About posture in the workplace
In this newsletter we bring you the first on a series called, 'About Posture at the Workplace'. It's intended to highlight some of the finer points on posture and then later in the series cover the benefits to business in taking an interest in posture. As we progress we will save the complete series to our website.
Introduction
We often hear negative phrases about posture: "My posture's awful" , "I know I ought to do something" , I was always being told, " Sit up straight" . But what does this mean?
In the first five articles of a series of nine, a positive approach to the subject is taken, trying to clarify what posture is, the implications to the individual of poor posture, why we should do something about it and the principles of how to do so.
In the last four articles we will discuss the question, Why should the employer take an interest in posture? Government statistics do not show the effects of poor posture in the workplace - the Health and Safety Executive reports on absence through work-related injury. But every absence is the culmination of a chain of events. For accidents, that chain may be short. For long term effects of poor posture, the chain is almost certainly comparatively long. The real loss to companies is not just the relatively few who do take time off because of pain, it is the loss of efficiency of those who suffer now but grin and bear it .
Although we refer in this article largely to work at computer workstations, the principles apply to any work activity and to our whole life relaxation, hobby, sport, housework, childcare, everything.
What is posture?
Posture is a static state A position of the body or An attitude (dictionary.com), Posture is arrested movement (Bobath). By itself it s a word which is often qualified defensive, poor, bad, aggressive, happy and is often used in related ways, with overtones of opinion towards something, sometimes with a meaning of falsehood. What distinguishes it from position is the inclusion of a mental ingredient, particularly mood or emotion; i.e. posture is a position with attitude , so to speak. We always have a posture of some kind or another, even if the mental intention behind it is subconscious. And, of course, it is well documented that body language plays a large part in communication.
Our bones hold us up, our joints link our bones, our muscles move the bones around the joints and our nerves facilitate control of the whole. The key to good posture is correct joint alignment, but muscle activity, balance and nerves are all part of the picture and will be covered in the second article.
Joint alignment
Joints are not just the obvious ones such as those on the arms or legs, but the term applies to any links between bones including the spine, shoulders and hips and weight-bearing joints in the feet. There are about 230 mobile and semi-mobile joints in the body. Our bodies evolved for certain purposes and our joints move in particular ways to fulfil those purposes most efficiently. When alignment is correct that is, in the evolved position our body is in balance and our muscles and joints are working with least effort.
This actually applies to movement as well as to static posture. Professional athletes go to great lengths to understand this, for then their bodies are not just in balance but achieving maximum output as well. If our joints are used differently from their designed position, we say they are out of alignment. One of the effects of using joints out of alignment is at least discomfort, which can manifest as pain and eventually become injury.
The degree of mal-alignment is material; a very slight amount and the effect is not immediately serious. A greater degree and we know about it instantly. If a joint is both mal-aligned and under stress, something gives and a break or a tear ensues. Something gives can mean quickly or over a period of time if the stress is lower level but repetitive hence repetitive strain injury. This can occur anywhere in the body.
Mal-alignment leads to muscle imbalance. Muscles adapt; for instance, an arm in plaster cannot be stretched immediately when the plaster comes off. The same effect happens when a joint is held in the wrong position over a period of time, which is why some people have round backs or slumped shoulders.
Next article: muscle activity, balance and nerves.
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