3 Simple Exercises That Will Improve Your Posture

Ah, the joys of aging: Hips widen, hair falls out and posture droops.

Fortunately, you can fight back against the last of these age-related scourges. A few key exercises can help you straighten up and avoid unnecessary neck and back pain, according to a recent AARP report.

The key to combating bad posture is to get moving, AARP says. Years of sitting at a desk — and worse, hunching forward while typing at a computer — eventually cause us to develop rounded shoulders and a forward-leaning head.

Muscle and bone loss associated with age exacerbate the problems.

By getting more active, we can help “reset” our body posture, AARP says. The organization talked to experts who recommend the following:

1. Sit in a chair with your feet on the floor. Push yourself straight up into a standing position. Doing this four to five times every half-hour can lead to dramatic improvements, says Chad Adams, a chiropractor at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.
2. Sit in a chair and occasionally squeeze your shoulder blades together, holding the position for up to five seconds. Keep shoulders down through the exercise.
3. When working at your computer, occasionally check that your chin is parallel to the floor and ears are aligned with your shoulders.

For more tips on improving posture, check out the report at the AARP website.

Fighting back against age-related health problems

Poor posture is not the only malady to strike as we get older.

As we have reported, more than one-quarter of adults ages 65 or older have diabetes. And more than one-third of adults 65 and older are obese.

But as with drooping posture, you don’t have to give in to these health problems. To find out how to fight back, check out “7 Costly Health Problems That Strike After Age 50.”

For more on the benefits of staying active, check out “8 Reasons You Need to Stay Fit After Age 50.”

How do you keep your posture in shape? Share with us by commenting below or on our Facebook page.