No, I do not yet have a dowager’s hump but I think I am heading that way if I’m not careful. Here’s my theory:
At some point in time some of us become afraid of falling. This may be because we’ve had surgery on our back/hip/knees or some other condition that makes us doubt our ability to get up. So we shorten our steps and watch the ground ahead of us.
You cannot watch the ground while holding your head up high. Nor do it very well while standing up straight. So we start bending over.
And we continue bending over until it becomes our natural posture.
That results in the muscles that support our spine stretching along the back side and tightening along the front side. Until one day we discover our muscles will no longer let us stand up straight.
And we develop a hunch back.
So, listen to you mother’s voice in your head telling you to quit slouching and to stand up straight.
Unless you want the neighborhood kids to start calling you Quasimodo.
TTYL,
Linda
And, of course, the bone loss that comes with aging.
Hope you are doing well!
I have such a hump from almost 20 years of having two water melons hanging from my chest. Since my reduction, I’ve made a point of improving my posture as best as I can so that the hump doesn’t get worse, but I’ll never be able to stand up truly straight. 🙁
What a coincidence – I have been trying to sit up straighter and walk better because my back has been bothering me. I think I’m still trying to get used to the new mattress. But I sleep so good. I’m very cautious when I’m walking because of my ankle. Maybe I need to get Jim to tell me to stand up since Mom is gone.
I do excercises each day to strengthen my back and neck muscles. Maybe you could start doing some of them. They are fairly easy. Google it. You might be surprised how they work.
what little yoga i do every day has kept me from getting one.
and i’m a great candidate for it… i have scoliosis. have had since i was about 13. only it wasn’t diagnosed til i had x-rays for a whip lash from a car accident when i was 26. he said… did you know you have scoliosis?
i did not!
but i had always kept telling my mother… “something is pushing my head forward!”
ta da!
great advice here.
add my yoga to it! LOL. xoxo
You could try taking up bird watching. That way you’d be looking up a lot. 😉
sounds like a logical explanation. I always cringe in sympathy when I see someone afflicted with this in the grocery.
Different subject altogether… I was reading your comment from the Wheeling it blog concerning selling the big little RV. If appropriate I would like to know more on this.