Will posture correction make you taller?

The answer is "either yes or no". The core depends on your definition of "getting taller". If you expect to rely on posture correction to re-grow the closed epiphysis and grow a few centimeters out of thin air, it is basically a fantasy. ； But if you recover the height that is "hidden" by bad posture, it will most likely make your numbers look much better when you measure your height.

When I usually conduct initial evaluations for students, I will ask them to measure their heights in a daily relaxed posture and a standard neutral standing posture. 80% of them have a difference of 1 to 2 centimeters. The biggest difference is almost 4 centimeters for a young man - he has relatively severe low shoulders and mild scoliosis. After more than half a year of correction, he has regained all those 4 centimeters, and the jeans he bought before are a bit too short. I have met a 27-year-old female designer before. She draws pictures at the computer desk every day. She has rounded shoulders and a forward pelvic tilt. She usually relaxes and stands up straight, and her naked height is always 161. After adjusting for more than three months of upper cross and pelvic problems, she later straightened up to 163 in a neutral stance. She measured it three times with a tape measure and said that she had never been higher than 162 since she was a child. In fact, she suddenly grew taller. Her spine was like a bent ruler before. When bent, it must have been short. When bent back to a straight state, the length naturally "becomes" longer.

Some people say that posture correction cannot make you taller at all, and this is actually true - what they mean by "gaining height" is the linear growth of the bones themselves. As long as the epiphyses are closed, no matter how you adjust your posture, the actual length of the leg bones and vertebrae will not change. Those who claim that "28 years old can still gain 5 centimeters through posture correction" are 100% IQ tax. On the other hand, some people say that as long as you correct your posture, you will definitely become taller. This is too absolute. I have met many people who are born with a very straight posture. The difference in height between relaxed standing and neutral standing is less than 0.5 centimeters. After correction, at most, the posture becomes more stretched and visually taller, but the actual height does not change at all.

If you don't believe it, you can try it now. Find a flat wall and place the back of your head, shoulder blades, buttocks, calves, and heels against the wall. Hold your chin and don't raise your head. At this time, ask someone to measure your height. Then measure your height in your usual relaxed standing posture. You can probably measure a difference of 0.5 to 2 centimeters. These are the heights you secretly "shrink" when you usually hold your breasts, slump your waist, and poke your neck.

The situation of children who are still in the developmental stage is more special. If they have long-term problems such as high and low shoulders, scoliosis, and sitting crookedly, it will indeed stretch the bones and affect normal growth. If corrected in time, it can help them grow to the ideal height destined by their genes. Otherwise, they may be two or three centimeters shorter than they should be.

To put it bluntly, posture correction is never a "magic tool for growing taller". It is more like "releasing" your original height completely. If you understand this, you will not be fooled by all kinds of exaggerated propaganda.