Posture is a concept that has been familiar to us from a young age, but still we neglect its importance. Read or hear the word “posture” and everyone invariably sits up straight in their chairs.
However, that might not be the best response for you as an individual. You will have many postures during the day, and it might be only one or two that are a problem for you. It is important to identify if and when posture might be a problem for you. Remember that no two people are exactly alike.
You may have heard the term “core” strength. Those of us in the sporting environment are constantly reminded of the importance of training your “core”. Core activation and strengthening are concepts using specific movements and exercises to improve control over our postures. Analyzing and correcting your own particular posture is at the CORE (pardon the pun) of physiotherapy assessment and treatment. How you move in your daily tasks is specific to you. Therefore it is vital to have your posture assessed and if necessary corrected using a variety of core exercises and methods of feedback.
Good posture is the ability to safely control the movements you need to make. It is necessary to place the least amount of strain on the body’s supporting structures such as muscles, nerves, tendons, bones and ligaments. Poor posture could result in restriction of one area that requires compensatory dysfunctional movement at another. The result: pain and injury.
Here are examples of things that are unhelpful for posture:
- Repetitive use of body segments beyond the tissues tolerance, often seen when participating in sports requiring repetitive movements. Swimmers will often over extend at the lumbar spine to compensate for limited shoulder movement with every stroke.
- Inactive people in sustained postures. We were never made to sit for long periods of time, which makes finding the ideal sitting position very difficult.
- Constantly leaning in one direction or rotating to one side. Working at a desk would often result in repetitive twisting to one side to pick up paper work.
- Habits such as carrying a baby on one hip, or carrying your school bag on one shoulder.
Other personal and psychosocial factors could also play a big role in the development of bad posture and these will also need addressing. My next post detail the positive effects of good posture and give you some tips on how to change from bad to good posture.
If you are concerned about your posture or alignment you are welcome to visit Luke & Barker for a comprehensive evaluation of your body postures.
By Karl Meiring, B.Sc. Physio (UCT)