POSTURAL CORRECTION
THERAPIES
“WHEN YOU ARE IN OPTIMAL ALIGNMENT,
YOU DISCOVER THE INTELLIGENCE OF YOUR MIND AND BODY.”
LIFE IS A SERIES OF POSTURES
And moving well is the key to wellness and a quality lifestyle. With an injury or pain, we develop compensation strategies that shift our postural alignment and biomechanics (how we move) and we DON’T self correct. Our postural sensors relay flawed information to the central computer, our brain, and the brain relays inadequate information back to the muscles. An old ankle injury can manifest years later as pain in the hip low back, opposite hip, shoulder and neck. Correcting these imbalances is crucial to moving better, standing taller, breathing efficiently, avoiding injury, recovering faster as well as fine tuning balance, performance and ultimately more vitality.
Postural alignment involves finding symmetry, positioning body parts optimally for strength and control, and being energy efficient against gravity. Poor posture stresses the body and can make you tired. Many health professionals work with postural integration, poise, breathing and balance – they all involve posture in standing. We never really stand still – we have something called postural sway – moderate amounts can be good for circulation, but too much can be a predisposing factor for a fall. Movement is in fact just a series of postures, one moment after another. Different postures require different combinations of active and passive interventions, and feedback from an expert is often necessary.
According to the National Health Institute (NHI) at Georgetown University, nearly 65 million people report a recent episode of back pain, with 16 million of adults – 8% – experiencing persistent or chronic back pain.
In addition, as many as 70% of adults will experience a degree of neck pain that prevents them from engaging in their daily activities during their lifetime.
Although most acute episodes resolve spontaneously, more than a third of affected people still have low-grade symptoms or recurrences more than one year later. For managing neck pain the strongest evidence is for exercise. A good assessment will ensure that the right exercises are selected. More importantly, the Postureworks 3D Scan that delivers a visual 3D avatar helps the person experiencing the pain or dysfunction to better understand their problem and how to deal with it.
The Neurac® method uses the principles of suspension therapy to stimulate the neuromuscular system so that function and posture can improve. It stimulates the receptors in the muscles and joints to communicate with the nervous system, enabling the body to activate and relax the right muscles at the right time. It also helps to modulate pain.
When the neck is not aligned with gravity, the load on the neck and back is increased. This can cause pain and fatigue, as well as headaches and visual disturbances. Assessment of posture and movement is complex as it involves the interplay of multiple body parts. Physical therapists at Postureworks identify and measure ‘antalgic postures’ (painful postures) and ‘postural orientation errors’ (poor dynamic alignment of body párts associated with poor function) using Moovment® 3D digital technology to record, measure, analyse and identify the source of the problem – not just the symptoms.
