By Deb Matsuura

HOW IS YOUR POSTURE?

Tami Patrick, a Physical Therapy student from Andrews University spent 8 weeks with our therapists in the Kailua clinic learning and working with patients in an orthopedic outpatient setting. While with us, she gave an inservice to the staff on POSTURE. Her presentation definitely reminded us to sit properly and stand correctly as we go about our daily activities.

What is Posture?

  • Posture: a position of a person’s body when standing or sitting.

Who cares?

  • Good posture contributes to good appearance; the person with good posture projects poise, confidence, and dignity.
  • The discs between the spinal segments become less resilient and give in more readily to external forces, such as gravity and body weight. 45 degrees of cervical flexion doubles the weight your neck has to carry!
  • Muscles become less flexible and weaker.
  • In addition, poor posture can affect the position and function of your vital organs, particularly those in the abdominal region. You can imagine as you compress your organs they lose blood flow slowly but over time will give you some organ dysfunction. Constipation anyone?

Why am I like this??

  • Ligaments: We hang out on our ligaments when our muscles get tired, putting us in a “slouched” position.
  • Lifestyles usually become more sedentary. Sitting at work or school for long periods of time shortens various muscles, which results in the body being pulled into poor postural positions, and stretches and weakens other muscles, which allows the body to slump.

What is ideal posture?

  • Ideal standing plumb line posture: bisects the ear, bisects the shoulder joint, runs down the bodies of the lumbar vertebrae, bisects the greater trochanter of the femur, runs just behind the center of the knee, runs just in front of the center of the ankle.
  • In this alignment the abdominal and hip extensors and the lumbar and hip flexor muscles are in perfect opposition to one another. The former group tilting the pelvis posteriorly (to the back) and the latter tilting it anteriorly (to the the front) resulting in a neutral pelvic position. According to Kendall and Kendall, muscles are most relaxed and less contracted in the ideal posture.

Exercises
Standing:

  • Stand with back against a wall, heels about 3” from the wall and feet about 6” apart weight evenly distributed.
  • Place arms at sides, palms forward
  • Keep ankles straight and knees facing forward
  • Keep low back close to the wall
  • Straighten the upper back, lifting the chest and bringing shoulders back against the wall
  • Bring head back to touch the wall while keeping the chin tucked in
  • Pull up and in with the muscles in the lower abdomen, trying to flatten the abdomen
  • Hold for 10 seconds breathing normally
  • Relax and repeat 3 to 4 times
  • Perform 3 times a day for optimum results

posture
Sitting:

  • Sit in a straight back armless chair, with both feet flat on the floor and back resting against the chair
  • Place arms at your sides, palms forward
  • Straighten the upper back, lifting the chest
  • Bring shoulders back against the chair
  • Hold the head erect
  • Pull up and in with the muscles in the lower abdomen, trying to flatten the abdomen
  • Hold position for about 10 seconds, breathing normally and keeping the rest of the body relaxed
  • Relax your abdominal muscles and repeat 3 to 4 times
  • Repeat entire exercise at least 3 times a day

sitting-posture

Tips

  • Sit with back firmly against chair, with chair low enough so feet are on the floor with knees slightly higher than hips
  • Keep your head up and avoid leaning forward: by keeping your chair close in to the desk you can help maintain this position.
  • Sleep on a firm mattress and use a pillow under your head just big enough to maintain the normal cervical—neck—curve. Avoid use of over- sized or several pillows.
  • Exercise regularly; exercise promotes strong and flexible muscles that keep you upright in a proper postural position.
Happy at Work
By Deb Matsuura

Performance Plus Program

At Fukuji and Lum Physical Therapy Associates, we challenge ourselves to deliver fun, happiness, and compassion in serving our patients and the community. In doing so, we strive to support those in need of a higher quality of life, as a family. For 20 years, we have served the community in need of physical therapy, but have also branched out to address another need: maintenance after physical therapy. Thus, the Performance Plus Program (PPP) was created to help patients maintain and improve upon their levels of fitness after physical therapy is completed, and no prescription is necessary. The program is also offered to community members that want to improve on their fitness levels and achieve goals they never thought possible. 

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Here is a testimonial from one of our regular PPP clients at our WORC clinic who asked to remain anonymous.

    “I was in a fitness quandary. I quit the fitness club after 5 years. I was tired of fighting for the treadmill and bikes and didn’t want to compete with the jocks for the other machines. Everyone there seemed to have his or her own fitness agenda. My hairdresser spoke of the Fukuji & Lum YWCA location. She raved about the physical therapy she received there, and had continued with an exercise program after being discharged.

    I was not in need of physical therapy, but Fukuji & Lum did offer a Performance Plus Program, primarily for PT clients interested in continuing their therapy with an exercise regimen. So, I signed up for my first 8 sessions. My goals were to improve my strength and improve my conditioning. I was told I was in poor to fair condition; so much for the fitness club routine.

    Today, 2 years later and starting my third year, I have completed 200 visits; my health profile has improved and I am able to do exercises I never thought possible. The staff teaches me the correct way to do the exercises; always offering helpful tips to improve my technique and correcting my mistakes. The staff pushes me to do more so I can continue to improve.

    My overall health has improved; my doctor is happy; I’ve lost weight; gained muscle and toned my body. I’d say that I fixed my fitness quandary.”

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That testimonial is typical of a lot of our PPP clientele. No more fighting over equipment, as everyone is scheduled at flexible times to accommodate for overcrowding. Our land-based Performance Plus Programs are offered at our Honolulu clinic located in the Kuakini Physician’s Tower and WORC location in Kaneohe, and is also open to high school students with parental consent. We have also expanded our program to include an Aquatic Therapy Performance Plus Program, located at the Kokokahi YWCA. For questions or more information about our programs, please call our Honolulu Clinic at (808)521-4922 or our WORC clinic at (808)234-5353.

Happy at Work