Over the years, I’ve developed a finely tuned BS meter, and when I read the literature on the Opedix PS-1, it went off the scale.  “By touching specific neuro-receptors in the body that fire specific messages to the brain…the technology creates a positive anotomical change in the body.”  Yeah, right.  How can a shirt that fits different people in different ways based on their different body styles hit “specific neuro-receptors?”

Luckily for me, I’m a good cook…because I’m eating an awful lot of crow on this one.  If anything, the description understates what the PS-1 does.  First, a look at the shirt…then, at the effects.

The Opedix PS-1 is a finely crafted piece of weird science.  The front looks fairly normal; you’d be excused for thinking it was from Under Armour or any of the other “tight fit” school of stretchy athletic wear.  It’s when you look at the back that things get strange.  Carefully pieced in among panels of the stretchy fabric are panels of emphatically NOT stretchy webbing material.  Okay, there’s a little stretch to it, but not much.  It’s a beautifully crafted garment; the seams are smooth and don’t show any signs of gapping or stressing either fabric, which is a relatively difficult trick when marrying two dramatically different materials together.  I can’t find anything to complain about in the materials or construction, even at the high price (depending on model, the Posture Shirt runs from $99.95 to a whopping $130).  There are 4 versions; the standard black, a V-neck version that’s designed for golf (more on that later), a mock T-neck with a short zipper if you need a long sleeve version, and one that’s not showing on their website yet called the “River Shirt”; it’s sort of a fleece version that was designed to meet the needs of whitewater kayakers.

Putting the PS-1 on, one word immediately comes to mind…tight.  They aren’t joking when they say that the main fabric is “4 way stretch compression”, with the emphasis on compression.  I’m typically a medium, and I can’t even come CLOSE to using that; I’m in a large now, which is still very form fitting.  If you’re on the edge of a size range, opt for the larger size, period.  Once you squeeze yourself into it, though, it’s very comfortable, as the fabric moves easily with you and doesn’t bind or chafe.  After a few minutes, I don’t even notice I have it on, unless I actively think about it.  Okay, so it’s comfortable, it’s well designed, even good looking, but does it do what it’s supposed to?  Let’s take their claims from the website one-by-one.

1.  Improved posture.  It’s hard to imagine what a difference the PS-1 makes, automatically.  As soon as you put it on, you feel your shoulders lift and rotate back.  This is the largest effect of the shirt, and it’s impressive.  And, I hate to admit it, but I don’t think it’s entirely because it’s tight and has more stretch in the front than the back; I think their whole “proprioception” concept may in fact be accurate.  Not only can you feel it, you can see it; the change in the relationship of your shoulders to the line of your spine is obvious.  I’ve put a half dozen different people into these shirts to see what happens, and it’s absolutely consistent.  With my sweetheart Susan standing relaxed in a regular athletic shirt, her arms hang so they follow a line down the middle of her waist when viewed from the side.  With the PS-1 on, her shoulders rotate back, and her natural position moves her arms back around an inch and a half, or more in line with the small of her back.  Based on that, we ran some experiments with me wearing the PS-1 and an Under Armour Heat Gear T, which is more or less the PS-1’s equivalent, and took photos of me doing different things in both.  And, consistently, we noticed certain differences.  Look at the two photos.  When wearing the PS-1, you can see that the ball of my shoulder is higher; look for the bump of it showing in the photo, whereas it’s not visible in the UA shot.  Second, look at my left elbow; in the UA photo, it’s barely visible, in the PS-1 photo it’s quite obvious.  That comes from my shoulder joint being rotated up and back, a sign that I’m standing up straighter and holding my “frame” better.  Third, look at the line from the back of my neck down to my shoulderblades, then from there to the small of my back.  The angle is much more pronounced in the UA photo, confirming that my shoulders are rotated forward more.  Clearly, the effects of the PS-1 aren’t simply from compression, or the UA shirt would have a similar effect.  From a purely aesthetic point of view, every person I’ve seen in these things actually DOES look better.  They stand straighter, seem taller, tend to also hold their heads more upright.  Claim #1, confirmed.

