Posture and Body Mechanics

It is so important to teach proper posture and body mechanics. I'm sure we have all been told to "stand up straight" at some point in our life. It is so easy to get into bad habits of slouching or poor posture. To have good posture, we must have good body mechanics. Poor body mechanics can cause problems with the lower part of the back. It is important to teach a person with poor posture/body mechanics to "stand up straight" so that we can prevent further damage to the lower back. It is important to teach clients with poor body mechanics how to lift things properly. By doing so, it will help reduce back pain and injuries. It is important to show them how to lift and bend properly so they can fix the bad habits they already have. I have seen first hand how fixing poor posture and body mechanics can help reduce pain in the lower back. I used to have a lot of back pain when I was in high school as a cheerleader. We were taught incorrectly how to lift other girls in the air. It wasn't until we got a new coach who had health care experience that we learned how to lift properly. This reduced a lot of pain my teammates and I were experiencing. It is important to learn proper body mechanics early so that you wont do more damage. With my own clients that experience back pain from poor posture and body mechanics, I would show them the right way to lift things and bend. I believe that visually showing someone what to do helps out a lot. I would start by showing them how they do it (which is the wrong way) and then show them how it is supposed to be done. I would explain that when bending to lift something, the proper technique would be to start bending with your knees, widening your base of support, and use your legs to lift the object. I would tell them that when you have your torso bent forward, it would cause strain in the back muscles. The next intervention I would do to help a client with poor posture and body mechanics is practice sitting straight and not slouched over. I would demonstrate again what they did wrong and how to do it right. I know it may be hard for a person who has slouched their whole life to start sitting up straight. A suggestion that I would give the person to help them remember to not slouch would be to buy a tennis ball or softball. Whenever they go to sit for a period of time, find a chair that has a back support. I would tell them to put the ball between their shoulder blades and sit back. The object of this is to not let the ball fall down and this helps with keeping a straight posture. It is so important that we educate clients on proper posture and body mechanics because it can help reduce pain and injury.