How Long Does it Take to Correct Your Posture?
How long does it take to correct bad posture? Find out in this article.
Posture plays a crucial role in our overall health and well-being, yet many people neglect it, leading to poor posture habits that can cause discomfort, pain, and even long-term health issues.
If you've become aware of your poor posture and are wondering how long it will take to correct it, you're not alone.
The timeline for correcting posture varies depending on several factors, including the severity of the posture issues, individual commitment to making changes, and the techniques or exercises used.
In this article, we will delve into the topic of posture correction, and we will discuss how long it takes to correct your posture. So, if you're ready to straighten up and improve your posture, keep reading to learn more.
1. Can you correct bad posture?
Before we dive into the topic on how long it takes to correct posture, let’s answer one important question first: can you actually correct bad posture?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions and the subject of many disputes on the topic of correct or so-called good posture.
In order to give the most accurate answer to this question, we must take into account the individual characteristics of the practitioner, the presence of diseases that can affect both the posture and the work process itself, and of course the length of time the body maintains an incorrect sitting or standing position.
Can we fix bad posture? Yes, we can, because the healing capacity of our body is very large, but for each practitioner, the time and effort to achieve results will be different.
For example, a professional driver with thirty years of practice will certainly have to make much more effort and face many more obstacles than a teenager whose incorrect position is due to laziness, rapid growth and development, or emotional trauma that also has a physical manifestation.
On the other hand, there are cases in which a long-standing incorrect posture has caused such changes that ingrowths or, in the worst case, distortions have occurred, which can no longer be treated as bad posture and medical or operative methods have to be applied to fix the problem if at all possible.
When poor posture becomes a permanent physical change, posture correction practices can only be used to relieve discomfort and make minimal adjustments. In that case, how long it takes to correct posture takes an entirely different meaning.
2. Is bad posture permanent?
Bad posture can be both permanent and temporary.
Persistent bad posture is one that we adopt from a young age and that our parents or teachers didn't pay attention to. Children begin to sit slightly slouched or with their shoulders slumped forward, as in the past the main cause was too heavy school bags.
Other incorrect positions that can be attributed to persistent poor posture are hyperextension of the knees, forward pelvis or forward tilting of the body ie. to the toes, which is the most imperceptible and underestimated change in the correct position of the body.
This incorrect posture becomes our natural one and is worked on the hardest and most persistently to achieve results and a complete change in the habit of maintaining this "comfortable" for us body position or gait.
Temporary bad posture is not a big problem because it very rarely leads to permanent consequences. The reason is in the short periods of an inappropriate position at work, driving or walking.
These periods can last from one month to five years, and sometimes even longer. An example of temporary poor posture is pointing the toes out or in when walking when wearing uncomfortable shoes.
Another example is leaning forward when working in an office, which may be due to the nature of the work or an inappropriate chair or desk level. Either way, with a change of job, shoes or car, the wrong posture is corrected naturally.
So, how long does it take to correct your posture? Keep reading:
3. Is it possible to fix bad posture permanently?
Both the acquisition and correction of incorrect posture are the result of long and constant practice.
To get our body used to standing with our shoulders forward and this becoming our natural position took from several months to several years, to correct them and return them to their natural position will take us at least half that time.
To call a posture incorrect, it should not be a one-time phenomenon that we have noticed in someone, but a persistently applied bad motor habit and misunderstanding of one's own body.
If we can apply logic to this point, it is only natural to assume that in order to maintain correct posture once it has been corrected, we must make it a habit.
In a large percentage of cases, the bad posture is completely corrected, but for a very long time afterwards, the practices continue to be performed with the same intensity and duration as at the beginning of the posture work.
This ensures the preservation of the results and the definitive eradication of the habit of maintaining bad posture. Only then can one move on to practices once or twice a week to maintain good mobility and health.
Permanent correction of posture depends mostly on the practitioner, which is why the answer to the question “how long does it take to correct your posture” may vary.
4. 5 common causes of bad posture
4.1. Prolonged posture during work
The more time we spend in the same posture, the more the risk of poor posture increases due to body fatigue. This applies to the posture of our work/study place, no matter if you are an accountant, hairdresser, driver or student.
Our body does not function well when placed in conditions of limited or no movement and quite naturally begins to change its position by bending forward, hunching over or dropping the knees.
To avoid overloading it, it is necessary to change its position for a few minutes every half hour, which means going from sitting to standing or lying down, not crossing the left leg over the right.
4.2. Lack of muscle tone
How long it takes to correct posture will depend on the lack of muscle tone.
When the muscles in one part of the body are weakened, the opposite muscles begin to contract even more effectively because they encounter no resistance, causing the weakened muscle, group of muscles and their ligaments to be strongly stretched and held in that position.
