UAB EXPERTISE - PDF document

UAB EXPERTISE: Posture Basics W HY IS G OOD P OSTURE I MPORTANT ? Weight bearing activities are important for healthy bones. “Weight bearing” doesn’t necessarily mean lifting weights. Any activity where your own body weight is resting on your skeleton such as walking, gardening, dancing, gardening, the stepping machine or treadmill in the gym are weight bearing exercises! People with osteoporosis, especially those who have broken bones , are often scared to move. They may be afraid of breaking more bones if they move the wrong way. However, not moving at all or very little can make your bones even weaker – increasing your chances of breaking a bone! Good posture can help lower your chances of breaking bones in your spine. These broken bones are often called “ compression fractures ”. They are o

ften painless so you may not know if you’ve had one. These kinds of broken bones can cause height loss and a “dowager’s hump” in the upper back . Good posture has other benefits besides lowering your chances of breaking a bone . Proper posture can: • improve appearance • reduce back pain • lower the risk of back injuries • improve the movement of joints • maximizing muscle strength W HAT IS G OOD P OSTURE ? What does “good posture” mean? When you do things like bending over to tie shoes, slumping while sitting, lifting, sweeping or mopping, you bend and twist the spine. If you have osteoporosis in the spine, bending and twisting can cause little “mini - fractur es” in the spine. These “mini - fractures” can build up over time with more bending and twisting and end up causing a co

mpression fracture (broken bones). But how can you get your housework done or exercise without bending and twisting? H OW DO YOU NOT BE ND OR TWIST YOUR SPINE ? • Maintain a small hollow in the small of your back (lumbar area) with activity or rest • Avoid a slumped spinal posture: it is all right to bend your spine backwards • Keep your head up and not sticking forward • Keep your chest up • Avoid big movements with your arms • No movement should occur in your back when moving • All movement occurs through your legs and arms • Always face your work • Toes and nose point in the same direction • Stay close to your work H EALTHY P OSTURE FOR A LL Y OUR A CTIV ITIES F INDING G OOD P OSTURE W HILE S ITTING 1. In sitting, rock your pelvis backwards and forward un

til most of your weight is resting in front of your “sitting bones” (for women most of your weight should be resting where you would have your babies) or on you r pelvic floor. Most of you will find that your low back has formed a small hollow. If you have lost the range of motion to extend your low back backwards, sit up as tall as you can. 2. Allow your chest to relax by breathing deeply through your nose and then exhaling through your mouth 2 – 3 times when holding the hollow in the small of your back by tightening your stomach muscles. 3. Continue to hold the hollow in your low back as you properly align your shoulder blades . First, shrug your shoulder blades upward. Then move your shoulder blades backwards as you maintain them in an upward position. Finally, while your shoulder

girdles are in the back position pull them down. Hold your shoulder blades down and back for a t hree count and then relax. Perform this shoulder blade realignment 2 to 3 times . 4. Align your head/neck by performing chin tuck or dorsal glides. You perform a dorsal glide by looking straight ahead and tuck ing your chin in. You should not move your head up or down when you perform a dorsal glide. Find midline of this movement and the n hold. K EEPING G OOD P OSTURE W HILE S ITTING 1. Find your good posture as described above 2. Keep your stomach muscles tight . 3. Keep your knees lower than your hips so that your thighs slant downward and away from you . 4. Ke

ep your feet flat on the floor . 5. If you can’t keep your feet flat on the floor or your knees lower than your hips, move forward to the edge of the chair and drop one knee. 6. Find neutral spine and place a folded towel between the small of your back and the back of the chair. 7. Do not lean to one side or the other – when you lean, you twist your spine. 8. Keep your shoulders relaxed and out of your ears! 9. I f the arm rest are too high, your shoulder blades will move towards your ears – so don’t use them or build your own arm rests with pillows or towels . 10. I f arm rests are too low, you will have a tendency to lean on one arm rest o

r the other, twisting your spine so use towels or pillows to build them to the right height . 11. Remember to keep the hollow in the small of your back and your head and chest up . G OOD P OSTURE W HILE S ITTING AND L EANING 1. Find your good posture as described above . 2. Tighten your stomach muscles . 3. Spread your legs apart to shoulder width . 4. Lean forward through your hips keeping your head and chest up . You should not bend or twist your spine. 5. Your weight should shift from your bottom to your feet . Y ou may feel your bottom lift up off your chair slightly 6. To reassume a sitting position, push away from the floor with your legs and purposefully tightening y our bottom.

