ActivePosture Shirt – Review – Robert Joyce's A 30 Minute Life

ActivePosture supply shirts which help to improve posture, and can reduce discomfort this causes. Readers of my blog can get a 10% discount by using the code – Robert10.

Nearly five years ago I was in a car accident and since then I have had a constant headache. Early on I attended physiotherapy to see if it would cure the headache. My physiotherapists main therapy was to improve my posture. Square my shoulders and be more upright. To help me achieve this she put tape on my back to remind me when I rolled my shoulders forward. This helped, but I could not apply these Kinesio tapes, so I turned to the internet to find a solution. At the time there were two possibilities, Pelham & Strutt’s posture shirt, and the IntelliSkin top.

They helped, but both had some drawbacks. The Pelham & Strutt garment was mainly compressive, with some strapping as part of the design. In the summer, we have a summer in Ireland when the temperature soars to 20C (68F) it was too hot to wear under a shirt. I sourced the alternative from the USA and is very expensive in comparison. It has the advantage of having an open weave on the back which is cooling, and permits use in the summer.

When ActivePosture contacted me to do a review of their shirt, I quickly accepted. They sent me a sample, free–of-charge, to try. For the last year I had stopped wearing the posture shirts I had, and I realised I had regressed back to my old, bad habit of poor alignment. For the last two weeks I have been using the ActivePosture shirt, and it has impressed me. Why?

Effect

This shirt has a positive effect on my posture. It applies a gentle pressure when I stoop, or roll my shoulders forward, reminding me to straighten my back, and square my stance. My mobility is worse and I spend much more time sitting down, or more accurately, slouching, on the couch. This has caused pain at the base of my neck. By wearing this shirt, initially for an hour a day, gradually increasing to 5-6 hours a day, it reduces this discomfort. One of the main effects has been I now correct the poor sitting position even when I am not wearing the shirt. This is the aim.

This has carried over to when I am not wearing the shirt. For example, as part of my physiotherapy to strengthen my right leg, I walk in the pool. I have noticed my posture is more erect, shoulders square as I make my way down the pool. This is fantastic. When I am sitting at a table, or now as I write this post, I am sitting straight. I think it also has a beneficial effect on my mental state too. I’m more confident, assured. In a sense, I feel stronger.

Fit

These shirts have to be snug. Otherwise they won’t work. As I have experience of wearing them before I knew the way of putting them on and off. Unfortunately, in the packing for the shirts they do not have instructions. This would be worth knowing, and I damaged the shirt I wore, the stitching failed. The company assured me if I had purchased the garment they would have replaced it. As I had a free sample, they did not.

I have worn the shirt on warm and cold days, and it is not like a normal shirt, keeping you warm. It is more like thin layer which doesn’t insulate. Other posture shirts I have used can be very difficult to wear when it gets warmer, as they don’t release the heat. The back of this has vented material which really helps.

Price

The price online for this shirt is ST£79.95 and has free delivery. This is a mid-range price for a posture shirt, and much cheaper than getting a similar styled product from the USA. It is worth the price for the general help it gives. You have the added assurance of a CE mark (as a medical device) and the shirt is also approved by the FDA as medical clothing.