In another case, it can be a general lack of muscle tone, as happens in a large part of the elderly or people who have gone through or are going through serious illnesses.
In these cases, the loss of muscle tone leads to an inability to maintain the skeleton in the correct position and a change in posture. Muscles are responsible for maintaining the skeleton as a whole and allowing it to move. Don't let them languish!
4.3. Muscle hypertonicity
The opposite of the previous point, and not always related to muscle weakness, is hypertonicity of a muscle or a chain of muscles.
The active muscles begin to shorten, acting even more strongly on the weakened opposite muscles, strongly stretching them and holding them in this position permanently.
This is most common in occupations that require the use of one part of the body most often to lift or push a load such as in the waitressing profession.
To avoid poor posture, it's important to deeply stretch the load-bearing muscles and train the opposing muscles with appropriate balancing weights.
Muscle hypertonicity is another factor that should be kept in mind when wondering how it takes to correct posture.
4.4. Uncomfortable shoes
"Everything starts from the feet!" my grandmother used to say, and how right she was. Although in her time there were no such high heels and mass-produced shoes, some of which were of unknown materials and of questionable quality.
Uncomfortable and low-quality shoes can damage your feet to such an extent that it changes your entire posture and gait. Never skimp on your shoes! Do not buy shoes smaller than your feet!
Do not wear the shoes for more than the time provided by the manufacturer! The latter is known mostly for sports shoes, but you can always ask yourself how exactly this time is for your newly purchased shoes.
4.5. Fatigue
When the body is tired it loses control over its posture, its reactions and very often even its emotions. It is almost impossible to influence the body in a state of fatigue.
It relaxes and switches to its energy-saving mode and begins by limiting the work of the muscles, which in general spend a lot of energy, and they, in turn, fail to hold the heavy human skeleton, and as a result, the body loses its correct posture, and in the most -a bad case can lead to permanent distortion if the fatigue is chronic.
Chronic fatigue can be a serious threat not only to a person's posture, but also to their health and vital functions and should not be underestimated. So, this is one more thing to keep in mind when wondering how long it takes to correct posture.
5. How long does it take to correct posture?
When starting practices for good posture, we have certain expectations for the results and for the time we need to achieve them.
We take into account our posture, our age and the presence of diseases or extra pounds to create a general idea comparing ourselves to other practitioners, and yet we want to know what the approximate time to achieve results would be.
And? There is no specialist who can definitively answer this question. Since the human body is a highly functional, perfect machine that follows its own rhythm, we could not predict what the recovery period would be, but there are some factors that can significantly speed up the process.
A visit to a massage therapist will help restore not only proper posture, but also your musculature, and if combined with assisted alignment and stretching will give even better and faster results.
It is best to take advantage of spa treatments such as a sauna or a steam bath immediately before the massage, which not only affect the recovery of the muscles, but also have a deeply relaxing and detoxifying effect on the body.
Eating healthy, reducing stress and moving more, such as walking, climbing stairs or swimming, will multiply the results of good posture practices and reduce the time it takes to achieve them.
Last but not least, let's not forget that correction on the stand is a process that should continue for the rest of our lives. So, how long it takes to correct posture will depend on multiple factors.
6. Tips and tricks on improving posture
Posture is not something we have to deal with for an hour a day or a peak that we want to conquer in one go. This is our body and its natural position. How we look when we walk, stand, run, swim, sleep or eat is our posture.
Let's not think of it as going to the gym, because it's not. It's our way of life every single second and we don't have a day off.
In addition to performing appropriate exercises, visiting spa centres and regular massages, there are many simple daily practices that if we apply, we will enjoy a more beautiful posture and better self-esteem. Here are some ideas.
Wear heeled or platform shoes with a height of three to five centimetres. This will help you align your body more easily by fixing the weight right in the middle of the body without bringing it forward to the toes or back to the heels.
For ladies, this practice is very beneficial because it enhances feminine energy and the overall feeling of femininity by emphasising a lady's gait and posture without putting undue stress on the delicate joints of the toes.
If you are male and you think that this kind of shoes are not representative of society, you can buy a pair of men's shoes with a higher heel or sole and wear them only at home for one hour a day.
Look at yourself often in the windows of the shops and correct your posture! As strange as it sounds to you, this is one of the most used and working tricks.
Whenever you pass a shop window or a mirror look at your reflection for a second to check if you look good walking or standing.
If you notice that your posture is not as you would like it to be, you can correct it immediately and maintain it for at least the next twenty minutes. And, yes, we all look at ourselves in shop windows, but not all of us admit it.