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3:30 - Raise your gaze to 15 ft ahead on the floor when walking. 4:23 - Work the muscles between the shoulder blades with a resistance band. 5:55 - Stretch pectorals. Fingers locked behind head. Stretch elbows backward. 7:10 - Use foam roller at shoulder blades on floor. Press lower back against floor. Hands behind head for support. Let upper body sink slowly toward floor while keeping lower back pressed against floor. Don't hold breath, keep breathing. Position the foam roller lower on the back and repeat.
Just to say: my mother nagged me all through my childhood to "stand up straight, shoulders back, head up!" I absolutely _hated_ it at the time, but I'm really grateful for it now, at 73yo, because I have a good upright posture, a proud carriage, and no back problems. Thanks, mum!
had the same nagging but i could never maintain it. been nagging myself still can't maintain it. have had severe nearsight wondering if that was a contributing factor.
My mother had scoliosis that was untreated since she refused to wear a brace as a child. As she grew older she shrank dramatically, by about 5" at the time of her death at the age of 96. My back was always stiff, but over the years I decided that loosening it up would prevent me from ending up with back issues. so I did a lot of yoga type exercises, and actually gained 1/2" in height. I have forward/back/side/twisting motion in my spine. We inherited our spinal system design from animals that used them. Think of how cats can flex. But as bipeds, we never use them, stiffen up, and have various problems that result from lack of use and weakness.
When I was a young teenager my mum said that the neighbours were worried that I was unwell or unhappy. They had noticed I was walking with my head down when I usually walked with my head held high. Mum said to remember that the best way to live is to look at life with a smile and a forward looking face. Good advice which I remember each time I find myself walking with my head down.
I always walked with my head looking down and I had a great rock collection! I was also very depressed, but I’m 75 years old now and I still love picking up rocks, although I do stand up straight now and enjoy clouds and birds and tree!😁😁😁
Can be anything even young ladies there growing up and school desk or there bust growing there shy or even family members being jealous or bullying. I hear see it in families. Or even people around you in some kind of authority could be schools or of such . It's a horrible comment, s .. I have even been there witnessing all this it's shocking. So, thanks. And anyone taking nonsense just ✋️walk out and say to whoever it is you are a big bully! 😊 Great video, and it's for anyone interested. Happy New Year 2024 💥💫💃
Huge thank you for this- both the info and remedy.I am so fed up with patronising doctors who dismiss with “old age” as a reason and none have explained or offered any help. Being hunched over has caused other problems with digestion etc and now there is help. I haven’t started yet and you have given me my life back. Hope for the first time in 3 years. God bless.
Thank you. I just turned 70 and don't particularly feel like an old lady, but recently saw myself on the video cameras that I just installed around my property and discovered that I look like an old hunched-over lady! I walk 5 - 6 miles every day, so I'm not inactive, but clearly something has to change. Some of these exercises may be just the thing.
My daughter pointed it out to me that I was hunching so I just made sure I walked upright and pushed my shoulders back. It wasn’t easy but over time it became habit. Keeping my weight down helped as my boobs felt they were pulling me hunched too. It works.
I am 72 and in a Take Heart exercise programme. I asked one of my instructors about how to prevent a hunched back. I was told that I could not prevent it due to aging process. I am so glad that I found this video which will help me a great deal.
I am 77 and are fortunate to be healthy. I really enjoy your videos and and would love to,see the one again on better walking for older people who don't pick their feet up when they walk. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. Much appreciated . Joy
I noticed bad habits. I'd changed my footwear to safer flats from lockdown and developed a shuffling hunched old lady walk. And realised this year maybe a heel (and 2 stone weightloss) would lift my spirits and my posture, so started wearing them in the house to practise this December. Its worked. Your video is great for making us think about a bad habit and working in different ways to rectify it. Youre very considerate. I like this production a lot. Thank you x I'm 64 x
I'll be 82 next month. I'm quite strong(exercise regularly), but I noticed not long ago that I was beginning to hunch over. I'm a writer, so I spend a lot of time on my laptop, which I see now is what's making me hunch over. I'm so glad to find your helpful exercises to counteract my demoralizing stoop!
In my 20s I was given exercises for these issues. Id been a reader and then desk worker. When laptops came out instead of just hunched shoulders I noticed I started getting an additional curve lower down. No way to ergonomically set up a laptop. Recently read the looking down position we also do on our phones causes face aging too. 😢
Your videos are so good. Plain informative information and proper useful exercises without all of the music and leaping around. My husband is very ill after numerous operations. He got sent home from hospital and was told to get fit, helped by telephone calls from the hospital physio. After several weeks, thank God, I came across your UA-cam channel. Watching your channel made such an amazing improvement in his ability to walk without aids. Thank you.
I’m so thankful this video appeared on my homepage! I LIKED and subscribed! I’ve battled multiple sclerosis for nearly 20 years, fibromyalgia since 2016, and osteoarthritis since, around 2018. In addition, I deal with severe chronic pain, most of it, is in my back, hands and feet. I’m only 61 but I’ve walked like Quasimodo for longer than I can remember; mostly because of the terrific amount of pain I experience when I’m upright. I am incapable of standing more than a minute or two. Falling is a normal and, regrettably, frequent part of life. I’ve torn both rotator cuffs, while falling, because, I, understandably so, reached out to break my fall. I’m learning to fall better, by wrapping my arms around myself, like I’m hugging myself, and allowing my upper arm (NOT my shoulder!) to break my fall. And yet sometimes, when I trip and fall with a great deal of force behind me, it’s a crapshoot as to how I will land! Most of the arthritis is located in the small of my back and my hands. The vertebrae are horribly affected and most of the arthritic areas are void of cartilage and are bone-on-bone. It is SO PAINFUL! I regularly go to physical therapy and do home exercises, but because of my severe hunching, I almost feel as if it is all for not. What would you recommend for a person such as myself?
Very helpful. I am 56 and walking hunched over (and is getting worse). Now I understand why and what I can do to improve my posture. Thank you so much!
Will, thank you for this. As a retired OT, I would often work with PT with our older patients. Now, as a geriatric I am having to "practice what I preached". It really helps to watch the videos while in my exercise room working out at home. I really would love to see you showing a real time full workout.
Thank you for the first positive advice I have ever gotten. With a bad neck & tailbone, I hadn't realized I was walking hunched over til I went to my new chiropractor in the small town in New Mexico I had recently moved to. She said "you are walking bent over". No solution, nor treatment was given & I never went back. As a 75 yo woman, it was a shock. Having been very active before retirement, I am now fairly sedentary & sometimes feel I am settling into a lump in my chair which I define as just an existence if you really don't need to be there. I wrote down all your tips, have begun to watch your other videos, especially about balance which is a real & terrifying fear of mine. I am a new fan, a new subscriber...You are a blessing
Great exercises, thank you! Another tip is to stand with your arms hanging comfortably at your sides. Then, rotate your hands so that your thumbs point outward and forward. Like magic, your shoulders go back and your posture straightens. Check it out in the mirror! Remember, thumbs front and forward as you walk, and keeping your lower arms in a 90-degree pumping position helps to maintain this posture.