2.  Increased strength in the shoulder.  This, I can’t even come close to confirming.  They’re talking about a measured 6% difference in strength; I’m just not able to measure that.  However, a certain amount of logic says that if you’re standing more correctly, and using your body better, that more strength would be a reasonable outcome.  Let’s call this one “needs more investigation”…or go read their scientific basis and judge for yourself!

3.  Increased mobility to the shoulder joint.  Again, beyond the scope of our ability to test; however, we certainly haven’t noticed any LESS mobility.

4.  Increased lung capacity.  I’m a cyclist, and one thing that’s always a problem is sucking enough air in our lungs to fuel our legs when we’re working hard.  And I have NO hesitation in saying that the PS-1 makes this easier.  By holding my shoulders in the correct position, my chest sticks out and my airway stays open.  Lung capacity increases and perceived effort to take a deep breath and get my lungs emptied decreases.  When I’m in the middle of a hard ride or a race, and I’m near my limits (we’re talking heartrates well up in the 190s), the shirt clearly makes a difference.  The difference is so great, in fact, that after testing it in early spring rides where it was chilly, I ordered the golf version, which is made of a lighter fabric, so I can race in it in the summer.  I’ve been doing some of my best riding ever this spring, and I have no hesitation in saying that part of it is the effect of the PS-1.  Anyone who reads my articles knows that I’m not prone to making statements that are that definitive, but it’s hard to ignore the way I feel and the way I perform when I’m wearing it.

5.  Can reduce back, neck, and shoulder pain.  Duh.  Sorry, but that’s so obvious it’s almost not worth mentioning.  Go to your chiropractor, tell him/her you have neck and shoulder pain, and immediately you’ll get a lecture about correct posture.  This does some of it for you.  End of story.  If I were a chiropractor, in fact, I’d be testing these things to see if I want to recommend them to my clients.

6.  May decrease muscle tension in the neck and shoulder.  There again, if you stand correctly, you’re letting your skeletal system do more of the work.  And if that’s happening, your muscles don’t have to.  Since they’re working less, they’re less tense.  Once again…duh.

I hate weird science and voodoo… I like things to be obvious and easily explained.  The whole “proprioception” thing, though, isn’t obvious OR easily explained.  It sounded hokey when I read it the first time, and it still bugs me.  But, I found a way to explain it to myself that made it work for me.  Imagine you’re standing at the top of a cliff, nobody around you, enjoying the view…and then someone lightly touches you between the shoulder blades.  Not a push (if you’re lucky), but just the lightest of taps.  Your immediate, unconscious, uncontrollable reaction is to suck in a deep breath, lift your shoulders, and pull them back…aligning yourself for maximum ability to turn, run, or fight.  THAT’S proprioception, and that’s what the PS-1 does, minus the massive adrenaline rush and the likelihood that you’re going to kill or be killed.

An interesting effect of using the PS-1 is that I’m now much more aware of my shoulder position, and my general posture is better even when I’m not wearing it; I often find myself semi-consciously checking to make sure that I’m holding myself in a position that allows for good breathing, whether cycling, running, hiking, whatever.  However, when I’m under stress, like at the Wildman Biathlon, having the shirt doing the work of holding me in the correct position really makes a big difference.  I took over 3 minutes off my previous time up the climb during that race (about a 7% improvement), yet my heartrate numbers were virtually identical.  Faster effort, same heartrate…it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that either I was getting more oxygen into my system due to better breathing, or that having the shirt naturally holding me in the correct position meant less oxygen going to upper body stress, and therefore available for my legs.

So…final analysis.  If you just want to look better and feel studly (male or female), and have lots of money to spend for something your friends don’t have, buy a PS-1.  If you have back/shoulder issues, consider buying one.  But if you spend hours at a highly aerobic sport where your ability to maximize your body’s efficiency at pushing oxygen to your muscles matters…you NEED the PS-1.  It’s been mentioned more than once in print just how cheap I am…and I just bought 2 of them.  ‘Nuff said?