G OOD P OSTURE W HILE S TANDING U P 1. Scoot to the edge of your chair . 2. Lean forward as described above with your head and chest up, stomach muscles tight to hold hollow in small of back . A ll movement occurs through your hips . 3. Stand up by tightening your leg muscles , purposefully tighten ing your buttock muscles . G OOD P OSTURE W HILE S ITTING D OWN 1. Back up to the chair until your legs touch the chair . 2. Keep your head and chest up, mov ing only through your hips and knees . K eep your stomach muscles tight as you slowly lower yourself into your chair . 3. Bend your knees to lower yourself . 4. Bend your hips to lean forward

and down . Y ou know you are doing it right if you feel like you are sticking your bottom out to be kicked ! 5. If you need to use your hands, reach back with both hands for the chair . S TANDING IN G OOD P OSTURE 1. Stand against the wall with your heels approximately two inches away from the wall. 2. Your f eet should be placed roughly should er width apart . 3. Your f eet can either be staggered slightly or parallel to each other . 4. Distribute your weight equally through both of your legs . 5. Your knees should be slightly relaxed . 6. Place your forearm between your low back and the wall . 7. Tighten your stomach muscles to flatten your

back against your forearm and hold . 8. Relax your chest by taking several deep breaths, then correct your shoulder blades and neck as you did when sitting (see above). 9. Align your head/neck by performing chin tuck or dorsal glides as described above when finding good posture in sitting 10. Maintain this posture by keeping your stomach muscles tight as you walk away from the wall . T here should be a small hollow in your low back . G OOD P OSTURE W HILE A CTIVELY S TANDING 1. All movement occurs through your ankle s , knee s , and hip s. Y our back should not move . You should also maintain the small hollow in your low back . 2. Your nose and toes should always point in the same direction to avoid twisting of your spine . 3. When carrying an object, keep the item clo

se to your body and keep your stomach muscl es tight . G OOD P OSTURE W HILE S TANDING AND L EANING 1. Find and hold good standing posture as described above . 2. Tighten and hold your stomach muscles tight throughout this movement to help you hold the small hollow in your back . Movement occurs via legs. 3. To lower yourself spread your legs apart and the then bend your knees . 4. To lower yourself further and go forward bend through your hips . Y ou should feel like your sticking your bottom out to be kicked . 5. Do not bend your neck forward because this will make the rest of your spine bend forward . Lead with your chest and keep your head/neck in good alignment as described above 6. When reaching f orward as you are leaning, reach with both arms to a

void twisting your body. 7. To return to upright position, tighten the muscles in front of your thighs and bottom to straighten your legs . R EACHING ABOVE YOUR HEAD 1. Reach above your head with both arms instead of one. This will keep you from twisting your back to one side. 2. Don’t reach over eye level . U se a sturdy stool to reach higher objects . 3. Always get as close as possible to the shelf . L IFTING 1. Find and hold good standing posture as described above . 2. Tighten and hold your stomach muscles throughout the lift . 3. Get as close to the object as possible . Put the object b

etween your toes by spreading your legs . 4. Squat down by bending through your hips, knees, and ankles . 5. Keep head and chest up throughout the lift . 6. Before standing up, pick the load up and hold it close to your body . 7. To stand up , purposefully tighten the front of your legs and buttocks to straighten your legs . S ITTING UP FROM LYING DOWN ( AND VICE VERSA !) 1. Hold your spine in good position by tightening your stomach muscles . 2. Roll like a log to your side . 3. Drop your legs of the side of your bed as you push up with your arms . 4. To lie down from sitting, lie down on your side then roll to your back like a lo