There’s an extensive amount of health risks that go with sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day. My main computer posture problem was decreased blood flow. Some of our muscles and tendons are working overtime in an attempt at good computer posture. The rest of our muscles and tendons are deactivated, pulling our body into poor computer posture.
Because of this, I’m always on the lookout for different methods of muscle tension relief. I’m always trying different methods of posture recovery for desk workers who are also athletes. I’m writing this article to share my 4 top recovery tools for better posture. There are tons of posture support gadgets out there. But in my experience as an athlete who sits at a computer for long periods of time, these are the best posture improvement tools I’ve used.
All of the posture correction devices in this article gave me a different experience. But, they all provide a number of health benefits that make improved computer posture possible. These health benefits are increased blood flow, improved range of motion, reduced muscle soreness, faster muscle recovery, improved mental clarity, and better sleep quality. All of these of are important variables for non-invasive posture correction. All of the posture improvement devices in this article are portable, except for the Eight Sleep Pod (Mattress) Cover.
Top Recovery Tools for Better Posture
This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. For years, my poor computer posture caused muscle tension, inflammation, and chronic pain. All the workplace ergonomic tips I write about are directly related to improving posture at a computer. We are our own primary caretakers. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
Full disclosure: I’m not compensated by any companies I mention in this article. I paid my own money for these posture alignment tools. I enjoy sharing products with my readers that have improved my computer posture and quality of life in general. Nothing in this article is paid promotion.
Hypervolt Massage Gun
One of my favorite posture correction devices is the Hypervolt massage gun. It’s made by a company called Hyperice. All the info in this article comes from my personal experience of using the product.
There are three different versions of the Hypervolt massage gun.
They all provide rapid bursts of pressure by giving a percussion massage, also known as a vibration massage. The version with the lowest intensity of pressure is the Hypervolt GO. The version with the highest intensity is the Hypervolt Plus. I own the version that has the output intensity in the middle of these two models. My version is simply called the Hypervolt. The Hypervolt is the model I will talk about here in this article, not the Hypervolt GO or the Hypervolt Plus.
The Hypervolt comes with 5 head attachments.
I use each of them at different times, depending on a few different variables. It depends on what my goal for that session is. It depends how big the muscle is, how deep into the muscle I’m trying to go, and whether I’m working on muscle groups or a specific muscle. I usually keep the setting on the lowest intensity, which isn’t too painful. It’s a relaxing and enjoyable experience.
To learn more about my experience with the Hypervolt Massage Gun, check out my article titled, Hypervolt Massage Gun Benefits.
Normatec Full Body (Compression Sleeves)
The Normatec Full Body is a set of compression sleeves that fill up with air. A small pump-like device is included. The pump plugs into an air hose, which fills the sleeves up with air. It comes with 3 different sets of sleeves. These sets are for the legs, arms, and hips. Only one muscle group can be used with the pump at a time.
I use the leg sleeves to increase blood flow after sitting for 8 hours a day. They can come in handy after sitting on airplanes for long periods of time too. It’s also a great method of posture recovery for athletes. I use them either before or after a run or leg workout. I don’t necessarily replace stretching or foam rolling with the Normatec Full Body. Also, I think they are all valuable posture recovery methods with different health benefits.
I use the Normatec leg sleeves once or twice a week.
Whenever, I really need to have a relaxing rest period where I want to focus on my deep breathing. I don’t use the hip or arm sleeves very often, but they are very nice to have. It’s nice to use them once a month or so to check in with my arms or hips. I’ve learned a lot about my hips from using the hip sleeves. The hip sleeves are kind of like a pair of shorts that inflate. It’s helped me realize that my hips can get much tighter than I actually realize. Especially because of how overworked they can get from sitting at a computer for long periods of time. Of all my office posture recovery devices, the hip sleeves are probably the most specific to what we go through as full-time office workers.
Although, the arm sleeves are also specifically helpful for me as an office worker. Just by holding a mouse and keyboard for 8 hours a day, we excessively overuse the muscles and tendons in our arms and hands. That doesn’t even take into consideration the thousands of keystrokes and mouse clicks we do with our fingers each day. The Normatec arm sleeves have been very helpful for me to get improved blood flow throughout my arms, hands, and fingers.
Normatec Go (Calf Compression Sleeves)
The Normatec Go is one of the more affordable posture correctors I own, especially compared to the Normatec Full Body. The Normatec Go are calf compression sleeves. It’s essentially the same concept as the Normatec Full Body. They fill up with air and deflate over and over again during each cycle. Pressure on the muscles is increased and decreased repeatedly to improve blood flow through the soft tissues.
The main difference from the full body version is there’s no external pump device with the Normatec Go. Instead, a small pump is attached to each of the sleeves. So, no hoses are necessary. I use my Normatec Go a few times a week. It just depends on the intensity of my physical activity that I have going on. And also what kind of foot and ankle issues I’m up against at the time.
If you’ve read my articles before, you’ve probably heard me talk about how sitting at a computer with incorrect foot position caused me to need 3 ankle surgeries.
Side note: check out my article titled How to Position Feet When Sitting at a Computer if you’d like to learn more. Back to the Normatec Go, recovering from those ankle surgeries was rough. But this product allowed me a shorter recovery that was much more comfortable.
Everything is connected in our bodies. Especially when those two body parts are right next to each other. In this case, the calf and the ankle. If my calf is tight and lacking blood flow, my ankle isn’t getting enough blood flow either. If one isn’t working properly, the other won’t either. And vice versa. In addition to my calf and ankle working better, the Normatec Go has also increased my foot functionality. And when my feet are working better, they’re also healing better from the different healing methods I use on them.
Eight Sleep Pod Cover (for mattress)
One of my favorite natural sleep solutions is my Eight Sleep Pod Cover. It’s a temperature controlled mattress cover. I got mine back in 2019. Admittedly, this is the most expensive way of enhancing sleep quality I’ve tried, but it’s been totally worth it. I can’t imagine sleeping without one. I never wake up in the middle of the night sweating anymore.
The Eight Sleep Pod Cover is basically a mattress cover that has small water lines running through it. The second component it comes with is a water tank. It’s about the size of a desktop computer tower. It goes on the floor, next to my bed. It plugs in to the electrical outlet. This is where the water is stored, heated, and cooled.
The Eight Sleep Pod Cover can be cooled to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
It can also be heated up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. I have mine set to automatically warm up slightly (not much) at 8pm. Then, I set it to cool slightly as soon as I get in bed around 9:30pm. This way my body temperature drops and I fall asleep quickly. It has 4 different pre-set times throughout the night where you can select the desired temperature in advance. I also set mine to warm up slightly before I wake up at 5:30am. This is one of my favorite sleep solutions for waking up naturally, as opposed to a loud alarm clock.
I’m not affiliated with, or compensated by Eight Sleep, Hyperice, or Normatec. They are the best posture improvement tools I’ve found. I paid my own money for all of them. The Eight Sleep Pod Cover has essentially helped improve my computer posture because it creates a natural way to sleep better. Anything that improves my sleep quality is directly related to how good my computer posture is the next day.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER POSTURE.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps to reduce computer-related injuries by improving your posture. That’s something to be very proud of!
If you liked this article on my top recovery tools for better posture, check out my free ebook titled 3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately!
>>> Click here to download your free copy
This ebook is a great supplement to the article you just read. In this ebook, you’ll learn 3 of the most painful, poor computer posture mistakes. Then, you’ll learn how to fix those mistakes immediately with 3 simple changes to your ergonomic computer desk setup.
Go to SittingPosture.com/ebook to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen