Proper Posture and Body Mechanics - Biomechanics #5

  There are many reasons why it is important for occupational therapists to educate clients who have faulty posture and poor body mechanics on how to properly correct them. One reason why it is important to teach proper posture is because postural issues can lead to abnormal development of various mechanisms in the body. This includes development of bones, muscles, and tendons. It is crucial for proper posture and body mechanics to be taught to a client because it can help with pain prevention. When improper positioning of the body occurs for a length of time it can lead to damage which can cause pain while doing everyday activities. It’s important to teach clients proper body mechanics because poor body mechanics can lead to injury. These injuries can occur at home but they especially can occur while doing a job task. It is also crucial to prevent the client from having poor body mechanics and posture because it allows the body to function to its highest potential. When there is good body posture and body mechanics the organs can function properly. Degeneration of the bones, muscles, and tendons can also be a result of poor posture and body mechanics. 

  
 One example of how to teach proper body mechanics would be to implement proper lifting techniques to a client who works in factory like Fedex. In this job, it requires a lot of heavy lifting and moving packages from one location to the next. A client may have developed back pain from improper lifting and twisting. An OT could teach the client how to lift with their legs bent, avoid twisting the spine when moving heavy packages, do stretching exercises before work and on breaks, have the back straight, have the weight close to the body, and tell the client to take frequent breaks if it becomes too much for their body to handle. 

  
 For proper posture, an example of a client intervention would be a client that works at a computer desk all day and has forward head posture like excessive thoracic kyphosis. This posture can potentially impair respiration as well as make the chest muscles tighter. It would be best for an OT to implement good sitting posture in which the center of gravity is centered over the base of support and the pelvis is on a neutral position. 
                             http://johnglenntaylor.blogspot.com/2009/11/lifting-safely.html

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