- HOME
- SHOP
-
TECHNOLOGY
-
NEWS
-
HELP
- RX INSURANCE
; AlignMed, USA) on musculoskeletal wellness and health in the computer workplace.Methods. Ninety-six computer users were evaluated. The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire was completed. A functional assessment of posture, lung function, and grip strength was performed after wearing the Posture Shirt
for 4 weeks. A training log was kept to track usage of the garment, as well as weekly sensations of fatigue, productivity, and energy level. Results. After 4 weeks, there was statistically significant improvement in forward shoulder and head posture, thoracic kyphosis, and grip strength. Improvements in spirometry measures did not meet statistical significance. Postural fatigue and muscular fatigue decreased by 21% and 29%, respectively, and energy level and productivity increased by 20% and 13%, respectively. Conclusion. This prospective study demonstrated positive short-term impact of the Posture Shirt
on both subjective and objective measures of posture, lung function, grip strength, fatigue, and productivity.
Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) November 22, 2013
Bill Schultz, founder and CEO of AlignMed, recently received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for his “outstanding service” helping people achieve better health through good posture.
“I’m honored to be recognized,” says Schultz, an innovator in physiotherapeutic garments that stimulate individual muscles to improve posture. The company’s Align Posture garments, including MyLign, PostureShirt and S3, have built-in bands that mimic muscle contractions while stimulating the sensory pathways within the muscle.
“Simply put, when an individual wears the garment, he or she has no problem maintaining good posture because the muscles are constantly getting neuro feedback,” Schultz says.
“Good posture has numerous benefits, all well-documented. It improves energy, respiration, mobility and even physical attractiveness, while poor posture leads to chronic pain, injury and fatigue.”
A recent study also shows poor posture increases the likelihood an elderly person will require long-term care. Published in April in Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, the study followed 800 participants for more than 4 years, measuring their posture against their activities of daily living. Those with the worst posture were 3½ times more likely to become dependent on help in daily living.
“As we age, good posture is the primary factor in how well we move, how well we feel, and cosmetic treatments,” says renowned orthopedist Craig Morgan, who developed many of the arthroscopic techniques used by surgeons today. “The concept of a comfortable garment as a biofeedback device for good posture practice is ingenious.”
For athletes, maintaining perfect alignment of head, torso and legs can prevent injury and help recovery from injury while also easing pain from past injuries. It also improves athletic performance, as documented in this study presented to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons earlier this year.
Conducted by sports medicine professionals at the University of Southern California Keck Medical Center, the study found that baseball pitchers improved their throwing accuracy by an average 23.5 percent when wearing AlignMed’s PostureShirt. It also found the pitchers had improved circulation, including more blood flow in their throwing arms, and they threw with greater velocity.
A number of professional athletes wear Align Posture garments, including Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning; Houston Rockets Dwight Howard; LA Lakers Paul Gasol; Houston Astros Tommy Shirley; and Colts Ahmad Bradshaw.
“Whether you have an active lifestyle or a sedentary one, maintaining proper posture will make you look and feel better, and probably live longer,” Schultz says.
About Bill Schultz
Bill Schultz is founder and president of AlignMed, a leading research-based innovator focused on the mechanical, neurological and aesthetic functions of posture. Through clinical studies and with the help of an advisory panel of 16 doctors, Schultz has delivered critical information on the benefits of a proper posture to universities, medical clinics, physical therapists, strength coaches, the Air Force Academy and professional athletes. In September, Schultz received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for “outstanding and invaluable service.”
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/11/prweb11354590.htm
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1603371#ixzz4DkGUQYmb
Garments Approved by the FDA Registration as Class 1 Medical Device
Align Garments Help Reduce Pain, Recover From Injury, and Achieve the Health Benefits of Good Posture
SANTA ANA, Calif., July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AlignMed®, the innovative developer of wellness wear that has been scientifically proven to reduce pain and improve posture, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Registration for its line of breakthrough specialty garments. AlignMed® products are in an elite category of garments approved by the FDA Registration process as a Class 1 Medical Device.
The comfortable, form-fitting, non-restrictive Align garments feature patented Touch-Tension Neuroband® technology that fires muscles and stimulates nerves to align the body's joints with each stride of the leg or movement of the hip, back, shoulder, chest and neck. This revolutionary concept has been vetted and tested by a panel of medical doctors and research clinics.
"We are thrilled to get the thumbs up," said AlignMed® Founder Bill Schultz. "We've worked hard to ensure that every product we put into the market truly does what we say it does, and we're on a mission to help people move better and reduce pain through aligning the body. Our garments are proven to do just that."
