Getting rid of your hunchback
If you treat your body as a tube, you can not only flatten your sway back and get rid of your paunch, as I mentioned in my last post, you can also get rid your hunchback.
A hunchback is a forward bend in the top of your back and a caved-in chest. The hunched back is narrowed and the caved-in front of your chest is splayed out sideways. How do you correct problem? Before you can correct the problem, you need to know what to allow to change.
Here’s what you allow. (Remember the word ‘allow’: if you ‘do’ it you will do it wrong. If you allow, you’re allowing your body to do what it always wanted to do. You’re allowing your body to ignore the insistence of your habit. You’re allowing your body to stop splaying out your chest and hunching your back.)
Allow your hunched back to widen and open out so that the sides of your chest ease forwards and the front of your chest narrows. As you do, you’ll gradually realise that your hunchback is beginning to straighten and your neck is no longer poking forwards so much.
But habits don’t give up easily.
Your habit will always fight a rear-guard action.
Once your habit’s insistence that what you are doing is wrong gets over-ruled, it will fall back to a different way to try and persuade you. Your habit will tell you that what you’re allowing is not what you think it is, that you’re confused and headed off in the wrong direction. Don’t believe those thoughts and feelings that your habit brings up, just carry on allowing your body-tube to un-bend.
Don’t believe me? Then try the opposite
If you don’t believe that allowing the front of your chest to narrow will straighten you out, then try the opposite. Deliberately splay your chest out sidewise some more and watch your head drop and your neck poke forwards.
See what I mean?
Your next step
Actually the above is advanced fine tuning. Starting to get rid of your hunch-back is actually simpler than that. What you need to do to is:-
- Start by reading this article about stooping.
- Then follow the steps I give you at the bottom of that article.
Next: Sit tall: stop distorting your hips
Further Resources
Here are some ways I can help you further.
Wherever you live
- If you’re not already getting my free weekly article delivered to your inbox, then
go here to get it.
(It’s free)
When you subscribe you also get to download “The Hows & Whys of Semi-Supine”. This free e-booklet is indispensable to anyone serious about strengthening their bad back (or further strengthening an already-strong back). - Repoise is our membership site for people who are serious about improving themselves (and getting out of pain as they do that).
When you join, you will:–
- Have daily access to me. Together we will work out what’s going wrong for you and how to fix it
- Learn from reading other Repoise members’ questions and following their progress as they work with me
- I’m writing a book about my work. It will come out on the 1st December 2010. If you're getting the free weekly articles, I'll send out more details about the up-coming book as soon as the information is available.
If you’re in Liverpool (or can get to Liverpool)
- I’m also running Friday lunchtime group lessons. Go here for details.
- There’s nothing better than individual lessons. Ring me on 0151 708 6172 to talk to me about booking individual lessons. (Leave your number so I can get back to you).
If you’re further away and can’t get to Liverpool
- There’s still nothing better than individual lessons. Here’s where you can find a teacher near you in the UK or elsewhere
- I suggest you also do the things I listed above for everyone:–
- Read my weekly articles
- Get direct day-to-day guidance from me by joining Repoise.
Next: Sit tall: stop distorting your hips
i have a hunchback people make fun of me helpppppp
Jasmine,
Of course what I suggested here is only a start to getting rid of your hunch-back. It is a good start, though. What happened when you did what I asked you to do in this post? Once I know that, I’ll help you take the next step.
One thing, though, I’m assuming the bones in your spine are the right shape. Have you had a scan to check that out?
hey man.
this thing about ‘widening the back, narrowing the chest’ seems to be an eyeopener.
i have a slight hunch in my back, and have tried to get rid of it by sleeping on a the floor; as someone once told me “it really helps!”; well, sadly not so.
can you pls provide some more info on the technique u’ve mentioned here; i.e. how frequently to widen the back etc.: every hour or so? or whenever i recall fo doing so?
thanks for the help. and continue the great work.
cheers.
Bill,
As I also replied to Jasmine, what I suggested here is only a start to getting rid of your hunch-back. It is a good start, but if you only do this, you won’t be changing the other important parts of your movement habits. Those would hold you back.
