The postural system is a very complex whole, which involves structures of the central and peripheral nervous system, especially the eye, the foot, the cutaneous system, the muscles, the joints but also the stomatognathic system (occlusal system and tongue) and the inner ear.
The central nervous system uses the information received from the eye, the sole of the feet and the skin in the first place, in order to have an awareness of the position of the body and to be able to correctly set what it wanted towards the external world and itself.
"... posture is the expression of an inherited experience, of a personal experience, of cultural formation and deformation, of memories of one's physical and emotional traumas, of the kind of life and stress we lead, of the type of work and sport to which we have subjected ourselves over time: posture is the way we breathe, the world in which we stand, we pose and we relate to ourselves and to others. Our posture is an expression of our history ".
(D.Raggi, 1998)
It is common that the postural system, directly linked (as per definition) to the individual and individual history of each of us, with the passage of time goes towards changes and problems. At first, the "system" will try to compensate in some way (higher shoulder, pelvis rotations, scoliotic attitudes, plantar support vices, inclined head, etc.) until it has the chance.
Later, however, when the body's compensatory capacities stop, the first pathological signs will appear.
This system, annoyed by the various compensations, therefore, will see the emergence of all the most common problems (headaches, neck pain, neuralgia, chewing defects and dental occlusion, back pain, lumbago, lumbosciatica, shoulder pains, arms, hips, knees, ankles) but also less known disorders (difficulty driving at night or concentration in reading, clumsiness, mandibular clicks, etc.): all pathologies that complicate and significantly condition daily life and, consequently, our psyche.
At this point, even with all the difficulties that can be easily imagined, it is fundamental to act at various levels and in an adequate time, through a coordinated collaboration with other professionals, to correct and attempt a reprogramming of the "system". Posturology is not a discipline in its own right, it addresses the problem at its origin and tries to give answers to the effects and, therefore, to the symptomatology.
Elements of ergonomics
To prevent the onset of pathological problems related to compensatory attitudes it is important to acquire the right information about the way in which each of us should stand or move during daily activities, that is to say the correct, static and dynamic posture.
This is ergonomics (from the Greek érgon, which means work, and némein, which means administering, governing), the whole, that is, the best techniques for performing daily activities with less energy expenditure and with an optimal distribution of workload .
How to sleep
A good sleep contributes significantly to maintaining health, psycho-physical balance, rejuvenation of tissues and longevity. For sleep to be truly restorative of body and mind, it is important that it be deep, calm, possibly uninterrupted and that all muscles are relaxed.
Sleeping too long, contrary to what is mistakenly believed, is as harmful as sleeping too little. On average, 7 to 9 hours of sleep are required to wake up refreshed and ready for daily activities.
To get a deep and restful sleep we suggest you some tricks:
The mattress must not be too soft or too hard
Avoid heavy blankets and synthetic materials
The pillow must be suitable for each of you in order to maintain the correct cervical lordosis
Avoid going to bed immediately after overeating. Often a laborious digestion compromises a good sleep.
How to stand up
A person's standing posture is the result of a structural balance of his skeleton, his mental attitude and the type of activity he performs. The fundamental thing to have a good posture is to have the bone structures aligned correctly. For everyone, even for those who are suffering from severe alterations, there is an ideal posture and the possibility of improving what is usually taken.
Good posture begins with the feet. Both must be kept relaxed and placed on the floor solidly and equally.
Secondly, the legs come, which normally have the same length. In the presence of a shortening, real or apparent, of a limb, the pelvis is inclined on the same side and so is the lumbar spine, but with an opposite deviation of the upper sections of the column.
Fig.1 Dismetry of the lower limbs.
Above the legs is the pelvis that supports the entire spine. This is the area that causes most of the bearing problems.
The balance of the spine depends on the alignment of the various curves with respect to the imaginary plumb line that passes through the center of gravity: the increase or decrease of one of the curves is compensated by the variation of the other two.
The ideal structure of the vertebral column, imagining the person in profile, should be verified by means of a plumb line which, starting from the ear, passes through the shoulder, the elbow, through the base of the sacrum in a slightly backward plane compared to the hip joint, to then descend through the knee and anterior to the malleolus.
To simplify we can say that none of the natural curves of the spine must be accentuated or reduced; the ears, shoulders and pelvis must be held one above the other, on an axis perpendicular to that of the feet. The whole weight of the body must be balanced in the center, exactly between the two feet.
How to walk
Each of us, for various reasons, walks in his own particular way. Most of the time this way of walking is not mechanically correct; there are those who walk with "flat" feet, those who lean more on the toes, or more on the heels. The correct way to walk presupposes that the foot performs a rolling movement on the ground starting from the heel along the entire sole of the foot, up to the fingers, in particular the big toe which is the last to come off the ground.
The person who walks should have a standing position, but not a rigid one, with the center of gravity falling between the two feet. Having a swaying gait, due to the continuous movement of the body axis first on one leg and then on the other, unbalances the normal synergistic and antagonistic action of the muscles that support the vertebral column.
Finally, it is very important to remember that the arms must perform a rhythmic and coordinated movement with the step: the right arm is brought forward when making the step with the left foot and vice versa.
How to carry and lift weights
The neck and shoulders are often the site of muscle pain and tension. These pains arise during the day if we do not relax sufficiently and later become aggravated by repetitive activities always performed on the same side. The habit of always carrying bags or heavy objects on the same shoulder is inevitably accompanied by an inclination on the opposite side of the head (to compensate), resulting in a scoliotic attitude. We therefore advise you to carry the bag now on one shoulder, now on the other, and to relax the muscles of the neck and shoulders.
Likewise, routinely carrying a heavy backpack on the same side can be harmful to the spine, which is in full development during school age.
You must avoid lifting heavy objects with abrupt movements when the chest is flexed.
Remember therefore to always bend your knees while keeping your upper body erect and contracting your abdominals during the weight lifting phase.
This simple trick reduces the pressure on the lumbar tract by around 30%.
Like sitting
The chair should have sufficient height to give comfortable support to the buttocks and thighs, allowing the feet to rest comfortably on the ground.
Therefore when we are sitting the thighs must be in a horizontal position. At the same time, the spine must be supported by the back of the chair without accentuating or reducing its natural curvatures. An adequate desk, a correct chair and good posture can eliminate most of the painful problems due to the long hours spent studying. A lectern at eye level can help us keep our torso erect and eliminate tensions in the cervical spine. The height, respectively of the desk and of the chair, must ensure that the forearms and thighs work on a horizontal plane.
The clothing
The body has a control thermostat for its own temperature. When it gets too hot, perspiration is produced, with consequent cooling of the body through evaporation. When it is too cold the body creates heat with rapid and repetitive contractions of the muscles (chills and beating of the teeth). The body checks itself: remember that covering yourself up too much causes the same damage as covering yourself insufficiently.
Bibliography
- AAVV, 2000, Human Anatomy and Histology, Minerva Medica Editions
- GREISSING H. ZILLO A., 1985, ZILGREI the method to eliminate pain immediately, Arnaldo Mondatori Editore
- MARTINI F., 1994, Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology, EdiSES
- PIROLA V., 1999, Cinesiologia, Edi Ermes
- RAGGI D., Teaching Material Pancafit Course Method Raggi
- TOSO B., 2003, Back School Neck School Bone School Planning Conducting Verification Organization, Edi Ermes
- TOSO B., 2003, Back School Neck School Bone School Specific work programs for diseases of the spine, Edi Ermes
- www.gss.it
- www.pancafit.net
- www.sportmedicina.com
