Every position, whether sitting, standing or lying down, is capable of generating overload for the joints. The consequences are not good: bone misalignments can cause tendonitis, bursitis, arthrosis, and chronic pain. The main types of posture problems are those that generate greater functional limitations and pain symptoms.
Joint structures wear out according to the stress applied to them. Therefore, the ideal posture is the one that generates the least stress for the bones structures, the one that modifies the joint structures less, generates less energy expenditure and, consequently, keeps the body more stable or less susceptible to environmental changes. Any posture held for a long time will result in damage. However, some postural attitudes allow the wear on the musculoskeletal system to be smaller, and for this reason, it is possible to maintain them for a longer period.
That is, even if an individual is in good posture in a row on a bench, for example, if this time is prolonged for 20, 30, 40 minutes or more, the body will show signs of tiredness, such as pain in the legs, in the cervical, in the hips or spine, for example. This ends up causing changes in the position of the body in order to relieve pressure points in the joints. However, joint wear and muscle work will be lower compared to an individual who has a less favourable postural attitude, which can even influence the ability to stay in line.
As a main dynamic component, skeletal muscles work in a coordinated way to keep bones aligned, both in static positions and in motion. Static components are also essential to ensure the skeleton’s alignment and provide stability to the joints during movement: they are basically the cartilage and joint capsules (membranes that cover the joints and are responsible for their lubrication).
Postures that increase joint overload can accelerate the wear process of joint components, such as articular cartilage, spinal intervertebral discs, overload the muscles, tendons, ligaments, resulting in bone misalignments. The most worrying thing is when there is an association of less adequate postures for a long period of time with repetitive movements and insufficient rest time. This is the case of people who work for a long time in a sitting position without the proper ergonomic criteria and without regular breaks – adds the physiotherapist, who refers to the relationship with the use of the computer when he talks about ergonomic criteria, which includes the tools present in a workstation, work demands and factors such as repetition, vibration, static strength and posture, which are related to repetitive strain injuries.
Correct posture reduces stress on the structures of the spine. Depending on the posture, there can be an increase of up to 50% in the pressure of the disc, a structure that works as a shock absorber between the vertebrae. In other words, good posture preserves our spine, prevents premature wear of discs and joints, and helps prevent pain and deformities.
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