One exercise that straightens out my hunch is to stand back against the wall, raise the hands high against the wall, and let them slide slowly down against the wall. By the time that your hands reach your side, your back is straight.
Then you don't have a "hunched back" Doing the angel wings against the wall is a brilliant exercise, but it doesn't straighten your back immediately, That is USA crapola. With respect.
I am 80 and live in South Africa, although I have always been aware of walking 🚶 straight up, but here with so many uneven paths 😮it is impossible, you cannot afford to fall and break a bone, hip etc at this age, impossible to gaze15 ft ahead, paving and most roads got potholes & uneven paving, got to look down to avoid falling 😮
There is uneven ground where I walk as well, but I'm sure he meant to use common sense with this exercise. I'll look out 15 feet when I can, otherwise I have to look down. The other exercises you can do without walking. I'm concentrating on those most. :)
My Dad used to say, chin up, eyes front, shoulders back. An army thing. I have to remind myself to walk like that - the tendency is to slouch... ....good exercises, thank you.
Great video. Thankfully I'm 65 and don't walk with a hunch. Get to a yoga or pilates class too. Gives good balance and posture and also confidence boosting.
Thank you for these tips . I'm 67 and can see my posture bending more everytime I look in the mirror. Prayers this help to correct this problem. Thank you
I'm happy I found your channel. I'll be 70 this fall and I had surgery for a staph infection on my spine 7 years ago. I finding myself walking more and more like an old man and I'm definitely going to be following your instructions so I can look like the I did before my surgery. I definitely don't feel 70 and you have given me inspiration to work at improving my posture. Thank you from your newest fan ✌🏼️
Thanks so much for this video, Will. I am over 50, but it's not aging that's caused my "hunching" problems. I've had this bad posture all my life. These exercises look simple and I think they'll target exactly the areas that I've needed to stretch for years now. This video is clear and well explained for someone like me who isn't used to exercise. Thanks for the video, and I look forward to trying these out (and I'm off to check out your other videos, now).
Hi did you buy the band and foam roller just started to lean over head forward chin on chest my god it’s preasure in end back scalp does make you feel dizzy wi5h this
Stumbling onto your site, Will, nice video, good exercises, such an important issue. I'm 78, fortunate that years of meditation/yoga awareness, and daily attention, are keeping me quite upright, in spite of computer hours. ADDITION: Taught senior exercise pre pandemic: one of the main causes of 'hunch' is SITTING, especially for hours, developing habits that weaken and stiffen us. I purposely sit 'elegantly' and walk that way as well, as a mindful practice, along with exercises like the ones you are presenting herein. --Sta Bene, everyone, thank you
I sat in the doctor's surgery the other day (coincidentally to organise an MRI for my cervical spine) and couldn't believe my eyes when I looked around the waiting area to see the posture of everyone while on their phones - one woman's head was almost on her knees! Tech neck is a real issue, as well as those who do heavy weights at the gym. The bad posture leads to such terrible pain, so I can see those working in the allied health field are going to be always busy.
Great little video. If I might add for people new to the rollers - this move can become enjoyable to do and if you start to hold the stretch longer just remember to come out of the stretch very slowly. If you move quickly to get out of it you could pull or strain something because you are all stretched out and relaxed. Just move slowly into it and especially out of it.
Thank you so much! I have had pain in my thoracic back for years with no relief and now at 65 it's getting worse. After an hour of cooking I have to stop due to the pain in this area of my back. This is the first time I've seen a video showing exercises to help. I'm praying that these exercises will help. Thank you for addressing something different! 💓
Skydiving, marathon, jogger for many many years, then during an auto accident my sternum was fractured. Now I'm working on my posture, including my neck. At 76 it takes constant awareness of the neck, shoulder, and back. Thanks for sharing an exercise for hunching and remembering head position.
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS KIND OF ADVICE FOR A LONG , LONG TIME . I HAVE GAINED THIS BAD HABIT OF WALKING HUNCHED - OVER . AND I KNOW THAT IT HAS BECOME A BAD HABIT MORE THAN AGING . I AM 90 YEARS OLD NOW . THANKS FOR THE TIP .
Dr., you provide more useful advice than all the cumulative chiropractors I’ve seen throughout my life (now 68) and from orthopedic doctors. You are very good at what you do! 👍🏼🙏
I’ve never noticed any ‘zooming’ but I so appreciate all of your practical help! You certainly know your audience! Every video has something that I can identify with! Thanks so much!
Great exercises. This would not be for many people but NUMBER 5 for stooping, is using a walker Incorrectly. I started using a walker after a fall, and had no support during the fear created by CV, Now I am going to a Chiropractor, who is helping the structural damage to spine and hip. And He suggested some exercised, for the stooped back, and I have found this site, and Find that Apart from not being able to stand against a wall as my shoulders do not touch. I am enjoying the exercises and the stopping, seems to be improving. Hopefully I will be able to throw away the walker before long. Funny how we become dependant on something we really dont need all the time. Thanks for you exercises.
Really appreciate your well presented information. I admit that I am 80 but have always been careful about posture. Last few years have lost some of that good posture and am actively working on correcting this. Thanks for adding to my knowledge of the issue and for the help for correcting my habitual “stoop.”
Thank you-I will use these.Just to say,before I go down stairs in the morning.I sit 2 steps down,starting at the bottom of my back,lean back onto the nose of the above step to massage that area.Allowing the cheeks to pass over the seat part,the rest of the back is stretched & massaged I seemed to be walking on air afterwards!! Being 90 and a pianist it is on my daily Liszt.
Great video, thank you! I just turned 60, and, although I do ballet, I still catch myself sometimes hunching when I’m not in dance class. I try to be mindful of it, but I believe these exercises will definitely help me. I’m going to follow your channel now-and I love your accent ☺️!
Thank you. After head and neck cancer and 35 rounds of radiation my neck and shoulders took a beating. My wife is constantly reminding me of my "hunching". I will be trying these exercises and feel very fortunate to and grateful for your contributions. I'm a 76 yo veteran.
I'm so sorry to hear about what you've had to go through that must've been very difficult - I'm pleased I am able to offer some support as you recover! Wishing you all the very best
Many folk of a 'certain age' have spent their working life over a desk or bench leading to this issue. I'm very lucky in that most of my working life; 51 years was actively moving about. Also, even though it was fifty years ago, my drill sergeant during my stint of squarebashing was so inspiring, I've never forgotten the importance of keeping an upright posture. 😊
I'm looking forward to making these a part of my routine because my wife says I'm hunching. Suggestion: when doing an exercise laying on your black colored table, wear a shirt with a mire contrasting color. Your explanations are good throughout, but that last one was a little hard to see because of the similarity of the colors.
Good Morning and happy new year and healthy year. It’s the last day of 2023 and woke up early morning for my daily meditation then your video popped up afterwards. Great video and advice and thanks for sharing. Ad a holistic therapist myself, I have been helping my sister and others with these exercises years ago. I’m glad to have come across your channel accidentally. Cheers and🙏
Very helpful. Thanks. I received your book and I've started reading it. I am 77 and walk 14,000 steps a day. I was clipping my hedges at above my head height and got a lot of pain in my right shoulder. My physio has given me several exercises to do 3 times a day. I no longer clip those hedges but pay a gardener to come and do it. My right shoulder is improving well, but it takes time.
