HOUSTON, TX (April 14, 2012) – As technology (laptops, computers, video games) is more than ever a part of our lives, our overall form is compromised. Both the mind and the body are put under unprecedented amounts of pressure every day.
Str8-n-Up is a newly designed support that makes use of physics, conditioning, and spandex to help create the simple solution to slouching and stress.
It’s not a brace nor a medical device. It doesn’t look or feel like an undergarment.
It’s simple, gentle and stylish. Its bands conform and cup the user’s shoulders, gently pulling the neck and shoulder muscles down and back. The bands’ tension can be adjusted by a simple twist.
Str8-n-Up is growing quickly in the chiropractic market. Doctors, physical therapists and their patients are falling in love with the product. "Str8-n-Up has become a great tool in the office for patients with neck and shoulder pain and it is becoming standard that every patient use one to help get the results they want and for overall maintenance,” says Dr. Patrick McBrearty of McBrearty Family & Sport Chiropractic (Canton, OH). Texas Journal of Chiropractic featured Str8-n-Up as an accessory to assist and retrain the muscles of the upper back, chest, shoulder girdle and neck to relax and realign. “Str8-n-Up trains your body to have the proper posture that it should have,” says Dr. Sarah Harrill of City Center Chiropractic (Houston, TX). Erica Wessell an LMT, PTA (Painted Post, NY) says “The Str8-n-Up is very easy to use, and the stretch is very subtle, yet effective. After 30 minutes, I feel my chest is more open, my posture has improved, and I have less pain and tightness overall in my rhomboids and upper traps.“
Best of all, Str8-n-Up only needs to be worn up to 30 minutes at a time. Just half an hour a day, and users will feel a dramatic difference. It’s based on body and muscle memory, and automatically conditions the user on what proper form should look and feel like. It’s a perfect tool for office workers, video gamers, fitness enthusiasts, travelers/commuters and anyone needing to relax from a stressful day.
Think of it like preventative medicine. Just 30 minutes a day keeps the slouching away.
What do structural balance, muscles, and a strip of stretchy fabric have to do with one another? How about a tension relief and postural improvement device? A newly designed support, the Str8-n-Up, makes use of physics, conditioning and spandex to create a stylish, simple solution to some structural problems.
While not a "back support" the Str8-n-up is an accessory to assist and retrain the muscles of the upper back, chest, shoulder girdle, and neck to relax and realign. Unlike a back support belt which is designed to strap the trunk and support the muscles, the Str8-n-up is designed to be worn, not during activity as one might suppose, but rather several times throughout the day while taking an activity break. Worn for just 15 to 30 minutes at a time, the muscles of the upper back, shoulder girdle and neck are stretched and realigned and seem to have the ability to function more effectively.
So what is the Str8-n-up? Quite simply it is a two piece postural accessory—a band and buckle. The fabric is a comfortable, breathable and very durable four-way-stretch fabric. The buckle was designed for ease of use, strength, and has been tested for environmental safety.
The inspiration for the band is the infinity symbol. From the company's logo, to the design of the band, to the buckle itself, the figure “8” abounds around the Str8-n-up. This symbol represents perfection, unity and balance from the cultures of ancient India to Tibet, and this is the core objective of the Str8-n-Up concept. The tension of the band can easily be adjusted by a single, double or triple twist of the fabric. It cups the edge of the shoulders, gently pulling the neck muscles downwards as well as pulling the chest muscles back to release tension and conditions the user to what proper form should feel like to help prevent hunching and slouching.
”The big difference between this and other products," says Virginia Redmond, inventor and holder of a pending patent, "is that I use a fabric that conforms and cups the shoulders, which gives for a gentle pull of the muscles and allows the user to freely move around,leaving them to continue their daily routine without feeling constrained by a tight apparatus. Str8-n-Up is based on body memory and conditions the user to understand what proper form should feel like. It is stylish, gentle, comfortable and simple. With laptops, computers and video games as part of our daily lives, we truly are in front of a monitor for long hours every day. Slouching causes many health issues and we truly have to be mindful of our form.”
At the heart of any fitness activity is keeping proper form. When proper form is practiced it helps to minimize injury to muscles and future health issues. Physical balance is created through a healthy, strong body and becoming aware of how you use it. Str8-n-Up gently supports proper shoulder placement, and allows for natural body movement. It helps to keep you mindful of your shoulder positioning without limiting your movements. As such it is an excellent accessory for video gaming children. The gentle reminder that Str8-n-Up offers to avoid slouching and rolling the shoulders forward goes farther than any verbal reminder. And as far as de-stressors go, after long hours in traffic or traveling Str8-n-up is a gentle assist to relax muscles and assist with muscular stress fading away.While Str8-n-Up can be used during some physical activities, it is most suitable to wear 30-45 minutes prior to an activity, or as a rest break following particularly stressful activities. The most impressive aspect of the Str8-n-up is its gentle nature. Because it cups the shoulders with a gentle fabric tension it has been found a suitable support for post-operative breast surgery to encourage the stretching and opening of the pectoral and chest wall muscles.
