Durch Ashley Ridout, Osteopath, Functional Rehab Specialist & Pain Educator

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Published on August 27, 2025

Geprüft von Dr Anne Therese Bernadette Laudato, MD

When You’ve “Fixed” Your Posture — But the Pain Won’t Quit

You’ve done it all.
Your monitor is at eye level.
Your chair has lumbar support.
Your desk is ergonomically perfect.

You sit tall, shoulders back, chin tucked — just like the experts say.
And yet… your back still aches.
Your neck still tightens by mid-afternoon.
Some days the pain starts before you even sit down.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. For decades, poor posture has been blamed for everything from back pain to headaches.

Aber hier ist die überraschende Wahrheit: posture alone is rarely the cause.

In fact, many people with so-called “perfect” posture live with pain, while plenty with “imperfect” posture are pain-free.

Research consistently shows posture is a weak — and sometimes nonexistent — predictor of chronic pain.

So what’s going on?

Why do some people keep hurting despite “fixing” their posture?

What I See in Clinic (14+ Years, Thousands of Cases)

I’ve been an osteopath for over 14 years, helping everyone from desk-based professionals to high-level athletes recover from injury, regain function, and live without pain. My work blends:

Manual therapy
Functional rehab
Exercise prescription
Pain neuroscience education
When appropriate, functional medicine and adjunctive therapies

In that time, I’ve worked with people recovering from ACL reconstructions, frozen shoulders, chronic headaches, repetitive strain injuries, and spinal pain that’s lasted years.

Across all those cases, one pattern keeps showing up: people fix their posture but still hurt — because the problem isn’t how they sit, stand, or lift.

The problem is how their nervous system is regulating muscle tone.

When You’re Doing Everything Right — But Still in Pain

Some of my patients arrive with impeccable posture and textbook ergonomic setups.

They stretch, they strengthen, they do their prescribed exercises.

And yet:

Their muscles feel “tight” before they even start the day.
They shift in their chair every few minutes, searching for comfort.
Even light activity leaves their back feeling strained.

This isn’t laziness.

It’s not “bad form.”

It’s not ignoring the plan.It’s a nervous system stuck in a pattern of over-protecting the body.

Posture vs. Muscle Tone — The Difference That Changes Treatment

Posture is the visible position of your body.
Tone is the invisible readiness of your muscles to contract.

If the nervous system is in a prolonged “fight or flight” state, tone stays elevated — even at rest.

That constant low-level contraction compresses joints, restricts blood flow, and sensitises nerves.

It’s like having your shoulders slightly shrugged all day without realising it.

Over time, this creates the very discomfort people blame on “bad posture.”

The Nervous System’s Role in Muscle Tension

Die autonomes Nervensystem has two primary modes:

sympathisch (“fight or flight”) — ready for action
Parasympathisch (“rest, digest, repair”) — ready to recover

In an ideal system, you move smoothly between the two. But stress — physical, mental, emotional — can tip the balance toward constant sympathetic activation.

That means your body holds tension just in case, even when you’re perfectly still.

And if your brain perceives threat (even subconsciously), it can keep those muscles “on guard” indefinitely.

The Vagus Nerve: Your Calm Switch

One of the main control lines for parasympathetic activity is the Vagusnerv — a long cranial nerve running from your brainstem through your chest and abdomen.

When Vagustonus is strong, your body can shift into recovery mode easily, muscles can relax, and pain sensitivity can decrease.

When it’s weak, your system stays primed for danger — tension persists, sleep suffers, and small irritations can trigger big flare-ups.

Was die Forschung sagt

The science backs up what I see in clinic:

Posture alone is not a reliable predictor of pain — large-scale reviews show no consistent causal link between posture and chronic back pain.¹ ²
taVNS (transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation) — the same approach used in Nurosym — has been shown to:
- Increase HRV (heart rate variability), a marker of balanced nervous system activity³
- Reduce inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 und TNF-alpha⁴ ⁵
- Improve conditioned pain modulation — the body’s built-in pain control system⁶
- Reduce resting muscle tone in target muscle groups⁷
Safety: Over 50 published studies, including collaborations with Harvard, Yale, and Imperial College London, have reported no serious adverse events when taVNS is used appropriately.⁸

Wo Nurosym zum Einsatz kommt (Unterstützung zu Hause)

In my practice, I address both mechanics (joint mobility, tissue health, movement patterns) and neurobiology (sensitivity, tone, recovery).

For some patients — particularly those with persistent muscle guarding despite good rehab — I suggest an at-home nervous system support tool.

That’s where Nurosym comes in.

Was es ist: A CE-marked taVNS device that clips to part of the ear linked to the vagus nerve.
So funktioniert es: Delivers gentle electrical pulses to stimulate parasympathetic activity.
Why I recommend it: To help “hold the gains” we make in session, especially between treatments or during high-stress periods.

It’s not a cure-all or a replacement for hands-on care. But for the right patient, it can provide an extra nudge toward recovery — helping the nervous system let go of unnecessary tension.

