Posture & Body Mechanics

It is important to teach proper posture and body mechanics to clients so the client will have an understanding of the harm they are doing to their body. If the client understands the complications or injuries that can arise from poor posture and poor body mechanics they will be more self-sufficient in correcting their own faults. Another reason we should teach proper posture and body mechanics is to prevent musculoskeletal injuries. We have learned in class that improper posture and body mechanics can produce strains, disc herniations, and arthritic disorders. Instructing the client on the correct way to sit and lift can prevent these complications from arising. Another reason to teach proper body mechanics to a client is to activate their muscles when lifting. Everyone has performed a lift solely with their back and felt the repercussions the following days. If we teach our clients the proper techniques of lifting objects they will activate their muscles and gain strength for future lifting. For example, lifting a heavy box from the ground is often incorrectly performed by bending at the waist and lifting the box solely with the lumbar spine. Instead, the client should position themselves close to the box, have a wide base of support, and bend at the knees while keeping their back straight. All while keeping the box close to their body. This method will activate their quadriceps muscles and prevent a devastating injury to their lumbar spine. Lastly, teaching our client proper posture and body mechanics is important so they can teach their family and friends proper body mechanics. If they understand the benefits of proper posture and body mechanics then they will be able to help teach others and prevent more injuries from occurring. This can create a cycle of injury prevention!

One example of how to use proper posture and body mechanics is when the therapist is helping perform a transfer from the client's wheelchair to their bed. The therapist MUST have a gait belt on the client first! The therapist must have them anteriorly sitting in their wheelchair. Then the therapist will have wide base of support and bend at the knees and not at the back. The therapist will use their quadriceps to lift the client up and assist them in transferring to their bed. This is one example where a therapist can use proper body mechanics when helping with a transfer.

An example of teaching a client good posture and body mechanics is instructing them on the correct posture while driving. The positioning of the seat, steering wheel, pedals, and mirrors when driving are vital to ensuring the client will be using proper posture. The therapist can instruct the client on proper seat positioning so the client will not be slouched or leaning back too far while driving. This coincides with reaching for the steering wheel. If the client's seat is too far away from the steering wheel then they will be over extended reaching for the wheel. Teaching the client to have their seat upright and close enough to the steering wheel so they can easily reach the 10 and 2 position is important for proper posture. This is not only important for proper posture, but also vital for safety while driving!

Blog Post #4- Man from the South

In this story, Man from the South, the soldier is going to potentially lose his pinky finger. If he were to lose his pinky this would be devastating for the functional use of his hand. The pinky plays a vital role in our functional grip strength and losing that finger would wreck havoc on the solider's grip.
    In the story, if the soldier lost the bet and he lost his pinky he would have a difficult time gripping his canteen for drinking. Grasping his large canteen would be difficult without his pinky finger due to the importance of the pinky in a functional, cylindrical grasp. Some scholars say that loss of your pinky can result in a loss of 30-50% of your grip strength. While he could grip his canteen with two hands, this may require him to stop and spend valuable time he could be performing other tasks.  I even tried to grasp a large vase at home without the use of my pinky and it was incredibly unstable. After adding my pinky to the grasp again, it was a much more stable and secure.
    One modification for the soldier grasping his canteen would be adding a handle. The addition of a handle would allow the soldier to functionally grasp the canteen without the use of the lost pinky. This would also allow the soldier to only use one hand to drink and could save him time from having to use two hands for stabilization. I believe adding a handle, similar to a coffee mug, would allow the soldier to easily grip his canteen for drinking.