I’m inclined to look downward because I’m not very steady on my feet. But unless I hit a bad patch I walk with my hands behind my back. You know when I’m in trouble when my wings come out as stabilisers. I’m 84 and have RA in feet and neck. Thanks for your series. Take care.
One problem with looking 15 feet ahead -- bifocals or gradient lenses. That point may be blurry, so takes some getting used to, especially going down stairs.
Having scoliosis, and finding this out as a teen, I have always tried to maintain an upright position. It is benefitting me now but your exercises are an added bonus as I'm now 61 and find I'm hunching due to physical tiredness. These exercises I can do without needing to set aside specific times as I can do them throughout the day whenever I can feel the stiffness is making me slump. I was told previously I may need a metal rod in my back as I age but I prefer to do what I can to stay upright and not need artificial additions. Thanks for the assistance to do this 🙂.
I have learnt a lot about walking correctly watching your videos. Thank you. Wishing ourself and family lovely Christmas and Fantastic New Year 2024. Hello from Melbourne Australia ❤
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I find when walking, I stoop and my upper back/shoulders ache a lot, so looking to improve my posture. I'll be incorporating these exercises into my daily routine!
Super information. I’m well over 55, but very conscious of keeping physically fit. I walk a lot, athletically, not just strolling. I do strength exercises as well as ones for balance. I do often catch myself hunching over when I’m walking around my house. When I walk outdoors I maintain good posture. So now I have some new exercises that might help my indoor posture. A big problem for me is as an artist I sit doing drawings and paintings and have problems with my neck. I’ve had trouble for years sometimes neck pain leading to headaches. Simple stretching exercises don’t do much for me and I wish I could get more advice on how to maintain good sitting posture while being absorbed in painting.
Hi there - I have the following video regarding sitting posture which may be of help ua-cam.com/video/9iKwtBvgJZo/v-deo.html - having your painting up in front of you on an easel may help rather than having it down on a table which may force you to hunch over!
I have scoliosis and as I'm getting older my back is worsening and painful so I need to do the correct exercises to keep myself going. I love Wills exercises which have been helpful.
Thanks so much so glad I found you as I do get hunched up and these are already helping me at 76 after 2 strokes 3 years ago and helps boost my confidence too. 😀
I watch a post from Eastern Europe on this subject, it is simple. Turn your thumbs out, in other words rotate your hands out when walking. I have done it and it is amazing how it immediately straightens you up..
After having neuropathy in my feet for two years I was constantly monitoring what I was about to step on because I had such bad issues, but I was left with a hunched over profile and this video is definitely what I needed to correct my posture before it’s too late
wow! you're such a good resource for seniors and you communicate it so well. Thank you! I can watch your videos with confidence as it's based on your profession and current research. So helpful :)
Great excercises to include in the daily PT rotation. One note: the three bad falls I have had were from looking forward and not seeing uneven pavement or objects at my feet. There are many things that cause people to look down when walking, poor vision being one of them. Keeping up with posture exercises are key to safety and balance
Right. Vision problems create a lot of disasters. I hv cataracts & just last week missed the raised edge of a sidewalk slab, for once being not so hunched over & where I was not looking specifically at my foot area. I then stubbed my toe, went flying & straight down on my face, hitting the concrete, then slid a few inches along it on my left forehead & cheekbone. CT scan showed no issues re smacking my forehead & upper cheek hard on the concrete, but both face & forehead areas are very bruised, swollen, cut & scraped. Also hv a humungous black & red eye!! So, no permenant damage, & hopefully no scars left on really cut up forehead. I did raise my hand to my face as I was falling, but only got it up to below my cheekbone before hitting the ground. So, fell hard on my hand too, felt it sort of crumple beneath me, & I actually broke my hand. I don't need a cast on it, it just feels a bit bruised; I can use all my fingers & hand normally, & Dr. said it will heal okay on its own in say 6 weeks or so, "just don't lift anything heavy." So.....would love to start these exercises, but not until eye issues are resolved. I don't think I started walking hunched over, somewhat, until my vision started deteriorating, & my depth perception also went out the window, where when looking down I would not be able to tell the difference in the levels between the sidewalk & the street pavement, a few inches below. Scary. Will hv to wait to do these exercises, or, at least, do them, but will not try to stop walking hunched over when outside. I find I don't walk that way too much at home, unless my back is hurting that day. Will hv to keep hunched over outside, for now; will start exercises re hopefully always walking a lot more straightened up while at home. And I'm sure walking hunched over outside, for quite a while now, has tightened up all the muscle groups mentioned here. I just don't hv the stretch band or the roller thing to do these exercises with, so I guess I will hv to try improvising....
Great advice! Thank you so much…I am 72 and always wanted to know how to keep from looking hunched over as my mom was really bad…this is so helpful! ..loved the turning video too! Hopefully I can adopt that technique to prevent falls….your advice is invaluable!!, thanks so much again!😊
yes the.praying mantis look living with lots of animal around me those excercises are perfect the firm roller and strething band also thank you for your lovely sharing heart❤
This addressed exactly what my issue is. I have fallen twice in the past 6 months. Out of concern, my friend commented that I am walking leaning forward. As soon as I did these exercises, I felt a release of the pain between my shoulder blades especially when I sat up straight and rolled my shoulders back. Thank you for this video!.
Brilliant stuff Will. I'm 76 and fully fit in all respects, do lots of walking and physical activities, but over the past couple of years I've noticed that The Hunch is more and more insistent. I remember from my years in the RN, the drill instructors shouting "Stand up straight lad, stomach in, chest out, head back. These exercises are going to be my drill instructor!
I've been hunched over my whole life, constantly trying to straighten up. It feels strained and unnatural to force myself straight. It is annoying when people just presume this is simply a result of "bad habit". It has for so long been so intractable , I suspect there is more to it, like mild curvature of the spine, like a broken finger that healed crooked, and will not change from any amount of exercise or effort. Sometimes you wish that people would just get off your hunched back with their shallow presumptions.
No doubt you are correct. Not everything can be corrected if it "formed" like that quite early. I think you mean kyphosis. Curvature is is usually used for scoliosis, which is lateral curvature plus rotation. I just think of exercise as holding off further deterioration. Keeps your blood pressure in a healthy range, too.
So glad to see these exercises shown and explained. I had a 6 neck vertebrae fusion 5 months ago and all these exercise are in my routine. They were added gradually, of course. The foam roll is the only one that is drastically revised. I sit in a chair and a rolled towel just below my shoulders blades and try to arch my back a bit. Not drastically though. I found myself hunching over after surgery and with my PT have improved my posture. I must remind myself often to stand straight and pull my shoulders back. I always had a straight back because my father would loudly remind me or put his fist in my back when he walked by if I was hunching. I hated it but appreciated it as an adult. Thanks Dad. I’m 78 and still recall those times to my grandkids just like I did with their dad and uncles. My boys are 6’3”. 6’4 1/2” and 6’5 1/2” all with tall straight backs despite one having been hit with a car while biking. All 4 limbs were fracture with 1 compound tibia and one shattered femur, a humerus fracture at the shoulder and a fractured elbow. # yrs later he was skiing black diamond trails!