Primary applications include everyday wear for muscle balancing, joint unloading, injury prevention, and as a recovery tool for surgery or trauma to the upper and lower extremities. Computer users can wear the garments to fend off neck pain, back pain and poor posture prompted by excessive sitting and repetitive movements.
"As we age, mobility and agility are rapidly reduced by poor posture," Schultz continued. "The garments we've created are based on a scientifically-proven biomechanical approach that mimics the body's kinetic energy to help shape alignment and balance automatically without having to concentrate or think about it. It's a deceptively simple solution. And it works."
For information on AlignMed®, visit www.alignmed.com.
About AlignMed®
AlignMed® is the creator of Align garments featuring the patented in-garment Touch-Tension Neuroband® technology that has been scientifically proven to help people achieve better health and reduce pain through ensuring good posture, one of the most under-appreciated aspects of health and wellness. Ideal users include anyone with an active lifestyle, amateur and professional athletes, sports team managers and trainers, clinicians in orthopedics and physical therapy, and corporate wellness programs. www.alignmed.com
By KEVIN SABLAN / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The new chief executive at AlignMed®, a Santa Ana-based company that makes clothes to correct posture, is Robert J. Meers, an industry veteran who once led Reebok.
AlignMed makes athletic clothing with embedded tension bands that help align the body's joints. Center Dwight Howard wore an AlignMed shirt this past season with the Lakers during games to help recover from a torn labrum in his shoulder. Meers was once a professional athlete, drafted as a wide receiver by the Minnesota Vikings in 1966 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
"The most exciting opportunities I've been involved with are aggressive, entrepreneurial companies that are innovating and creating solutions to problems that had simply been accepted and lived with," Meers said.
AlignMed was started by Bill Schultz, who was looking for an alternative to his own back surgery in 2004. A friend recommended a Newport Beach chiropractor who had developed a special jacket to help rehabilitate surgery patients. The garment worked for Schultz. He bought the patent for the technology from the doctor, started research to prove the device's effectiveness, and launched AlignMed.
Well before the conception of Schultz's company, Meers worked with Massachusetts-based athletic shoemaker Reebok for 15 years. There, he helped to establish the Greg Norman and Rockport brands, and served as president and CEO from 1996 to 1999.
Meers became CEO of Lululemon Athletica Inc., a Canadian yoga apparel company, in 2005. At the time, the company had annual profits of $1.4 million. Under Meers leadership, Lululemon had its initial public offering, and when Meers left in June 2008, it reported a $30.8 million profit on $274.7 million in sales for the previous year.
"I've spent a lot of time in the garment and apparel business," said Meers. "AlignMed is the first company to develop a garment that can actually help correct and shape the body's alignment and balance."
New ventures
Mazda, a Japanese brand with U.S. headquarters in Irvine, is teaming up with Microsoft to unveil a new vehicle in what company officials call the first global live stream of a new car introduction. The companies plan a series of events in Melbourne, St. Petersburg, Istanbul and London that will conclude in a live New York unveiling broadcast on Xbox Live on June 26 at 6 p.m. Pacific time. A concert by Canadian indie rock band Metric will be part of the festivities.
The event comes as car sales are on the rise. The Orange County Automobile Dealers Association reports that 12,417 new cars and trucks were registered in the county last month, 9.1 percent higher than May of last year. Japanese cars accounted for half of those registrations. Ten percent of new cars registered in the county were Korean. The U.S. arm of the Hyundai brand of cars is based in Fountain Valley; Irvine is the U.S. home of Kia; and Mitsubishi's American headquarters are in Cypress.
Actress Lindsay Wagner is now a featured spokeswoman for Cerna Homecare, an Irvine-based homecare and nursing services provider. Wagner, who played Jaime Sommers in "The Bionic Woman" television series during the 1970s, leads meditation retreats and holistic wellness workshops and seminars under the title of "Quiet the Mind & Open the Heart." Cerna will feature Wagner in print ads and TV commercials.
Meade Instruments Corp., an Irvine-based maker of telescopes and amateur astronomy accessories, has another suitor one month after the company's board of directors agreed to sell to JOC North America, a subsidiary of Chinese optoelectronic manufacturer Jinghua Optics & Electronics Co. Now MIT Capital Inc., a San Jose firm that makes laser and optics products, has offered to buy Meade's outstanding common stock for $3.65 per share, which is $0.20 per share above the JOC price. The board's agreement amounts to a recommendation for stockholders, who will vote on any acquisition.
