More than 80% of all Americans will suffer from back problems at some point in their lives. For many, it’s due to the type of work we do, genetics, injuries, and our daily habits. But we can take certain steps to reduce our chances or reduce the impact of back issues. One way to do just that is by having proper posture. I’ve spent a couple of months testing out the most common types of posture correctors that are available to find out the best posture correctors in 2022. For each one, I followed the instructions and recommended use provided with the item. I also spent at least 2 hours a day with my desk elevated to allow me to work while standing upright.
Ace Posture Corrector:
The Ace Posture Corrector was the first of the posture corrector items that I tried out. At around 20 dollars, it seemed to be a no brainer; if it worked. When I put it on, I felt like I was wearing one of my kid’s backpacks. It applied backward pressure on my shoulders to prevent them from slumping forward. I noticed that this inadvertently also cut down on my mobility, slightly. I was not able to move my arms forward as much as without the device which made reaching for anything a bit awkward. It was a slight inconvenience but after wearing it for a short time, I was able to adapt and get along just fine.
The instructions said to wear it for around 15 minutes the first time, and work your way up to wearing it longer. At the end of the 6 weeks, I was able to wear this thing for most of my working day without issues. The instructions also recommend wearing it under your clothing. Yes and No. No, I wouldn’t recommend wearing this on your bare skin. It will end up rubbing and causing skin abrasions or a rash. I would recommend wearing it over a t-shirt but with something else over it such as a dress shirt, a sweater, or even a sports coat. Just make sure you have the ability to take the straps off when you reach your limit. This can’t be done inconspicuously. You will have to remove whatever clothing you have over it to get the straps off.
All in all, after 6 weeks with this, I would say it did a pretty good job of fixing my shoulder posture. However, it did not do anything for my back posture. The slacking posture in my back resulted in my poor posture returning into my shoulders. At this point, I felt like something that also worked for my back posture would be needed.
Selbrite Full Back Brace Posture Corrector:
The next item I tried was the Full Back Brace Posture Corrector by Selbrite. This one had the shoulder support to assist in correcting poor shoulder posture, and it had the back brace to help with my back posture. I was not able to wear this one as long as I wore the Ace Posture Corrector. With this one, you put it around your back and shoulders as shown in the picture to the right. There are velcro straps that you tighten around your stomach to hold the brace in place. And then there is a secondary set of straps that you need to tighten to apply the backwards pressure to your shoulders.
The amount that I needed to tighten this to feel the backwards pressure on my shoulders caused the device to be too tight around my midsection. I felt like Elizabeth Swan in Pirates of the Caribbean where her corset was so tight she couldn’t breath and ultimately passed out into the ocean below. Luckily, I didn’t need Captain Jack Sparrow to save me, I wore this about 3 time and each for no more than 15 minutes before it got too uncomfortable. That is when I moved onto the third option.
Upright GO 2 Posture Trainer and Corrector:
This device is the Upright GO 2 Posture Trainer and Corrector. I also got the GO S Necklace but I realized that I didn’t need it. The GO 2 device has adhesive strips that last a good amount of time before needing to be replaced and it came with about 10 of them.
This device sticks to your lower neck/upper back as shown in the picture above. It syncs with an app (iphone/android). When you first sync the device with your app, it has you calibrate it. Meaning, you stand with good posture, it records where that good posture point is; and when you spend more than the selected amount (5, 15, 30, or 60 seconds) outside of that ‘good posture’ zone, it gives a quick vibrate to remind you to get back to the ‘good posture zone’.
The device takes about 2 hours to fully charge and a full charge will last for about 25-30 hours of use. I started off charging it once a week and eventually was charging it twice a week as my usage of it increased from about 1 hour a day to around 10 hours a day. I kept mine set to 30 seconds so it would vibrate if I stayed out of the ‘good posture’ zone for more than 30 seconds. The adhesive gel pad lasted about a week to a week and a half for me. After 6 weeks, I had only used 5 of them and still have more left over to allow for more use. They sell extra 10-packs on Amazon for when I need more which should be in about a month from the time I am writing this. All in all, I had a pretty good experience with this device.