Thank you for this helpful video. I’m going on 70 and have been a housecleaner for the last 9 years and have developed bad posture and a sore back. Posture has always been poor, so this really helped! 👍
I'm pleased my video was able to offer some help - cleaning is very challenging as it requires a lot of bending over to reach low surfaces so it's no wonder you've experienced soreness!
Mr. Harow, The “hunched over” feeling. I had back surgery this past June, and as I recovered I had that hunched over feeling because of weakened and cut muscles due to the surgery. I was not used to that feeling, for me Aleve and Cyclobenzaprine (generic of Flexeril) is what really worked for me. I have had 3 left shoulder, 1 right shoulder, 3 back injuries and surgeries, plus 6 stress fractures (legs and feet)--plus a few other orthopedic injuries and surgeries. I have always been very picky about my posture, and I had some great PT people direct me on the posture thing. It just drives me nuts when I see people not sitting with good posture--especially people sitting in wheelchairs. The other thing that just drives me nuts is when I see women (who are the worst offenders) walking around in the grocery store putting most of their upper body weight on the grocery cart and are hunched over! My perception of this is laziness and awareness--they are not aware of what they are doing. Lastly, I have learned of exercises and/or have personal ways of gently stretching my muscles as needed--but that last exercise I don’t know if your average lay person would be able to do that. Arching the back would be too easy to unknowingly do. I was very happy to see this issue, the hunched back, addressed with an aging baby boomer population. “Thank You!”🌲
Another issue that also follows the hunched over thing is--people think it’s a normal part of aging. I’m almost 68 and my Grandma died 2 months shy of 98 and never had a hunched over posture.🌲
Dawnfollett, I am one of those older ladies leaning on the grocery cart. And it's not because I'm lazy, but because I hurt. I can only walk so far, before the pain in my spine and neck start to bother me to the point where I want to vomit. Leaning over that grocery cart keeps me from using a wheelchair, otherwise I'd be housebound all the time. Even with leaning on the cart, I'm only good for an hour or so. Degenerative arthritis from my sacro into the cervical spine. Getting old is not for the weak hearted😄
Will, Thank you. Your demonstrations are easy to follow & to understand. Another exercise I have learned to do to become more sure footed is to balance on one foot at a time for 30 seconds. I now do it first thing every day in my stocking feet before I put on my shoes. Now it is more like a game to see how long I can balance on one foot. Be Well.
Great video BUT please stop the 'zooming camera' - a new feature which really doesn't add anything to the video - it's just irritating and unnecessary - thanks
Thank you for the video and detailed explanation of "how it works". I am aware of all the "tricks" how to stand up straight, the problem is to keep up with the exercises. Your video reminded me of that. Thank you.
Ria Goosen? I'm also 80 and lives in Goodwood, Cape Province, South Africa. Fantastic to meet a fellow South Afrcan on this page. I'm hunching forward and must start with this exercises!! I hate it to look so hunched!!
I happened upon this video. I have a slouching problem. I’m going to try these exercises. I’m going to Therapy because I have pain in my hip. I had X-rays taken and the Dr. said my hips are fine. He said he thinks it’s my back. I do know I have an herniated disc around the middle of my back. I can’t stand to long doing dishes or baking cookies. So I’m doing exercises. I’m going to do your exercises and see if that helps. It is affecting my digestion and bowels.
Exactly what I need right now! My mother would always nage me to hold my shoulders up so I wouldn't be hunched over. Now, at 71, I see myself getting more & more hunched over. Can't wait to try these excercises! Just stumbled across your video. I'm going to subscribe & tell my friends about you, too.
Thanks for watching! To subscribe to 3-Tip Friday, my free once-a-week email where I share my best health tips, new videos and fascinating research, go here: info.ht-physio.co.uk/3tf
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I would l8ke to register please
3:30 - Raise your gaze to 15 ft ahead on the floor when walking.
4:23 - Work the muscles between the shoulder blades with a resistance band.
5:55 - Stretch pectorals. Fingers locked behind head. Stretch elbows backward.
7:10 - Use foam roller at shoulder blades on floor. Press lower back against floor. Hands behind head for support. Let upper body sink slowly toward floor while keeping lower back pressed against floor. Don't hold breath, keep breathing. Position the foam roller lower on the back and repeat.
How about hip stretches? Thigh to hip muscles?
Thank you!
Thank you!!
I find myself tipping my head forward to avoid looking through the higher power part of my progressive lens.
This is exactly what I need. Im 78 and hunched over and hate it. Thank you, so much!!!
You go girl!
😊
Me too! Just found this channel! Love what i'm learning❤
Take care of your spine. Be careful with the foam roller stretch. You don't want to fracture any vertebrae
If you can get physical therapy for a few weeks on Medicare, do it!!!
Your professional and no nonsense advice is appreciated!
Just to say: my mother nagged me all through my childhood to "stand up straight, shoulders back, head up!" I absolutely _hated_ it at the time, but I'm really grateful for it now, at 73yo, because I have a good upright posture, a proud carriage, and no back problems. Thanks, mum!
That's great to hear!
❤❤❤
I wish she would have taken a picture of me so that I could see what others were seeing.
had the same nagging but i could never maintain it. been nagging myself still can't maintain it. have had severe nearsight wondering if that was a contributing factor.
@@maxheadroom1506 Yes, that might well be so.
my mom practiced walking with a book on her head, and she had super posture throughout her life, till she passed away at 99!
That's so cool! Thank you for sharing.
I remember doing that as a young'un after seeing it on TV. My mother NEVER stressed posture.
My mother had scoliosis that was untreated since she refused to wear a brace as a child. As she grew older she shrank dramatically, by about 5" at the time of her death at the age of 96.
My back was always stiff, but over the years I decided that loosening it up would prevent me from ending up with back issues. so I did a lot of yoga type exercises, and actually gained 1/2" in height. I have forward/back/side/twisting motion in my spine. We inherited our spinal system design from animals that used them. Think of how cats can flex. But as bipeds, we never use them, stiffen up, and have various problems that result from lack of use and weakness.
I forgot about that. I'm going to start now.
We were taught that trick from about the age of 8 and all of us have excellent posture.. Works very well
When I was a young teenager my mum said that the neighbours were worried that I was unwell or unhappy. They had noticed I was walking with my head down when I usually walked with my head held high. Mum said to remember that the best way to live is to look at life with a smile and a forward looking face. Good advice which I remember each time I find myself walking with my head down.
I always walked with my head looking down and I had a great rock collection! I was also very depressed, but I’m 75 years old now and I still love picking up rocks, although I do stand up straight now and enjoy clouds and birds and tree!😁😁😁
Great advice!
Can be anything even young ladies there growing up and school desk or there bust growing there shy or even family members being jealous or bullying. I hear see it in families. Or even people around you in some kind of authority could be schools or of such . It's a horrible comment, s .. I have even been there witnessing all this it's shocking. So, thanks. And anyone taking nonsense just ✋️walk out and say to whoever it is you are a big bully! 😊 Great video, and it's for anyone interested. Happy New Year 2024 💥💫💃
I walked hunched over in my late teens. I was told to hold my head high. So I did…literally. And people thought I was arrogant and conceited.