Myspace, an online center for artists to connect with fans, has begun to host "Jimmy Kimmel Live Stream," a concert series that showcases select artists that appear on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" television program. The musicians will play extended sets immediately following the TV broadcast, which will be streamed exclusively on Myspace. Myspace is owned by Specific Media LLC, an Irvine-based digital advertising company.
Volcom Inc., a Costa Mesa-based action sports apparel company, is exiting its 4-year-old motocross business so that it can focus on its core board sports – skate, snow and surf.
Skullcandy Inc., an audio accessory distributor based in Utah, is closing its San Clemente office by early fall to consolidate its marketing, creative, business development and legal departments at its Park City headquarters. The company will offer to assist most of the roughly 30 O.C. employees to relocate and work in Park City.
On the move
Robert Dunn has joined Dynamic Healthcare Systems Inc., a company in Irvine that designs software for health plans and organizations that provide Medicare services, as president and CEO. Dunn was previously the chief development officer at TMG Health.
NeurOptics Inc., an Irvine-based maker of devices that measure the human eye, has appointed William Worthen as president. Worthen previously served as CEO of Silk Road Medical Inc.
Denny McKnight has been promoted to president of Tompkins International, a supply-chain consulting and implementation firm based in Raleigh, N.C. He will split his time between the company's headquarters and its Mission Viejo office. Previously, Tompkins was executive vice president of supply-chain consulting services.
TeamLogic IT, a Mission Viejo information technology service firm, named Vince Plaza as vice president of technical operations. Plaza previously worked at the company's franchisor office.
Kristin Rock is now the director of professional services for Phoenix Energy Technologies, a company in Irvine that provides enterprise-level energy consumption software and services. Rock was previously corporate energy manager for Petco Animal Supplies.
Jeff Carter has joined Olloclip, a company in Huntington Beach that makes photo lenses for iPhones, as sales director of retail and telecom markets. Carter was previously a sales director at Irvine-based tech accessory firm The Joy Factory.
Overheard
"Expect further market volatility and liquidity dislocations in the immediate period ahead." - Pimco CEO Mohamed A. El-Erian in a Wednesday article for Business Insider
Contact the writer: 714-796-3589 or [email protected]
CHICAGO, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In a new study, AlignMed's Posture Shirt®, which is worn by professional and amateur athletes in every major sport, has proven to significantly increase major-league baseball pitchers game-day velocity, accuracy and longevity. Results from the study, by doctors from the University of Southern California Medical Center, will be presented tomorrow (3/22/13) at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in Chicago.
"This is about the best thing to happen to major league pitchers since the curveball," saidThomas Vangsness M.D. presenter of the study conducted by Tom House Ph.D, and Fred Weaver MD, who were the authors of the USC study. "The analysis indicates that Posture Shirt® can improve accuracy by almost 23 percent, speed by 1.47 miles per hour. The actual statistics were higher, but one of the individuals was so improved he became an outlier for the study, once more, vascularity was increased, blood flow in the throwing arm was increased significantly. In a game where milliseconds and millimeters can spell the difference between a one hitter and a call to the bullpen, this is a big deal."
The study, conducted by sports medicine professionals at the University of Southern California Keck Medical Center, tested pitchers' velocity, accuracy and throwing arm physiology when wearing the AlignMed Posture Shirt compared to a typical undergarment worn by major-league pitchers. The study's results indicate the AlignMed Posture Shirt®wearing pitchers improved their overall accuracy by 23.5%. These same pitchers saw consistent velocity improvement across innings with the highest in inning 3, showing a 27.8% accuracy improvement compared to the control shirt. Remarkably, while the velocity of the pitchers wearing the AlignMed Posture Shirt® went up, their accuracy was unchanged. And when the velocity of their pitches was reduced to synch up with those wearing the test garment, the Posture Shirt® wearing-pitchers accuracy improved dramatically.
The Posture Shirt®, manufactured in the United States by AlignMed Inc. of Santa Ana Calif., is the result of 8 years of design work, as well as lab and field testing. Worn as an undershirt, underneath the uniform, the Posture Shirt's patented, complex interlacing of high-technology fibers, called Neuro-Bands™, work seamlessly with the athlete's body to optimize posture and movement in any position. The shirt also augments the body's natural neurological feedback mechanism, accelerating the time span between thought and physical movement and thereby maximizing both response time and hand-eye coordination.