Virginia Redmond
Str8-n-UpTM
Virginia Redmond is the inventor of the Str8-n-Up and in January of 2010 received her letter from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office for her patent pending. Born in the Philippines, Virginia's family made their journey to the United States in 1968 and settled in California. As a child, Virginia would spend whole summers at the public library combing through piles of "how-to" books. Says Virginia: “I knew my mother and father did not have much so the next best thing was always trying to make it myself if I wanted something, and the public library was my ticket to figuring out how to make it. Whether it was stilts, a dollhouse, crocheting, etc., though the stuff I built was not as good as the stuff in the commercials, I was always proud of how I was able to make something similar to it. Now the public library has been replaced with the Internet.”
As an adult she began to delve into every aspect of computer creativity, from graphic designing to advertising. She had found her place in the world, but soon that came crashing down like the economy itself when she was laid-off for the first time in her career.
The stress associated with such a drastic change manifested itself as a severe pain that Virginia describes as "THE worst headache ever." The pains became severe enough that she was convinced it could possibly be a brain tumor. “Rarely do I get headaches and rarely take any medication for them," but Virginia says her panic went into overload.
After checking in with her doctor she learned "I was suffering from really bad tension headaches due to all the slouching I was doing.”
This was her motivation to look for something to help her slouching and tension problem. ”I started researching the web to see what products were available to help with the hunching when I’m on the computer for long hours. After weeks of searching I came to the conclusion that all the products I found were not what I was looking for. They were either medical or undergarment looking, seemed very tight and uncomfortable and not within my price range. I thought to myself that surely I could just whip something up on my sewing machine that would be much easier and more comfortable then the ones that were out there. I started playing with different fabrics, materials and sketching things out. Finally I figured out a design that was simple and would work for my purposes. That’s when the Str8-n-Up was born, the simply designed Spandex band that gently cups the edge of the shoulders, relieving tension around the spine and neck."
A number of chiropractic doctors have investigated the Str8-n-Up device and recommend them to their patients. Virginia welcomes inquiries for distributor opportunities, wholesale pricing, and commission sales opportunities. Currently she exposes Str8-n-Up through events, meetings and conferences and would welcome any invitations to come out and demonstrate Str8-n-Up to companies, organizations or anyone interested in becoming a distributor of her product. Contact Virginia Redmond at [email protected] or check their web site at www.str8-n-up.com.
New posture support product, Str8-n-Up, released
A newly designed support, the Str8-n-Up, makes use of physics, conditioning, and spandex to help create a stylish, simple solution to some structural problems. While not a "back support," the Str8-n-up is an accessory designed to assist and retrain the muscles of the upper back, chest, shoulder girdle, and neck to help relax and realign. Unlike a back support belt, which is designed to strap the trunk and support the muscles, the Str8-n-up is designed to be worn, not during activity, but rather several times throughout the day while taking an activity break. Worn for just 15 to 30 minutes at a time, the muscles of the upper back, shoulder girdle, and neck are stretched and realigned and seem to have the ability to function more effectively. So what is the Str8-n-up? It is a two piece postural accessory — a band and buckle. The fabric is comfortable, breathable, and very durable. The buckle was designed for ease of use, strength, and has been tested for environmental safety. The inspiration for the band is the infinity symbol. From the company's logo, to the design of the band, to the buckle itself, the figure “8” abounds around the Str8-n-Up. This symbol represents perfection, unity, and balance from the cultures of ancient India to Tibet, and this is the core objective of the Str8-n-Up concept. The tension of the band can easily be adjusted by a single, double, or triple twist of the fabric. It cups the edge of the shoulders, gently pulling the neck muscles downwards as well as pulling the chest muscles back to release tension and conditions the user to what proper form should feel like to help prevent hunching and slouching. At the heart of any fitness activity is keeping proper form. When proper form is practiced it helps to minimize injury to muscles and future health issues. Physical balance is created through a healthy, strong body and becoming aware of how you use it. Str8-n-Up gently supports proper shoulder placement, and allows for natural body movement. It helps to keep you mindful of your shoulder positioning without limiting your movements. As such it is an excellent accessory for children playing video games. The gentle reminder that Str8-n-Up offers to avoid slouching and rolling the shoulders forward goes farther than any verbal reminder. And as far as de-stressors go, after long hours in traffic or traveling Str8-n-Up is a gentle assist to relax muscles and assist with muscular stress fading away. While Str8-n-Up can be used during some physical activities, it is most suitable to wear 30 to 45 minutes prior to an activity, or as a rest break following particularly stressful activities.
November 18, 2011 — What do structural balance, muscles, and a strip of stretchy fabric have to do with one another? How about a tension relief and postural improvement device?
“The big difference between this and other products," says Virginia Redmond, inventor and holder of a pending patent, "is that I use a fabric that conforms and cups the shoulders, which gives for a gentle pull of the muscles and allows the user to freely move around, leaving them to continue their daily routine without feeling constrained by a tight apparatus. Str8-n-Up is based on body memory and conditions the user to understand what proper form should feel like. It is stylish, gentle, comfortable and simple. With laptops, computers and video games as part of our daily lives, we truly are in front of a monitor for long hours every day. Slouching causes many health issues and we truly have to be mindful of our form.”
