Good Posture: 10 Tips To Help You Stand Up Straight (PHOTOS)

Good posture will do more to keep you looking youthful as the years go by than a face-lift or Botox. And the benefits of maintaining your bone health are much more than skin-deep.

Although a stooped posture may seem to go hand in hand with old age, you can help prevent the characteristic rounding of the spine that is often caused by osteoporosis and the destruction of the vertebrae in the upper and middle spine.

Here are 10 tips to keep you standing tall at any age.

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Now that many of us spend our days hunched in front of a computer, "it's very important for us to be able to stretch and open up and improve our range of motion," says Jonathan F. Bean, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., an assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School in Boston. To stay limber, try to get up for a couple minutes every half hour and stretch, walk, or stand. More From Health.com: 10 Career Fields With High Rates of Depression You Can Have an Active Sex Life With Arthritis How Rheumatoid Arthritis Differs From Osteoarthritis

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Now that many of us spend our days hunched in front of a computer, "it's very important for us to be able to stretch and open up and improve our range of motion," says Jonathan F. Bean, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., an assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

To stay limber, try to get up for a couple minutes every half hour and stretch, walk, or stand.


More From Health.com:
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How Rheumatoid Arthritis Differs From Osteoarthritis

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Comments

[shaun medrik]

04:30 AM on 12/21/2010

It is good tips for the all people those work in office and many time spent time on chair .It is nice tips for all healthy people.

belly rings

[HarrietteTheSpy]

10:55 PM on 12/19/2010

Hello All- it's incredible that mainstream has not caught onto how chairs are NOT designed for women! this is basic science and should be common knowledge. (well a lot of things should be common knowledge like not eating processed foods, hormones, etc but I digress). check out the squig chair. change your life through your seat. (of course the balance balls are also good to sit on at the desk). peace and great posture to you - hts

[caad4]

12:00 PM on 12/17/2010

Surreytaichi has it right!

[caad4]

12:00 PM on 12/17/2010

Do NOT use machines to strengthen pelvic, oblique or especially cervical spine muscles! Biomechanically detrimental to muscular balance as well as harmful.

[SurreyTaiChi]

09:46 AM on 12/17/2010

core strength cannot be overstated as a key to proper posture. i sometimes take this for granted when working with beginners in meditation. they quickly become tired, stiff, and uncomfortable when sitting without back support. at the same time, this core strength must be soft and flexible. it's not about having a six pack. those who are overly developed in this area, rippling six packs, are less connected to their lower half and are actually quite stiff. core strength needs to be supple and uniform. once that strength is developed through systems like yoga, tao yin, tai chi, etc. sitting and standing straight is simply the most natural and most comfortable way to stand and sit. i admit my reservations with systems like pilates which often seem to work from the outside in versus the inside out. i have worked with a number of pilates enthusiasts who have flexibility and some measure of core strength but who are still quite stiff, in some cases, incredibly so. good posture also relies on being able to release muscles, or we would say to "soften" at a deep level. core strength that is more superficial, that is, focused on first layer of muscles (there are three in my understanding of anatomy), can obscure one's ability to feel or discern this deeper level. the true core is the tertiary layer of muscles running along the spine.

[realitytrumpsbull]

07:59 PM on 12/16/2010

I say take 5 minutes away from that infernal thing every hour, and ask your office manager if it would be feasible to replace normal desks with work counters that are at the right height for typing while standing. 
You can get bar stools or similar if people still want to sit down while working on the computer, but whatever it takes, get out of that office chair on a regular basis, so your legs don't rot off.

[HarrietteTheSpy]

10:55 PM on 12/19/2010

thank you - yes! - and my above comment: Hello All- it's incredible that mainstream has not caught onto how chairs are NOT designed for women! this is basic science and should be common knowledge. (well a lot of things should be common knowledge like not eating processed foods, hormones, etc but I digress). check out the squig chair. change your life through your seat. (of course the balance balls are also good to sit on at the desk). peace and great posture to you - hts

[colred]

07:20 PM on 12/16/2010

Love Pilates. Love yoga. Love my sits bones.

[lucerot]

03:56 PM on 12/16/2010

"A stronger core can even make sex more fun." ===== How can sex be *more* fun? Even bad sex is still good sex.

[HarrietteTheSpy]

10:57 PM on 12/19/2010

not here. there is bad s2x, porn-add1icted s3x -- like most of America -- it is completely depressing. find tantra and america would heal in part.

[wm1066]

02:03 PM on 12/16/2010

So what happened to walking around balancing a book on your head? Thats worked for decades.

[Taum in Truckee]

10:54 AM on 12/16/2010

Good job, and I learned sumpthin', THANK YOU Huffpost!
As a 30+ year manual therapist, my suggestion is to train yourself to feel your sit-bones as you sit. Sitting and sit bones...as simple as this sounds, once your body gets use to this balanced arrangement, you almost end up there automatically. Simply rock your hips back and forth until you feel them...you are there!

[HarrietteTheSpy]

10:58 PM on 12/19/2010

since you are a pro, check out the squig chair. the chairs women sit at are not designed for their bodies. no wonder there are problems. happy holidays to you - hts

[AspenPinetree]

10:13 AM on 12/16/2010

Pilates has made a huge difference in my life. I have neck problems that prevent me from doing any high impact exercise. I also sit in front of a computer all day. Not a good combination. I urge everybody to find a good instructor and go at least once a week. It's fun and life changing. Make it a New Years resolution!