Posture Corrector

If I say the words 'Posture Corrector', what's the first thing that comes to mind? A posture brace? A lumbar roll perhaps?

Well I have a different take - I think of an Alexander Technique teacher.

This might seem a bit weird, but hey my dad is an Alexander teacher, so it's not that strange.

As I grew up I was often used as a guinea pig for numerous Alexander Technique teachers and trainee teachers. With all this attention from a posture correction expert, you might expect that I had a perfect posture and be completely free from backache. I wish that were the case but in fact my posture was just as bad as the next kid's.

Why had my posture got so bad despite having lots of Alexander Technique teachers work on me? Does it actually help improve posture at all? The truth is that I only took a slight interest in what was being taught until I had back pain. Then I took more lessons and my pain went away.

A recent medical study was published in the British Medical Journal that backs up my opinion that the Alexander technique is really good at correcting posture.

I have heard Alexander Teachers say that the technique should be taught in schools. I am not certain what effect it might have, but it would make an interesting experiment. It were taught in a fun way that the kids enjoyed, then I think it would have a positive effect on correcting posture.

As a product designer I personally would like to see legislation brought in to make sure products that are bad for posture be properly labeled. The amount of back pain in the UK has reached such high levels that it is estimated it costs the economy £8 billion every year.

I think that a panel of posture experts should identify features of products that can impact a person's posture. For example, backwards-sloping school chairs are attributed to the demise of children's posture by many Alexander Teachers.

All products have to pass safety standards for hazards such as flammability, choking, sharp edges, toxicity, and many more. With 105 million sick days taken every year from back pain, isn't it high time standards for correcting posture be introduced?