Proper Posture and Body Mechanics

     It is important to teach proper posture and body mechanics to clients who have faulty posture and poor body mechanics for a number of reasons. Teaching the client how to have proper posture will begin to help them correctly maintain better body alignment. Better body alignment will set the client up to move in a safer, more efficient, and effective manner. Correct alignment of the spine allows for the client to maintain the natural curves of the spine therefore taking away any unnecessary compression to the spinal column. When the curves of the spinal column are compressed it can cause a number of painful situations in the body. One I think of right way is sciatica and how compression of the lumbar and sacrum helps contribute to the sciatic nerve getting pinched causing terrible pain that can run all the way down the leg. Proper posture will also allow the client to have better breathing capabilities which will serve to benefit the entire body. Better breathing will help with circulation, better organ function, and mental focus. If the client is carrying themselves with proper posture it will help them to move through space in a safer way, hopefully preventing them from any further injury. Of course, it will be important to teach them how to perform certain tasks while maintaining proper posture. Teaching them to bend their knees, fold from the hips, engage their abdominals, and keep a straight spine in order to pick something up, as long as it is not too heavy to begin with. Also teaching them when picking something up it should be as close to their body as possible because the farther away it is, the more force it creates thus causing strain to the spinal column, muscles, and joints.

Helping my client maintain proper posture and body mechanics while doing the dishes:

     I would first probably teach a simple warm-up abdominal exercise with my client to help them to remember to correctly work the front body in conjunction with the back body. A lot of people forget that what you do with the front of the body affects the back of the body and vice versa. And a lot of poor posture can be made worse by having weak abdominals. The exercise I would have my client do, would be very gentle and simple yet informative and effective. I would have them stand with their back against a wall with feet slightly separated and knees gently bent. If they needed more support, they could keep their hands on the wall or if their balance was stable, I would have them place their hands on both sides of their abdominal area for better proprioceptive feedback. Then I would teach them the breathing pattern. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth while making the “S” sound, sssssss, like a snake. I would then go over what to do with the abdominal area and spine. Keeping the back against the wall, pelvis neutral, chest lifted, scapula and shoulders as close to the wall as possible, let the belly relax on the inhale and on the exhale, when you make the sssssss sound, lift the abdominal area in and up. This, I would explain, is abdominal engagement. If they could maintain the engagement, I would have them inhale again through the nose and exhale through the mouth making the sssssss sound and see if they could slightly lift the abdominal area in and up just a tiny bit more. Being careful not to over flex at the lumbar spine. Then on the next inhale release. Building the number of repetitions slowly over time. Never should the client feel out of breath or like they need to pant. Hopefully the warm-up would help them connect the front and back parts of the body to feel more united. 

     We would then go to the kitchen sink and go over how to stand with proper posture. Both feet on the floor with the weight equally distributed, knees slightly flexed not locked and pointing in the same of direction of the feet, pelvis neutral with hips as level as possible, chest lifted, shoulders gently back with scapula sliding down away from the ears, head and eyes looking forward not down. I would provide visual examples of what I am saying to do, to help the client understand. Next we would do over ways to wash or rinse the dishes off that did not cause added stress to the client’s spine. When it came time to put the dishes in the dishwasher, I would show the client how to turn all the way to face the dishwasher not to twist or torque the spine, as well as not to reach too far away from their body while holding a dish. I would remind them that they need to bend their knees, keep the spine straight, with the abdominal area engaged, when placing the dishes inside the dishwasher. I would also show the client the golfer’s lift technique as another option for putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I would have the client practice with me so that I could give feedback in order to help correct any misunderstandings of the proper techniques, as well as to observe for any muscle weakness or areas of compensation that might need to be addressed.