How can I fix the child's bad posture? During these online education

 POSTURE OF GROWING KIDS   

Most postural problems start from childhood / adolescence, when the body is developing.  Poor posture can result in pain or disability.  Good posture in childhood ensures good habits in adult life.

 Good posture

Posture is the positioning of the parts of the body when standing, sitting or lying down.
Good posture is the state of balance between muscles and joints which protects the body against injury.  This puts the least amount of strain your back.

 Good posture :

• The spine keeps its natural ‘S’ curve ,                      
• Bones and joints are aligned so that muscles can be used efficiently
• Ligaments supporting the spine are not strained
• Your body doesn’t tire as easily
• You don’t get back pain
• You look good!

Therefore to get a good posture you need to:

• Have strong stabilization muscles (e.g. core)
• Have flexible muscles
• Have a balance between muscles on each side of the spine
• Have good joint mobility
• Be aware of your posture and work on it

​​Regular exercise such as running, swimming or playing different sports will help keep the muscles strong.

​There are many causes of incorrect posture in children.  Nowadays factors such as;

1.  prolonged sitting in front of the TV or playing games on the tablet or cell phone play a major role in poor posture. 
2.  Heavy schoolbags are another weighty problem. 
3.  Other causes include poor seating, beds or desks;
4.  diseases and disabilities; 
5. obesity and self esteem.

Children spend increasingly more time in a seated position, in the classroom and at home in front of the TV or computer.  Maintaining a sitting position for a long time causes asymmetries of the body.  The normal lumbar curve decreases and the thoracic spine slouches.

​ ​ Children should follow these guidelines to improve sitting posture.  Keep your back straight by sitting with your back against the backrest of the chair. Your hips and knees should be bent at 90 degrees. Your feet should be flat on the floor. Don’t cross your legs.

Sitting correctly when working on a computer is also important:

1.  Don’t lean forward, sit with your back up straight against the backrest of the chair.
2. Move the chair close to the keyboard so that your arms can rest on the desk.  Keep your shoulders relaxed.
3. Your eyes should be level with the top of the screen.
4. You should move around every 30 minutes to let your body relax

About school bags;

​The weight of children’s schoolbags and consequences of such heavy loads on the developing spine is an ongoing concern.  

A general guideline for acceptable weight of scholars’ backpacks is 10% of body weight.  In a recent study conducted in Ireland, results show that most scholars’ backpacks weigh more than 10% body weight.  This may lead to pain and discomfort of the neck, shoulders or back in the short term and imbalances in postural alignment and damage to the neural structures in the long term.

Heavy backpacks carried on one shoulder cause the spine to compress on one side and puts stress on the muscles, ligaments and discs of the spine.  Children mostly bend forward when schoolbags are too heavy - Hinging forward at the hips and causing a forward head posture.  This changes the natural ‘S’ curve of the spine.

​​ Preventing the side effects of heavy schoolbags is vital.  Below are some tips. Use quality backpacks with wide, adjustable and  padded straps The straps must be worn over both shoulders. Keep the bag as light as possible.  Only take books needed for that day’s work. Position heavy objects close to the body to avoid ‘bag sag’.  Lighter items should be packed away from the spine.

The wheelie bag;

 May be a good choice but it has its own set of problems.  It causes rotation of the upper body when pulling the bag.  It is therefore recommended to roll the bag next to the body or push it in front of the body.

Precaution is better than cure

.  It has been found that preventative postural exercises have the best long term prognosis.  that postural education in schools and by parents at home should be encouraged to improve health and prevent injuries related to the spine.  If your child does complain of back ache or neck pain due to poor posture, assessment and treatment by a physiotherapist will help to identify the problem, and restore and preserve good body mechanics.  Exercises to strengthen weak muscles and stretch tight muscles help to achieve this muscle balance.

WHATS THE GOOD POSTURE AND THE BAD POSTURE

POSTURE  MEANS WHAT?

posture is the attitude assumed by the body either with support during muscular inactivity,or by means of the co-ordinated action of many muscles working to maintain stability or to form an essential basis which is being adapted constantly to the movement which is superimposed upon it.

