upper body off the ground as in step 1. Raise your arms with the ball in front of you. Then, with your hands, trace a circle, passing the ball first in front and then behind you. Minimum of 15 reps for 3 sets
- Pulley pull – take a rubber band in your hands. Sit on your knees or on a chair. Put the rubber in the middle of your hands between your palms and elbow, raise your arms up and then pull them down until your elbows are bent at waist level. The rubber moves behind our backs. We try not to bend and keep the centre of the body firm.
Massage
A healthy lifestyle includes not only exercise, but also passive, pampering and beneficial treatments such as massage. Massages get our blood flowing and warm up stiff, aching muscles, which therefore regenerate faster. Frequent massage relaxes stiff fascia, for example in the neck and cervical spine, and gradually increases the range of movement. You can also treat yourself to a massage every day using high-quality massage guns. We can choose between the sporty version MB1Pro and the smaller models MB3 and MB4. The MB2 pistol, on the other hand, has a heated body that allows us to relax like in a luxury salon.
The importance of prevention
How do we ensure that our round back problem does not return? The solution is simple prevention. Problems with poor posture occur when we don’t get enough exercise or when we load the body in the wrong way in the same place
Nowadays, people often sit in front of a computer. Not only in the office, but also at home or during leisure activities. We don’t always have an environment around us that meets the principles of ergonomics. What are the most common sitting mistakes?
Sitting errors
In order to sit properly, we need to adapt our working environment. We are all taught that our legs should be at right angles and our backs straight. Ergonomic chairs help us to do this and we can sit exactly as we should. However, if we sit on the perfect ergonomic chair and lean our head down too much towards the monitor, we can cause ourselves health problems as well.
We shouldn’t tilt our neck too far forward or backward. This can give us headaches and pain in the cervical spine. We should keep our elbow loose so that we do not put excessive pressure on our wrist and carpal tunnels. The desk should not be too low and the monitor too close to our eyes so we don’t have to lean forward so much. The monitor should always be at about eye level.
Maintain the correct posture
An ergonomic chair is not the most important thing when working or playing on the computer. The ideal working environment is to arrange the workplace so that we can maintain the right posture when sitting. Various stands and monitor holders can help you adjust your monitor, laptop or keyboard to the exact height and angle you need. At MISURA, we offer stands for a wide range of electronic devices, from laptops, tablets and mobile phones, with something to suit everyone ‘s needs. They are made of high quality materials and are easy to carry, so it is no problem to move your desk and its ergonomic conditions anywhere on the road, at the cottage, at your parents’ house, etc
Therefore, we can help ourselves from round back not only with exercise, but also with proper sitting, which is the most common cause of back pain. If we hunch or crouch during the day, this causes imbalances in the various parts of the body, which then cause various problems and difficulties. It is therefore important not to underestimate your comfort during the working day
Ergonomic laptop stand ME06
Ergonomic laptop stand ME06, size: 238 x 204 x 44 mm, thickness: 2.5-3.0 mm, adjustable height: 45-230 mm, color: silver, suitable for devices 15.6″ and…
71.5 €
Ergonomic laptop stand ME08-SILVER
Ergonomic laptop stand ME08, size: 225 x 261 x 113 mm, colour: silver, suitable for 17″ and smaller devices
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