I don’t know whether you have any experience of the Alexander Technique so I’m going to assume you haven’t. The next step for you is to learn how to move your head correctly. This is important because the habit of moving your head by bending your neck is where the problem usually starts. So read this now: To unstiffen your neck, first learn what a neck is.
the neck joint thing was interesting;
but still.…how often or at what frequency (hourly, every half hour etc) should i do the back widening thing?
Each time you think allow the back widening thing, start by finding the centre of your head’s rotation with your fingers (as I suggested in the article I gave you the link to). Only then proceed to to pay attention to your back and chest.
There’s no ideal frequency. Just take advantage of every time it you remember. With practice, you should be able to think first head then chest/back almost instantaneously. With practice, you won’t need to stop what you’re doing for more than a couple of seconds.
i am 13 yaers old and i have a graduation were i have to wesr a dress.……i only were hodies to cover it up.…. i do not belive i have a hunckback i think it is just fat,cause i can sit up straight, and i only feel fat when i touch it .….i am very self concsience about everything i do.thi does run i my family and i get made fun of because at school.i need to do something fast about this.can you PLEASE help me????????????
As you are only 13, I will need your parent’s official approval before I can reply to your question. Please ask your mum or dad to ask the question for you.
hey man.
could u pls suggest a sleeping position (without a pillow, or on the floor, upside down on my tummy etc) which would best counter a slight hunch?
since we sleep for several hours, i’m guessing a suitable position in which we’re unmoving would help to counter a hunchback.
thanks.
hello?
Sorry Bill, I missed the notification of your post.
Sleeping position is not a very important factor in helping straighten out a hunch back. In fact, if you think of the position you sleep in as a way to straighten yourself out, your efforts will probably make the hunchback worse. I would encourage you to let yourself sleep in any position your body wants to, without bothering about whether it’s good or not. Like a baby in fact.
Did you read the article I suggested to you about your head and neck? What happened when you tried doing what it said?
Philip
hea..need some quick help i have a bad hunchback, i tried so many times to sit straight and widen my back but, aftrer a few minutes i goes back to its original position what should i do?
i really need to get rid of it. PLEASE HELP!!
Aditi, I’m sorry but there is no such thing as a quick fix for a hunchback. It can be helped but not quickly and you need to go about it in the right way.
My reply to Bill in comment nr 2 applies to anyone who is willing to put in the work to correct a hunchback:
“I don’t know whether you have any experience of the Alexander Technique so I’m going to assume you haven’t. The next step for you is to learn how to move your head correctly. This is important because the habit of moving your head by bending your neck is where the problem usually starts. So read this now: To unstiffen your neck, first learn what a neck is.”
Would it be possible to provide sketches to clarify? IMO crude line drawings are charming because they express each persons individuality.
It’s a good idea, Cayte. You haven’t seen my attempts at line drawings, though.
If you know of anyone who might be willing and able to help out, please ask them to contact me.
It happened that I had a tubular pillow so I bent it to see what would happen. I saw the narrowing on the top because the axis of the turn stays still and everything else bends away from it. But the inside of the curve seemed to buckle the way it did in the 2d sketch I sent. I’ve seen something similar when a soda can is crushed on one side.
Yes, we’re talking about elastic material here so it behaves differently. It doesn’t buckle. There’s a more complete description here.
I was finally able to visualize it by bending a plastic straw. It clearly showed the sideways spread on the inside and the narrowing on the outside.
That’s good to know. Thanks, Cayte.
What’s the best sleeping position to remedy this hunch back problem & its re-occurance.
Tina,
It really hasn’t got much to do with sleeping positions. Sleep in a comfortable position. Don’t try to use your sleeping position to straighten you out. It won’t work.
Hello, I have quite a prominent hunchback and whenever i try some of these things you have suggested, including the link to the problem of neck movements after a while i begin to feel a pain on the top part of my spine, from the bit that goes like an overhang when i stand straight all the way to the top.
I’m just wondering how important the shapes of your spinal bones are to do with a hunch back. And if they are a problem, which i think they may be, can they be fixed on the NHS. Thanks
The shapes of the bones could be a problem. The NHS could do the necessary tests to find out whether that was the case for you.