Huge thank you for this- both the info and remedy.I am so fed up with patronising doctors who dismiss with “old age” as a reason and none have explained or offered any help. Being hunched over has caused other problems with digestion etc and now there is help. I haven’t started yet and you have given me my life back. Hope for the first time in 3 years. God bless.
Wishing you all the best!
yep. At 65 the doctors just say "you can't be fixed, so just maintain with a monthly D.C. adjustment."
Thanks for the update
Thank you. I just turned 70 and don't particularly feel like an old lady, but recently saw myself on the video cameras that I just installed around my property and discovered that I look like an old hunched-over lady! I walk 5 - 6 miles every day, so I'm not inactive, but clearly something has to change. Some of these exercises may be just the thing.
Keep up the great work, staying active is very important!
My daughter pointed it out to me that I was hunching so I just made sure I walked upright and pushed my shoulders back. It wasn’t easy but over time it became habit. Keeping my weight down helped as my boobs felt they were pulling me hunched too. It works.
I am 72 and in a Take Heart exercise programme. I asked one of my instructors about how to prevent a hunched back. I was told that I could not prevent it due to aging process. I am so glad that I found this video which will help me a great deal.
I'm sorry they weren't able to offer you any advice - but I'm pleased my video has been able to fill that gap!
Our fitness instructors aren’t necessarily as well educated as physical therapists.
I am 77 and are fortunate to be healthy. I really enjoy your videos and and would love to,see the one again on better walking for older people who don't pick their feet up when they walk.
Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. Much appreciated . Joy
I noticed bad habits. I'd changed my footwear to safer flats from lockdown and developed a shuffling hunched old lady walk. And realised this year maybe a heel (and 2 stone weightloss) would lift my spirits and my posture, so started wearing them in the house to practise this December. Its worked.
Your video is great for making us think about a bad habit and working in different ways to rectify it. Youre very considerate. I like this production a lot. Thank you x I'm 64 x
Wishing you all the best!
I'll be 82 next month. I'm quite strong(exercise regularly), but I noticed not long ago that I was beginning to hunch over. I'm a writer, so I spend a lot of time on my laptop, which I see now is what's making me hunch over. I'm so glad to find your helpful exercises to counteract my demoralizing stoop!
In my 20s I was given exercises for these issues. Id been a reader and then desk worker. When laptops came out instead of just hunched shoulders I noticed I started getting an additional curve lower down. No way to ergonomically set up a laptop. Recently read the looking down position we also do on our phones causes face aging too. 😢
Very useful video. We tend to hunch unknowingly, and then it becomes a habit. Thanks👍
Definitely!
Your videos are so good. Plain informative information and proper useful exercises without all of the music and leaping around. My husband is very ill after numerous operations. He got sent home from hospital and was told to get fit, helped by telephone calls from the hospital physio. After several weeks, thank God, I came across your UA-cam channel. Watching your channel made such an amazing improvement in his ability to walk without aids. Thank you.
Wishing you both all the best and wishing him well in his recovery!
I’m so thankful this video appeared on my homepage! I LIKED and subscribed! I’ve battled multiple sclerosis for nearly 20 years, fibromyalgia since 2016, and osteoarthritis since, around 2018. In addition, I deal with severe chronic pain, most of it, is in my back, hands and feet. I’m only 61 but I’ve walked like Quasimodo for longer than I can remember; mostly because of the terrific amount of pain I experience when I’m upright. I am incapable of standing more than a minute or two. Falling is a normal and, regrettably, frequent part of life. I’ve torn both rotator cuffs, while falling, because, I, understandably so, reached out to break my fall. I’m learning to fall better, by wrapping my arms around myself, like I’m hugging myself, and allowing my upper arm (NOT my shoulder!) to break my fall. And yet sometimes, when I trip and fall with a great deal of force behind me, it’s a crapshoot as to how I will land! Most of the arthritis is located in the small of my back and my hands. The vertebrae are horribly affected and most of the arthritic areas are void of cartilage and are bone-on-bone. It is SO PAINFUL! I regularly go to physical therapy and do home exercises, but because of my severe hunching, I almost feel as if it is all for not. What would you recommend for a person such as myself?
Very helpful. I am 56 and walking hunched over (and is getting worse). Now I understand why and what I can do to improve my posture. Thank you so much!
You're very welcome
Will, thank you for this.
As a retired OT, I would often work with PT with our older patients. Now, as a geriatric I am having to "practice what I preached". It really helps to watch the videos while in my exercise room working out at home. I really would love to see you showing a real time full workout.
OT PT not everyone knows what they mean!
Thank you for the first positive advice I have ever gotten. With a bad neck & tailbone, I hadn't realized I was walking hunched over til I went to my new chiropractor in the small town in New Mexico I had recently moved to. She said "you are walking bent over". No solution, nor treatment was given & I never went back. As a 75 yo woman, it was a shock. Having been very active before retirement, I am now fairly sedentary & sometimes feel I am settling into a lump in my chair which I define as just an existence if you really don't need to be there. I wrote down all your tips, have begun to watch your other videos, especially about balance which is a real & terrifying fear of mine. I am a new fan, a new subscriber...You are a blessing
Need easier exercise. I can't get my fingers up behind my neck or my elbows up by my shoulders .
L
Great exercises, thank you! Another tip is to stand with your arms hanging comfortably at your sides. Then, rotate your hands so that your thumbs point outward and forward. Like magic, your shoulders go back and your posture straightens. Check it out in the mirror! Remember, thumbs front and forward as you walk, and keeping your lower arms in a 90-degree pumping position helps to maintain this posture.
One exercise that straightens out my hunch is to stand back against the wall, raise the hands high against the wall, and let them slide slowly down against the wall. By the time that your hands reach your side, your back is straight.
Then you don't have a "hunched back" Doing the angel wings against the wall is a brilliant exercise, but it doesn't straighten your back immediately, That is USA crapola. With respect.
@@janinasimons8533 Why USA?
I am 80 and live in South Africa, although I have always been aware of walking 🚶 straight up, but here with so many uneven paths 😮it is impossible, you cannot afford to fall and break a bone, hip etc at this age, impossible to gaze15 ft ahead, paving and most roads got potholes & uneven paving, got to look down to avoid falling 😮
You go girl!
Yes, wher I live the ground is uneven and so I DO look down so I do not fall.
There is uneven ground where I walk as well, but I'm sure he meant to use common sense with this exercise. I'll look out 15 feet when I can, otherwise I have to look down. The other exercises you can do without walking. I'm concentrating on those most. :)
I am sorry😟☹😮🥺
riagoosen4489 _"paving and most roads got potholes & uneven paving"_ - sounds just like the U.K!
Wow, what a fantastic video. So simple and direct. No wasted time. all value, no filler.
My Dad used to say, chin up, eyes front, shoulders back. An army thing. I have to remind myself to walk like that - the tendency is to slouch... ....good exercises, thank you.
Great advice!
@@amanitamuscaria7500 Thank you. I remember this. It's just too bad that I just started to do this.🫠
Great video. Thankfully I'm 65 and don't walk with a hunch.
Get to a yoga or pilates class too. Gives good balance and posture and also confidence boosting.
