Posture

Question 1

What is posture?

Answer 1

• gauge of mechanical efficiency
• takes into account kinesthetic sense, muscle balance, and coordination
• standing postire is a basis for all other postures and movements (best baseline)

Question 2

What happens to muscle activity duing standing?

Answer 2

• very little muscle energy needed to maintain an erect standing position
• Help from static stabilizers (ligaments + shape of the joint are exampes)

muscles are active to
* keep weight bearing bones in alignment
* Oppose gravity’s downward force

Question 3

what is the muscle activity of the foot, leg, and thight+hip during standing?

Answer 3

Foot: little to no intrinsic muscle activity

Leg: posteior muscles
* control sagittal postural sway
* soleus most active (gastroc also helps to control sway)

Thigh + hip:
* illiopsoas is constantly active (bc it attches to the thigh and hip)
* gluteus medius and TFL controls the front sway

Question 4

What is the muscle activity of the spine and upper extremity

Answer 4

Spine: alternating contractions as we sway through the sagittall plane
* either abs OR sacrospinalis

Upper extremity
* serratus and traps support shoulder girdle
* supraspinatus resists humeral dislocation

Sway occurs in the frontal and sagittal plane
- helps pump blood to our veins and return blood to the body
- if we dont sway our muscles don’t contract and blood pools from our head and we pass out

Question 5

How does sitting posture change?

Answer 5

• moves spinal colum farther from the torso
• muscles move farther from the axis of rotation

Question 6

What factors does balance come from? what happens if we lose 1 or more of these systems?

Answer 6

• visual feedback (eyes interpret and tell us to correct ourslef)
• proprioceptors
• pressure receptors (even distribution of pressure)
• Vestibulocochlear system (canals and maculae help)

Lose one or more: our other systems will try to make up for it

Question 7

What factors effect posture?

Answer 7

• age
• mood
• education/awarness
• pain/injury
• muscle strength (least important)
• flexibility/mobility (least important)
• genetics (very important)

Question 8

How to evaluating posture?

Answer 8

• use an app or a grid
• evaluate from all angles and locate LOG
  *

Question 9

Anterior view posture eval?

Answer 9

LOG passes through:
* middle of forehead, nose, chin, sternum, & pubic sysmphysis
* equidistant betwen medial femoral condyles and medial malleoli

Symmetry of:
* ears/eyes, clavicles, ribs, ASIS’s, patellae, feet/toes (fick angle 12-18 inches) (we toe out when we stand normally)

Question 10

Posterior view posture?

Answer 10

LOG passes:
* middle of head
* bisects spine (c, T, L)
* through gluteal cleft
* between knees and ankles

Observations:
* no tilting of heaf
* arms hanging natural and symetrical
* scapulae are flat and sym
* PSIS and iliac crest level
* knees leevl
* achilles vertical and sym

Question 11

Lateral view posture eval?

Answer 11

LOG passes:
* anterior portion of head/face (through auditory meatus)
* Posterior to cervical and lumbar spine
* anterior to T-spine and SI joints
* Post to acetabulofemoral jt
* anterior through knee joint
* anterior to latreal malleoulus

Observations:
* head and shoulder position
* spine curvature
* pelvic angle
* knee extenion angle

Question 12

What are the malalignments of anterior view?

Answer 12

• Pelvic tilt and rotation (view level of ASIS’s and illiac crests)
• Genu valgum and varum: see what hits first
• Patella alignment: alta, baja, squiniting, frog eyed
• In-toing/out-toeing (Fick angle is normal, BUT toe-in is abnormal)

Question 13

What are the malalignments of posterior view?

Answer 13

• scoliosis (lateral shift of the trunk)
• Cobb angle (draw a line through top and bottom of curve, create 90 angle and where the line intersects is the cob angle)
• shoulder angle of the dominant arm is lower (weight of gravity and more strethed out bc of increased ROM)
• Rearfoot valgus and varus

Question 14

What are the malalignments of lateral view?

Answer 14

• Genu recurvatum (hyperextenion, indicative of hypermobility)
• forward head/rounded shoulders
• hyperkyphosis (over-rounding of thoracic spine, mostly common at T spine. Can also cause a flatnes of lumbar spine)
• Hyperlordosis: anteriorly roatted pelvis
• Sway back: head forward, T spine posterior, L spine anterior, post pelvic rotation, ant pelvic shift, genu recurvatum (upper shifts back and lower shifts forwards)
• Flat back (spine loses curvature)
• Crossed syndromes: upper (neck and chest) or lower (hips and glutes)

Question 15

Can you correct your posture?

Answer 15

• Yes:
• depends on: intent to change, instruction towards different strategies. experince with desired postire (biofeedback), enviromental influence (workplace home)