Real-World Use Cases

The High-Stress Professional — Can’t reduce workload, but needs to stop carrying it in their shoulders.
The Post-Injury Patient — Cleared for movement, but nervous system still guarding the injured area.
The “I’ve Tried Everything” Case — Ergonomics, physio, stretching all done; tension still there.
The Sleepless Aching Back — Pain worse at night or on waking, tied to nervous system overactivity.

Who Might Benefit — And Who Shouldn’t Use It

Might benefit:

Office-based workers with persistent neck/back tightness
Those with “unexplained” postural pain despite good alignment
Rehab patients whose muscle tone remains high despite exercise
People with poor sleep and high stress contributing to morning stiffness

Avoid if:

You have a pacemaker or implantable cardiac device
You are pregnant
You’ve had a recent serious cardiac event
You’re under 18

Always follow medical advice before starting.

Eine sichere Möglichkeit, es auszuprobieren

30-Tage-Geld-zurück-Garantie — explore at home with no risk.
Limited Study Slots Available — some participants may receive a ~€70 subsidy in exchange for providing feedback.

I help patients decide whether this is a good fit, set up the device correctly, and integrate it into a broader recovery plan.

Final Thoughts: Treat the System, Not the Slouch

If you’ve been chasing “perfect posture” without relief, it might be time to look deeper. The position of your body matters — but the state of your nervous system often matters more.

By calming the system that controls muscle tone, you can finally make your posture feel natural, not forced — and move without constant discomfort.

If you want an assessment that looks beyond the surface, let’s talk.

Erfahren Sie hier mehr.

Referenzen

Back to basics: 10 facts every person should know about back pain. O’Sullivan, P. B., Caneiro, J. P., O’Sullivan, K., Lin, I., Bunzli, S., Wernli, K., & O’Keeffe, M. (2020). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(12), 698–699. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101611
No consensus on causality of spine postures or physical exposure and low back pain: A systematic review of systematic reviews. Swain, C. T. V., Pan, F., Owen, P. J., Schmidt, H., & Belavy, D. L. (2020). Journal of Biomechanics, 102, 109312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2019.08.006
Does transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation affect vagally mediated heart rate variability? A living and interactive Bayesian meta-analysis. Wolf, V., Kühnel, A., Teckentrup, V., Koenig, J., & Kroemer, N. B. (2021). Psychophysiology, 58(11), e13933. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13933
Ear your heart: transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate variability in healthy young participants. Forte, G., Favieri, F., Leemhuis, E., De Martino, M. L., Giannini, A. M., De Gennaro, L., Casagrande, M., & Pazzaglia, M. (2022). PeerJ, 10, e14447. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14447
Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation blocks stress-induced activation of interleukin-6 and interferon-γ in posttraumatic stress disorder: A double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial. Bremner, J. D., Gurel, N. Z., Jiao, Y., Wittbrodt, M. T., Levantsevych, O. M., Huang, M., Jung, H., Shandhi, M. H., Beckwith, J., Herring, I., Rapaport, M. H., Murrah, N., Driggers, E., Ko, Y.-A., Alkhalaf, M. L., Soudan, M., Song, J., Ku, B. S., Shallenberger, L., … Pearce, B. D. (2020). Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health, 9, 100138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100138
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation reduces cytokine production in sepsis: An open double-blind, sham-controlled, pilot study. Wu, Z., Zhang, X., Cai, T., Li, Y., Guo, X., Zhao, X., Wu, D., Li, Z., & Zhang, L. (2023). Brain Stimulation, 16(2), 507–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2023.02.008
Transauricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) enhances conditioned pain modulation (CPM) in healthy subjects: A randomized controlled trial. Pacheco-Barrios, K., Gianlorenço, A. C., Camargo, L., Andrade, M. F., Choi, H., Song, J. J., & Fregni, F. (2024). Brain Stimulation, 17(2), 346–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2024.03.006
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation modulates masseter muscle activity, pain perception, and anxiety levels in university students: A double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Ferreira, L. M. A., Brites, R., Fraião, G., Pereira, G., Fernandes, H., de Brito, J. A. A., Pereira Generoso, L., Maziero Capello, M. G., Santos Pereira, G., Scoz, R. D., Silva, J. R. T., & Silva, M. L. (2024). Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 18, 1422312. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2024.1422312
Safety and tolerability of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in humans: A systematic review. Redgrave, J., Day, D., Leung, H., Laud, P. J., Ali, A., Lindert, R., & Majid, A. (2018). Hirnstimulation, 11(6), 1225–1238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2018.08.010
Safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS): A systematic review and meta-analysis. Kim, A. Y., Marduy, A., de Melo, P. S., Gianlorenco, A. C., Kim, C. K., Choi, H., Song, J. J., & Fregni, F. (2022). Wissenschaftliche Berichte, 12(1), 22055. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25864-1
Parasym Device – Compliance and regulatory status. Parasym Ltd. (n.d.). Parasym Official Website. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://www.parasym.co/compliance.html
Nurosym certification (CE Mark) information. Parasym Ltd. (2024, December 9). Nurosym Care Center – FAQ. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://care.nurosym.com/hc/en-us/articles/25945331731597-Is-Nurosym-a-certified-device

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Osteopath Explains: Back Pain Isn’t Caused by “Bad Posture” — It’s a Nervous System Problem