Thank you for these tips . I'm 67 and can see my posture bending more everytime I look in the mirror. Prayers this help to correct this problem. Thank you
Do chest, shoulder, and upper back exercises
I'm happy I found your channel. I'll be 70 this fall and I had surgery for a staph infection on my spine 7 years ago. I finding myself walking more and more like an old man and I'm definitely going to be following your instructions so I can look like the I did before my surgery. I definitely don't feel 70 and you have given me inspiration to work at improving my posture. Thank you from your newest fan ✌🏼️
Keep up the great work, wishing you all the best!
Thanks so much for this video, Will. I am over 50, but it's not aging that's caused my "hunching" problems. I've had this bad posture all my life. These exercises look simple and I think they'll target exactly the areas that I've needed to stretch for years now. This video is clear and well explained for someone like me who isn't used to exercise. Thanks for the video, and I look forward to trying these out (and I'm off to check out your other videos, now).
Wishing you all the best!
@@HT-Physio Thanks Will. Wishing you a great New Year. 💫🙌
@@HT-Physio Thanks mate. I ordered your book and it arrived today. Looking forward to diving into it this weekend!
Enjoyed video. 92 now but have exercised all my life. Cant do some movements I used to be able to, but enjoy trying!
Hi did you buy the band and foam roller just started to lean over head forward chin on chest my god it’s preasure in end back scalp does make you feel dizzy wi5h this
Stumbling onto your site, Will, nice video, good exercises, such an important issue. I'm 78, fortunate that years of meditation/yoga awareness, and daily attention, are keeping me quite upright, in spite of computer hours. ADDITION: Taught senior exercise pre pandemic: one of the main causes of 'hunch' is SITTING, especially for hours, developing habits that weaken and stiffen us. I purposely sit 'elegantly' and walk that way as well, as a mindful practice, along with exercises like the ones you are presenting herein. --Sta Bene, everyone, thank you
I sat in the doctor's surgery the other day (coincidentally to organise an MRI for my cervical spine) and couldn't believe my eyes when I looked around the waiting area to see the posture of everyone while on their phones - one woman's head was almost on her knees! Tech neck is a real issue, as well as those who do heavy weights at the gym. The bad posture leads to such terrible pain, so I can see those working in the allied health field are going to be always busy.
Great little video. If I might add for people new to the rollers - this move can become enjoyable to do and if you start to hold the stretch longer just remember to come out of the stretch very slowly. If you move quickly to get out of it you could pull or strain something because you are all stretched out and relaxed. Just move slowly into it and especially out of it.
Thank you so much! I have had pain in my thoracic back for years with no relief and now at 65 it's getting worse. After an hour of cooking I have to stop due to the pain in this area of my back. This is the first time I've seen a video showing exercises to help. I'm praying that these exercises will help. Thank you for addressing something different! 💓
Skydiving, marathon, jogger for many many years, then during an auto accident my sternum was fractured. Now I'm working on my posture, including my neck. At 76 it takes constant awareness of the neck, shoulder, and back. Thanks for sharing an exercise for hunching and remembering head position.
Thank you Will.Yout videos has have helped me a lot.Today I went to the mall without a walking stick,thanks to you.🙏
That's great to hear!
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS KIND OF ADVICE FOR A LONG , LONG TIME . I HAVE GAINED THIS BAD HABIT OF WALKING HUNCHED - OVER . AND I KNOW THAT IT HAS BECOME A BAD HABIT MORE THAN AGING . I AM 90 YEARS OLD NOW . THANKS FOR THE TIP .
Always happy to help!
Dr., you provide more useful advice than all the cumulative chiropractors I’ve seen throughout my life (now 68) and from orthopedic doctors. You are very good at what you do! 👍🏼🙏
Thank you so much - I'm so pleased you've found my work helpful!
This is excellent. I'm 66 y/o and I wish I would have seen and learned something like this 40 years ago. Thank you!!
I hope it can still offer some benefit now!
This is an excellent video it will definitely be helpful for me to prevent a hunch back posture!
Happy to help!
I’ve never noticed any ‘zooming’ but I so appreciate all of your practical help! You certainly know your audience! Every video has something that I can identify with! Thanks so much!
That's great to hear - always happy to help!
Great exercises. This would not be for many people but NUMBER 5 for stooping, is using a walker Incorrectly. I started using a walker after a fall, and had no support during the fear created by CV, Now I am going to a Chiropractor, who is helping the structural damage to spine and hip. And He suggested some exercised, for the stooped back, and I have found this site, and Find that Apart from not being able to stand against a wall as my shoulders do not touch. I am enjoying the exercises and the stopping, seems to be improving. Hopefully I will be able to throw away the walker before long. Funny how we become dependant on something we really dont need all the time. Thanks for you exercises.
I am so glad this video just popped up. I am 67 and have the hunch-over. Thank you so much. I have subscribed. 😊
Thank you for your support!
Really appreciate your well presented information. I admit that I am 80 but have always been careful about posture. Last few years have lost some of that good posture and am actively working on correcting this. Thanks for adding to my knowledge of the issue and for the help for correcting my habitual “stoop.”
Always happy to help!
Thank you-I will use these.Just to say,before I go down stairs in the morning.I sit 2 steps down,starting at the bottom of my back,lean back onto the nose of the above step to massage that area.Allowing the cheeks to pass over the seat part,the rest of the back is stretched & massaged I seemed to be walking on air afterwards!! Being 90 and a pianist it is on my daily Liszt.
Great video, thank you! I just turned 60, and, although I do ballet, I still catch myself sometimes hunching when I’m not in dance class. I try to be mindful of it, but I believe these exercises will definitely help me. I’m going to follow your channel now-and I love your accent ☺️!
Thank you. After head and neck cancer and 35 rounds of radiation my neck and shoulders took a beating. My wife is constantly reminding me of my "hunching". I will be trying these exercises and feel very fortunate to and grateful for your contributions. I'm a 76 yo veteran.
I'm so sorry to hear about what you've had to go through that must've been very difficult - I'm pleased I am able to offer some support as you recover! Wishing you all the very best
Many folk of a 'certain age' have spent their working life over a desk or bench leading to this issue. I'm very lucky in that most of my working life; 51 years was actively moving about. Also, even though it was fifty years ago, my drill sergeant during my stint of squarebashing was so inspiring, I've never forgotten the importance of keeping an upright posture. 😊
That's great to hear!
My back is a little hunched over, I’ll certainly give it a try. Awesome video. Thank you.
I hope my video can offer some beneficial advice!
😅thank you. That was very clear, concise and helpful. I am 85 but still fit and active. See you next time.
Keep up the great work!
I'm looking forward to making these a part of my routine because my wife says I'm hunching. Suggestion: when doing an exercise laying on your black colored table, wear a shirt with a mire contrasting color. Your explanations are good throughout, but that last one was a little hard to see because of the similarity of the colors.
Good Morning and happy new year and healthy year. It’s the last day of 2023 and woke up early morning for my daily meditation then your video popped up afterwards. Great video and advice and thanks for sharing. Ad a holistic therapist myself, I have been helping my sister and others with these exercises years ago. I’m glad to have come across your channel accidentally. Cheers and🙏
Happy to have you here at my channel!
Very helpful. Thanks. I received your book and I've started reading it. I am 77 and walk 14,000 steps a day. I was clipping my hedges at above my head height and got a lot of pain in my right shoulder. My physio has given me several exercises to do 3 times a day. I no longer clip those hedges but pay a gardener to come and do it. My right shoulder is improving well, but it takes time.
My son offered me your book. “ Thriving beyond 50 “. Just on time for New Year’s resolutions. I already like the vocabulary section.❤
That's great to hear - thank you for reading!
I’m inclined to look downward because I’m not very steady on my feet. But unless I hit a bad patch I walk with my hands behind my back. You know when I’m in trouble when my wings come out as stabilisers. I’m 84 and have RA in feet and neck. Thanks for your series. Take care.
Wishing you all the best!
One problem with looking 15 feet ahead -- bifocals or gradient lenses. That point may be blurry, so takes some getting used to, especially going down stairs.
Thank you so mich for your video…I am only 63 but have significant kyphosis….no one ever showed me these exercises before! Thank you again
Having scoliosis, and finding this out as a teen, I have always tried to maintain an upright position. It is benefitting me now but your exercises are an added bonus as I'm now 61 and find I'm hunching due to physical tiredness. These exercises I can do without needing to set aside specific times as I can do them throughout the day whenever I can feel the stiffness is making me slump. I was told previously I may need a metal rod in my back as I age but I prefer to do what I can to stay upright and not need artificial additions. Thanks for the assistance to do this 🙂.
I have learnt a lot about walking correctly watching your videos. Thank you. Wishing ourself and family lovely Christmas and Fantastic New Year 2024. Hello from Melbourne Australia ❤
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I find when walking, I stoop and my upper back/shoulders ache a lot, so looking to improve my posture. I'll be incorporating these exercises into my daily routine!
Always happy to help!
Thank you for these great videos. I am over 60 and this is what I need. Please keep doing those useful videos for people who need it.
It's my pleasure to share! I'm so pleased to hear my video was able to offer some useful information for you :)
Thank you so much for making this very useful video Will. It is very helpful and informative! I very much appreciate it!❤👍
Always happy to help!
I didn't find anything irritating about the video. It was very helpful, and I will be glad to add in these movements!
Super information. I’m well over 55, but very conscious of keeping physically fit. I walk a lot, athletically, not just strolling. I do strength exercises as well as ones for balance. I do often catch myself hunching over when I’m walking around my house. When I walk outdoors I maintain good posture. So now I have some new exercises that might help my indoor posture. A big problem for me is as an artist I sit doing drawings and paintings and have problems with my neck. I’ve had trouble for years sometimes neck pain leading to headaches. Simple stretching exercises don’t do much for me and I wish I could get more advice on how to maintain good sitting posture while being absorbed in painting.
Use a low and deep chair and pull your easel and drawing closer
😢
Hi there - I have the following video regarding sitting posture which may be of help ua-cam.com/video/9iKwtBvgJZo/v-deo.html - having your painting up in front of you on an easel may help rather than having it down on a table which may force you to hunch over!
Thank you! I'm 82 and appreciate your demos so that I have someone to follow as I do your suggested exercises.
I'm pleased you're able to work along with me!
As to me, your video has been like a Christmas gift .😊
That's great to hear!
I have scoliosis and as I'm getting older my back is worsening and painful so I need to do the correct exercises to keep myself going. I love Wills exercises which have been helpful.
You are so easy to follow and careful to be safe. Love the accent.
Thanks so much so glad I found you as I do get hunched up and these are already helping me at 76 after 2 strokes 3 years ago and helps boost my confidence too. 😀
Great to hear they're already helping - I'm so pleased to hear it's boosted your confidence!
Happy Christmas Will.... 🎄 Thank you, you have been so helpful and the best in your field on UA-cam
Happy Christmas to you also!
I watch a post from Eastern Europe on this subject, it is simple.
Turn your thumbs out, in other words rotate your hands out when walking.
I have done it and it is amazing how it immediately straightens you up..
I’d be interested in safe exercises and stretching for people with osteoporosis. I know some are prohibited people with this condition.
I am 81 nad enjoy your classes a lot. Thnka very much.
Thank you so much! What a relief! Feels so good! Always helpful!😁❤
Happy to help!
After having neuropathy in my feet for two years I was constantly monitoring what I was about to step on because I had such bad issues, but I was left with a hunched over profile and this video is definitely what I needed to correct my posture before it’s too late
wow! you're such a good resource for seniors and you communicate it so well. Thank you! I can watch your videos with confidence as it's based on your profession and current research. So helpful :)
Thank you for your kind comment!
Caught this video...just what I'm looking for. I get hunched over and hate it. I'll be adding this to my daily routines. I'll look for your book.
Great excercises to include in the daily PT rotation.
One note: the three bad falls I have had were from looking forward and not seeing uneven pavement or objects at my feet. There are many things that cause people to look down when walking, poor vision being one of them.
Keeping up with posture exercises are key to safety and balance
I was going to say the same thing. When one wears bifocals, the lower part of the glasses are not strong enough to see what is at one's feet.
And bigocals!
I'm a 72 yo runner and falling often happens when we don't see the "cat's eyes" in the road.
Right. Vision problems create a lot of disasters. I hv cataracts & just last week missed the raised edge of a sidewalk slab, for once being not so hunched over & where I was not looking specifically at my foot area. I then stubbed my toe, went flying & straight down on my face, hitting the concrete, then slid a few inches along it on my left forehead & cheekbone. CT scan showed no issues re smacking my forehead & upper cheek hard on the concrete, but both face & forehead areas are very bruised, swollen, cut & scraped. Also hv a humungous black & red eye!! So, no permenant damage, & hopefully no scars left on really cut up forehead. I did raise my hand to my face as I was falling, but only got it up to below my cheekbone before hitting the ground. So, fell hard on my hand too, felt it sort of crumple beneath me, & I actually broke my hand. I don't need a cast on it, it just feels a bit bruised; I can use all my fingers & hand normally, & Dr. said it will heal okay on its own in say 6 weeks or so, "just don't lift anything heavy." So.....would love to start these exercises, but not until eye issues are resolved. I don't think I started walking hunched over, somewhat, until my vision started deteriorating, & my depth perception also went out the window, where when looking down I would not be able to tell the difference in the levels between the sidewalk & the street pavement, a few inches below. Scary. Will hv to wait to do these exercises, or, at least, do them, but will not try to stop walking hunched over when outside. I find I don't walk that way too much at home, unless my back is hurting that day. Will hv to keep hunched over outside, for now; will start exercises re hopefully always walking a lot more straightened up while at home. And I'm sure walking hunched over outside, for quite a while now, has tightened up all the muscle groups mentioned here. I just don't hv the stretch band or the roller thing to do these exercises with, so I guess I will hv to try improvising....
@@susandevoe6002 the feeling of helplessness when you r face slams into the pavement is a trauma i still have nightmares about 5 years later
Great advice! Thank you so much…I am 72 and always wanted to know how to keep from looking hunched over as my mom was really bad…this is so helpful! ..loved the turning video too! Hopefully I can adopt that technique to prevent falls….your advice is invaluable!!, thanks so much again!😊
yes the.praying mantis look
living with lots of animal around me
those excercises are perfect
the firm roller and strething band also
thank you for your lovely sharing heart❤
So sorry! I got carried! Away. I think this is is SPECTACULAR!