INACTIVE POSTURES

These are attitudes adopted for resting or sleeping, the essential muscular activity required to maintain life is reduced to a minimum

Those postures which make minimal demands upon the muscles responsible for the maintenance of essential body functions.

ACTIVE POSTURES

The integrated action of many muscles is required to maintain active postures,either by static /dynamic postures.

 

Stastic postures: A constant pattern of posture is maintained by interaction of groups of muscles which work more or less statically to stabilise the joints.

Dynamic postures: the  active postures is a pattern constantly modified and adjusted to meet the changing circumstances as the results of movements

postures are maintained as a results of neuro-muscular co-ordination,

the postural reflexes.:A reflex is an efferent response to an afferent stimulus

• The anti gravity muscles being the principal effector organs.

Afferent stimuli are the muscle receptors,the eyes and the ears.

 

'posture follows movement like a shadow ;every movement begins in posture and ends in posture'.the postures from which movement is initiated are known as starting positions and they may be either active or passive in character.

Equilibrium and stability is maintained in these positions by a balance of forces acting upon the body,and when the force of muscular contraction is used for this purpose the contraction is isometric.the strength and distribution of this contraction is normally controlled by a series of reflexes .

Pattern of posture

Are gradually built up by the integration of the many reflexes which together makes up the postural reflex.some of those reflexes are inborn and some are conditioned.

Good posture

Posture is said to be good when it fulfils the purpose for which it is used with maximum efficiency and minimum effort.

In the erect postures the alignment of specific parts of the body usually leads to perfect balance of one segment upon another,which can be maintained with the minimum of muscular effort and pleasing to the eye.

Development of good  posture:

Efficient posture develops quite naturally.

the chief factors which predispose to health and development of the muscles and postural reflex are-

• A stable psychological background;

 Emotion and mental attitudes have a profound effect upon the nervous system as a whole, and this is reflected in the posture  JOY ,HAPPINESS,CONFIDENCE are stimulating and are reflected by an alert posture in which positions of extension predominate. conversely unhappiness,conflict and feeling of inferiority have just opposite effect.

• Good hygienic conditions:

The nutrition and sleep are essential for a healthy nervous system and for the growth and development of bones and muscles.

• Opportunity for plenty of natural free movements:

The encourages the harmonious development of the skeletal muscles.running jumping and climbing are those in which movements of active extension dominates.

Poor posture

posture is poor when it is inefficient,that is, when it fails to serve the purpose for which it was designed,or if an unnecessary amount of muscular effort is used to maintain it.

Faulty alignment of the body segments in the erect positions may lead to the necessity for additional muscle work to maintain balance.

postures which involve a marked increase in any /all of the curves of the spine.

The purpose of dynamic posture is to serve as an efficient and adaptable background to movement.posture patterns which do not fulfil this function impede and reduce the efficiency of the movement and therefore must be considered poor.

Factors which predispose to poor posture

The causes of poor posture are often very obscure,even if they are know ,are very difficult to remove.

1. Inefficient postural pattern are the mental attitude and poor hygienic conditions.
2. General debility ,are also contributory causes,as they reduce the efficiency of the nervous system as a whole.
3. Local factors such as localised  pain ,muscular weakness,occupational stresses,or localised tension which serves no useful purpose,,lead to muscular disbalance and alter the postural pattern,but do not necessarily reduce its efficiency under the circumstances,if this altered pattern of posture is continued after the cause for it is removed,it must be regarded as a postural defect.
4. A faulty idea of what constitutes good posture may also lead to the formation of an inefficient pattern by repeated voluntary effort.

Principles  of re-education;

A faulty idea of correct posture can be cured by inducing the patient to accept a new and satisfactory pattern and then by teaching him how to assume it and make it habitual by repeated voluntary effort.

Techniqe of re-education by 

Relaxation ;The ability to relax is an important factor in re-education ,as some degree of useless and unnecessary tension is nearly always associated with poor posture.

Mobility;The maintenance of normal mobility is essential to enable a wide variety of posture to be assumed.

Muscle power;The opportunity for free movement and harmonious muscular development helps to maintain their tone and efficiency.

Presentation of good posture;By mirror;posture recorder /photographs.