"When I step on the mound I want my best stuff available," said Tommy Shirley of the Houston Astros. "That means my fastball, cutter and these days it also means my AlignMed Posture Shirt®. The shirt increases my upper body flexibility and helps me maintain my strength, which over the course of a game keeps me balanced, aligned and throwing strikes."
AlignMed Posture Shirts are worn by athletes on almost every major league baseball team, including the World Series Champion Giants.
This is the same Posture Shirt® that has also helped Los Angeles Lakers Center Dwight Howard recover from his shoulder injury. In February the National Basketball Association (NBA) approved the AlignMed® Posture Shirt® as a medical device allowing the Los Angeles Laker's Center, Dwight Howard to play in the Posture Shirt® during his recovery period healing from a torn labrum in his shoulder and back surgery 10 months ago.
The Posture Shirt® is manufactured in the United States by AlignMed Inc. of Santa Ana., Calif. AlignMed products, all dedicated to enhancing posture, range of motion, and human performance, have been the subject of in-depth clinical studies by numerous renown medical institutions including: Duke University, University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, the Kerlan Jobe Sports Medicine Institute, Los Angeles, and the Lexington Sports Medicine Center, KY.
More information on Posture Shirt® and other innovative AlignMed Inc. products is available at: http://alignmed.com
LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In February the National Basketball Association (NBA) approved the AlignMed® Posture Shirt® as a medical device allowing the Los Angeles Laker's Center, Dwight Howard to play in the Posture Shirt® during his recovery period. The device has played a part in Howard healing from a torn labrum in his shoulder and back surgery 10 months ago.
The AlignMed® Posture Shirt® is doing "a pretty good job of keeping everything straight as far as my back and my shoulder – making sure everything is aligned," Howard said at the Laker's practice facility after a morning shootaround. "A lot of people think that it's just a regular polo tee, but it's not," says Howard. "It's a shirt that was made strictly for posture to make sure the scapula and everything stays like that."
Laker's trainer, Gary Vitti, in his 29th season has seen a multitude of sports injuries. Vitti monitors the health of each team member throughout the season using state-of-the-art methods in conditioning, dieting, stretching and testing. Early in the season Vitti placed the AlignMed Posture Shirt® on team members.
Two recent studies conducted on the Posture Shirt® provide clinical evidence of its effectiveness. Mr. Vitti placed the AlignMed Posture Shirt on team members as it is the state-of-the-art in alignment, balance, and stamina. The two recent studies provide clinical evidence of the effectiveness of the products. But it did not take Mr. Vitti more than to try it on to realize how and why the Posture Shirt works.
AlignMed's Posture Shirt® which is worn by professional and amateur athletes in every major sport corrects posture, increase electromyographic (EMG) activity of trapezius muscles and, according to researchers at Duke University, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) in combination with two other universities, should be recommended for over-head athletes and for pre-rehabilitation and rehabilitation exercises in athletes with poor posture.
The Posture Shirt®, manufactured in the United States by AlignMed Inc. of Santa Ana Calif., and sold only online atwww.alignmed.com, is the result of 8 years of design work, as well as lab and field testing. Worn on the skin underneath the uniform, the Posture Shirt's patented, complex interlacing of high-technology fibers, called Neuro-Bands™, work seamlessly with the athlete's body to optimize posture and movement in any position for comfortable posture enhancement. The shirt also augments the body's natural neurological feedback system, accelerating the time span between thought and physical movement and thereby maximizing both response time and hand-eye coordination.
The study, published in the Journal of Athletic Training, was prompted because shoulder injuries are a common and disabling condition among athletes, particularly overhead athletes (basketball, baseball, softball, swimming, volleyball, track and field throwing events, and tennis). Recent National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) injury surveillance system research has shown that shoulder injuries account for 39.4% of all injuries in baseball, 15.8% of injuries in softball, and 21.7% of injuries in volleyball. Most of these injuries are classified as overuse injuries of muscles, tendons, and other tissues within the joint.
The study has global implications for injury prevention and reduction of medical costs as its simple understandable use – simply to put it on – immediately corrects posture. Over 65 percent of upper body injuries, athletic and lifestyle related, come from repetitive overuse and poor posture. Musculoskeletal disorders account for nearly 70 million physician office visits in the United States annually and an estimated 130 million total health care encounters including outpatient, hospital, and emergency room visits and are the leading cause of disability in the United States and account for more than one-half of all chronic conditions in people over 50 years of age in developed countries.
