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.