
This 3-Minute Exercise Will Actually Fix Your Posture - ukz
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/this-3-minute-exercise-will-actually-fix-your-posture/
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Peradine
Reasons I think this is probably bullshit

1) He claims that computer/phone induced postural changes are responsible for
the forward stoop which occurs with age - the 'dowager's hump' \- yet this
phenomenon has been known about for centuries and there is no evidence that it
has increased in prevalence or severity

2) He claims this technique comes from a 'chiropractor'

3) The concept of 'stimulating the C5 nerve' (which isn't even a nerve, its a
nerve root) is pretty meaningless

4) The resultant sensation of temporarily improved posture that one gets after
performing this exercise is very brief, and there is no evidence it persists

Indeed one can create a similar effect in the arms: Cross your arms at the
wrists and touch the backs of your hands together. Pull your hands apart so
that there is pressure applied to the backs of the hands and maintain this
pressure for about thirty seconds. Then hold your hands in front of you, and
you will notice they tend to move apart. I imagine that a similar process
occurs following this exercise. However you will notice that both the
separation of your hands, and the sensation of your head being pulled back
following the exercise in the video, is not at all permanent.

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nabla9
The main reason why sitting in the front of computer is bad for the posture is
because shoulders are turned in and pectoral muscles are contracted long
periods of time.

Stretching your pecks two times per day improves posture much faster than this
exercise.

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peterwwillis
Your forward-facing deltoids are probably engaged too, as well as your
scalenes, while your lower spine is getting compressed and your core gets
weaker. More is going on that meets the eye.

Not only are there more muscle groups associated with these problems, but if
you try to correct these problems improperly you can develop a muscle
imbalance which can exacerbate all these issues. You need the right balance of
muscle supporting other parts of your body for everything to function safely.

So before you tell people just to stretch their pecs, please consult a
physical therapist to evaluate you and give you specific exercises tailored to
your physicality. There is no 'one weird trick' to improving your body.

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oxplot
I forever struggled with my standing posture. I always had to put thought into
it. Do I keep my shoulders all the way back? Do I suck in my stomach? How
much? And because of all the mental load and muscular effort, I'd get tired
very soon and over the course of a day, go back to slouching.

Recently I came across Phenibut. The first time I tired it, something happened
that had never before: all my muscles were relaxed. Suddenly it felt natural
and so easy to stand straight up with zero mental awareness at the time. And
in a few days, I "learnt" what my problem was. I was tensing my chest and ab
muscles all my life! That was a major beneficial side effect of Phenibut for
me. Might work for others too.

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gingerlime
always a bit skeptical of those "one crazy hack that will [enter your
problem]...", but as probably many other programmers, I could definitely
improve my posture.

Can anyone vouch for this or explain if / how it might work??

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peterwwillis
From what I can tell, he's basically just giving you movements that stimulate
muscles that are ennerved by the C4-C6 vertebrae. Ignore all the crap he's
saying; you're still engaging (albeit very lightly) the muscles that support
your back, spine, shoulders and neck while stretching the ones that are
typically contracted all day over the computer.

This may _not_ correct any serious deformity caused by hunching over a
computer for extended periods. For that you need to go to a physical
therapist. But for people with just a little tightness or that have difficulty
keeping correct posture, it can certainly help. But so can a lot of other
things.

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DrScump
Here is the video a la carte:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT_dFRnmdGs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT_dFRnmdGs)

This site is _obnoxious_ with its plethora of external metrics/adware hits.
Even _after the page is fully loaded_ , it _hits them again every 5 seconds_.
I'm blacklisting makeuseof.com from any future use.

