About BackTone
What is BackTone and how does it work?
BackTone is a bio-feedback posture-trainer designed to achieve good posture habits even during activities, without conscious effort.
BackTone consists of a light webbing harness with an electronic sensor/alert unit. The electronic unit sits between your shoulder blades and your waist (over your lower thoracic spine). As soon as you slouch, the harness pulls on the sensor causing it to beep. Straighten up and the beep stops.
Wear BackTone whilst going about your everyday tasks.
Every time you slouch, BackTone will beep and continue to beep until you straighten up. The only way to stop the sound is to straighten up. Continue with your activity, straightening up every time BackTone beeps. Your body quickly becomes accustomed to using correct posture.
You can also choose a short vibration option for use in situations where noise is an issue.
Wear BackTone for 20 minute training sessions daily.
Within a few short weeks the new posture will be a habit and you won’t have to think about, or remember to straighten up.
Why is BackTone different?
1.BackTone teaches the CORRECT POSTURE
The right way to correct a slouched posture is to reduce the exaggerated curve of your upper back. You achieve this by lifting your breastbone (sternum) and at the same time relaxing your shoulders. YOU SHOULD NOT PULL YOUR SHOULDERS BACK. If you lift your breastbone and relax your shoulders at the same time, your shoulders will roll back naturally, achieving the desired position without straining the muscles of the upper back and shoulder/neck area.
It is a common misconception that good posture involves pulling the shoulders back. If fact, pulling the shoulders back as a means of correcting posture may actually lead to injury.
Because Backtone’s design specifically targets the upper back curvature, it will teach you how to lift your sternum and relax your shoulders at the same time and then integrate this movement pattern into daily activities.
2. Learn how to have GOOD POSTURE WHILE YOU MOVE ABOUT and do things
Having good posture means adopting the right trunk posture when you’re not thinking about it AND whilst you are moving, walking, bending, crouching, lifting – doing things. It is during those tasks when we are at highest risk of injury. Why do elite athletes learn good posture?... to optimise strength and performance and reduce their risk of injury while they are moving.
Because BackTone is activated by the amount of curvature of the upper back, it will always activate when your back slouches – no matter whether you are sitting still, bending , moving about - whatever. It is designed to sense and retrain your slouching as part of the way you move and do things.
If you really want good postural habits you’ll want to know how to MOVE with good posture. BackTone teaches you good posture not only when you sit or stand still – but also when you move about and do things.
3. Genuine IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK
Genuine biofeedback is a training method that gives you just that - feedback about how you are going as you do it. As soon as you slouch, BackTone beeps. There is no waiting – no having to remember. There is only correct training of your movement.
This is a powerful technique that flows over to other times of the day. You get accurate feedback and learn what you have to do over the 20 minute session. You learn the feeling of good posture and become accustomed to it, then you take BackTone off and practise your posture throughout the day.
The next day you have another training session and continue with your learning. Taking BackTone off is an important part of the process. It helps you incorporate your new posture into everyday tasks. After a couple of weeks the result is Good Posture when you’re not wearing BackTone because you’ve been practising that on a daily basis.
4. SHORT TRAINING SESSIONS
BackTone is only worn for 20 minutes or so once or twice daily for 3 - 4 weeks. Because the immediate biofeedback is such an effective training technique you quickly learn how to adopt the ‘movement pattern’ of lifting the breastbone at the same time as relaxing the shoulders. Then you integrate the pattern into daily activities.
5. USED BY THERAPISTS.
BackTone is used mainly by physical therapists to retrain their clients’ postural habits. It targets thoracic (upper back) curvature, is used to retrain static postures as well as active movement and it teaches you the correct way to achieve good posture. BackTone is typically used to retrain good posture as a means of reducing pain and dealing with injuries.
Use BackTone to learn the right posture and develop good postural habits in your everyday activities.