Skip to main content

The Power of Posture

By
Proper posture and body mechanics are an essential role in prevention of energy and rehabilitation after an injury. Good posture allows our bodies to breath, move, and align properly causing minimal strain to the muscles and joints. Often times, we are unaware of our posture until the pain begins to interfere with our daily activities. Having proper posture and good body mechanics can:

1) Ensure efficiency in performing functional task
2) Prevent injury especially back injuries - most back problems result from poor posture and/ or bad body mechanics
3) Allow internal organs ability to function properly 
4) Reduce stress that is put on the spine and avoid strains of additional muscles and ligaments 


When teaching proper body mechanics and OT or an OT student would: 
  •  Ensure the client is educated on awareness of their own body mechanics. Modify daily task to insure minimal strain on the body. If a person works at a desk all day an example of a modification would be getting a desk that raises and allows the person to stand and work for different periods throughout the day. 
  • Another example would be teaching your client proper body mechanics when lifting. An occuaptional therapist would remind the client to bend at knees, not at waist, do not torque back as you lift, keep object you are lifting below waist level, keep objects close to your center of gravity, avoid reaching for objects. 



Education is very important as well as the client being aware of the strains that are being put on their body. With a little practice, good body mechanics and a nice posture can significantly reduce the risk of injury and minimize the level of pain. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scapulohumeral Rhythm Blog Post 3

By
Scapulohumeral Rhythm Scapulohumeral Rhythm is clinically important because it is the optimal function of the shoulder by allowing optimal length tension relationships. Scapulohumeral Rhythm is the ratio of movement between the scapula and the humerus.  Every time the scapula moves one degree the humerus moves 2 degrees. The humerus must coordinate with the scapula to provide a smooth ROM, which is 180 degrees without compromising the stability of the joint.  Without Scapulohumeral Rhythm there would be impingements in flexion and abduction. Also, allowing for synchronic measurements. These measurements can help you when you’re measuring a clients ROM to see if there are abnormalities.   http://www.geocities.ws/ptexas9/scap-rhythm.html
Post a Comment
Read more

Man from the South

By
In the story, “Man from the South,” a soldier who was training to be in the U.S Navy was betting the destiny of his pinky finger based on a cigarette lighter.  If he loses the bet, and loses his pinky finger, he would most certainly have routine changes that would affect his occupations. Along with losing his pinky finger, he would also lose 50% of his grip strength. If he lost his dominant pinky hand then firing a firearm would be more difficult than if he lost on non-dominant hand however both affecting stabilizing the firearm thus creating poor accuracy. Soldiers have PT which usually involve pull-ups etc. this grip would be significantly affected. With the help of an occupational therapist to modify the handling of a firearm, a sling to help hold the gun in place and have better aim. If the wife would lose grip power for instance holding a vacuum handle, and other various household chores. 
1 comment
Read more
By
Health Literacy in Occupational Therapy   Did you know the average is American is only reading at a 7th-8th grade reading level? This could be a very life-threatening deficiency when it comes to medication management. If a person doesn't understand the labels, or the packets sent home the client can be at a high risk for overdosing due to taking too many or just be discouraged and not take the medicine at all which can be life threatening as well. It is important that as clinicians we use common terminology when speaking to our clients about their health. It is equally important that we check to see if the client is comprehending their diagnosis and treatments. The overall goal is to make sure the client is healthy, and by educating the client on ways to maintain their health we can ensure that they are working in the right direction. It takes a village, and as OTs we are a part of someone’s village that is working together to prevent, maintain, and rehabilitate.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more