This addressed exactly what my issue is. I have fallen twice in the past 6 months. Out of concern, my friend commented that I am walking leaning forward. As soon as I did these exercises, I felt a release of the pain between my shoulder blades especially when I sat up straight and rolled my shoulders back. Thank you for this video!.
That is fantastic to hear I'm so pleased my advice was able to offer such drastic benefit!
Thank you this is just what I needed❤
Happy to help!
Brilliant stuff Will. I'm 76 and fully fit in all respects, do lots of walking and physical activities, but over the past couple of years I've noticed that The Hunch is more and more insistent. I remember from my years in the RN, the drill instructors shouting "Stand up straight lad, stomach in, chest out, head back. These exercises are going to be my drill instructor!
Expected a few more exercises.
Excellent, straight-forward instructions, easy to add to my daily stretches. Thank you!
Great to hear you'll be putting them to good use!
I've been hunched over my whole life, constantly trying to straighten up. It feels strained and unnatural to force myself straight. It is annoying when people just presume this is simply a result of "bad habit". It has for so long been so intractable , I suspect there is more to it, like mild curvature of the spine, like a broken finger that healed crooked, and will not change from any amount of exercise or effort. Sometimes you wish that people would just get off your hunched back with their shallow presumptions.
No doubt you are correct. Not everything can be corrected if it "formed" like that quite early. I think you mean kyphosis. Curvature is is usually used for scoliosis, which is lateral curvature plus rotation. I just think of exercise as holding off further deterioration. Keeps your blood pressure in a healthy range, too.
Thank you for writing this! I'm in the same situation.
Thanks Will my daughter bought your book. My daughter says my posture is much better. I've been doing "fix your posture" - only for a couple of weeks
The last exercise is way too complicated, can you suggest something else that doesn't require a roller or other expensive equipment? Thank you
So glad to see these exercises shown and explained. I had a 6 neck vertebrae fusion 5 months ago and all these exercise are in my routine. They were added gradually, of course. The foam roll is the only one that is drastically revised. I sit in a chair and a rolled towel just below my shoulders blades and try to arch my back a bit. Not drastically though. I found myself hunching over after surgery and with my PT have improved my posture. I must remind myself often to stand straight and pull my shoulders back. I always had a straight back because my father would loudly remind me or put his fist in my back when he walked by if I was hunching. I hated it but appreciated it as an adult. Thanks Dad. I’m 78 and still recall those times to my grandkids just like I did with their dad and uncles. My boys are 6’3”. 6’4 1/2” and 6’5 1/2” all with tall straight backs despite one having been hit with a car while biking. All 4 limbs were fracture with 1 compound tibia and one shattered femur, a humerus fracture at the shoulder and a fractured elbow. # yrs later he was skiing black diamond trails!
A Very Merry Christmas to you Lad, and a Most Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
I look forward to your videos each week (and yes, I'm subscribed)! 🙂
Thank you so much for your support! A happy new year to you too!
Thank you for this helpful video. I’m going on 70 and have been a housecleaner for the last 9 years and have developed bad posture and a sore back. Posture has always been poor, so this really helped! 👍
I'm pleased my video was able to offer some help - cleaning is very challenging as it requires a lot of bending over to reach low surfaces so it's no wonder you've experienced soreness!
Mr. Harow,
The “hunched over” feeling. I had back surgery this past June, and as I recovered I had that hunched over feeling because of weakened and cut muscles due to the surgery. I was not used to that feeling, for me Aleve and Cyclobenzaprine (generic of Flexeril) is what really worked for me. I have had 3 left shoulder, 1 right shoulder, 3 back injuries and surgeries, plus 6 stress fractures (legs and feet)--plus a few other orthopedic injuries and surgeries. I have always been very picky about my posture, and I had some great PT people direct me on the posture thing. It just drives me nuts when I see people not sitting with good posture--especially people sitting in wheelchairs. The other thing that just drives me nuts is when I see women (who are the worst offenders) walking around in the grocery store putting most of their upper body weight on the grocery cart and are hunched over! My perception of this is laziness and awareness--they are not aware of what they are doing. Lastly, I have learned of exercises and/or have personal ways of gently stretching my muscles as needed--but that last exercise I don’t know if your average lay person would be able to do that. Arching the back would be too easy to unknowingly do. I was very happy to see this issue, the hunched back, addressed with an aging baby boomer population. “Thank You!”🌲
Another issue that also follows the hunched over thing is--people think it’s a normal part of aging. I’m almost 68 and my Grandma died 2 months shy of 98 and never had a hunched over posture.🌲
Dawnfollett, I am one of those older ladies leaning on the grocery cart. And it's not because I'm lazy, but because I hurt. I can only walk so far, before the pain in my spine and neck start to bother me to the point where I want to vomit. Leaning over that grocery cart keeps me from using a wheelchair, otherwise I'd be housebound all the time. Even with leaning on the cart, I'm only good for an hour or so. Degenerative arthritis from my sacro into the cervical spine. Getting old is not for the weak hearted😄
9@@dawnfollett9215
Will, Thank you. Your demonstrations are easy to follow & to understand. Another exercise I have learned to do to become more sure footed is to balance on one foot at a time for 30 seconds. I now do it first thing every day in my stocking feet before I put on my shoes. Now it is more like a game to see how long I can balance on one foot.
Be Well.
Great video BUT please stop the 'zooming camera' - a new feature which really doesn't add anything to the video - it's just irritating and unnecessary - thanks
What a silly comment
Not Silly!!! Great constructive critique for them!
Seasick camera trick
....said the guy over 60 😅😅😅😅
Makes me sea sick lol.
Thank you for the video and detailed explanation of "how it works". I am aware of all the "tricks" how to stand up straight, the problem is to keep up with the exercises. Your video reminded me of that. Thank you.
Always happy to help!
Scoliosis is a big problem😢
Ria Goosen? I'm also 80 and lives in Goodwood, Cape Province, South Africa. Fantastic to meet a fellow South Afrcan on this page. I'm hunching forward and must start with this exercises!! I hate it to look so hunched!!
I happened upon this video. I have a slouching problem. I’m going to try these exercises. I’m going to Therapy because I have pain in my hip. I had X-rays taken and the Dr. said my hips are fine. He said he thinks it’s my back. I do know I have an herniated disc around the middle of my back. I can’t stand to long doing dishes or baking cookies. So I’m doing exercises. I’m going to do your exercises and see if that helps. It is affecting my digestion and bowels.
Exactly what I need right now! My mother would always nage me to hold my shoulders up so I wouldn't be hunched over. Now, at 71, I see myself getting more & more hunched over. Can't wait to try these excercises! Just stumbled across your video. I'm going to subscribe & tell my friends about you, too.
Thanks Will. I’m busy recommending your videos to my pals. Keep up the good work.
Thanks. Good presentation. I am 69 and my wife has started going on at me and my granddaughter says her mum has said I have a hunchback!
Oh no! Let's hope my video can offer some help!