The document discusses the importance of postural analysis in physiotherapy. It defines posture as a dynamic pattern of reflexes, habits, and responses to resist gravity and other challenges. Poor posture develops from genetics, injuries, jobs, aging, and other factors and can lead to injuries. Assessing posture is important for treatment and includes visual observation, measurements, and advanced methods. While posture may be associated with pain, much of poor posture results from long-term biological adaptation that is difficult to change. Earlier evaluation and correction of posture can help maintain fitness and physical capability.

1. Importance of Postural
Analysis in Physiotherapy
By
P. Senthil, MPT, CPS, (PhD),
Professor,
Mohamad Sathak A J College of Physiotherapy,
Chennai.

2. Does Posture Correction Matter?
• How much?
• Why?
• How do we change it?

3. What is Posture?
Posture is not a position, but a dynamic pattern of
reflexes, habits, and adaptive responses to anything
that resists you being more or less upright and
functional, such as:
• Gravity, of course!
• Awkward working conditions, which may be
unavoidable.
• Abnormal anatomy.
• Athletic challenges.

4. • If you start to tip over, or lose the stability you
need for a task, postural reflexes kick in and
engage muscles to pull you into a more or less
upright and/or functional position again.
• The biological systems and tricks that keep us
upright are neat — and surprisingly poorly
understood.

5. • Posture is also more than the sum of those parts, more
than “just” a collection of righting and stabilizing reflexes —
it is the way we live, the shape of our flexible “container,”
the physical manifestation of our comfort zone.
• We habitually hold ourselves and move in ways that serve
social and emotional needs, or avoid clashing with them:
posture can be submissive or dominant, happy or sad,
brave or fearful, apathetic or uptight.
• The challenges and rewards of trying to change posture are
not just musculoskeletal, and it can be a personally
profound process. Patterns and behaviours that lead to
trouble are usually strong.

6. Posture is the embodiment of
our comfort zone.
At worst, it can be like
a Cage.

7. What is “Poor Posture”?
• More precisely stated now: Poor Posture is an
unnecessary and problematic pattern of physical
responses to Postural challenges.
• Sitting for hours with your knees tucked sharply
under your chair is a classic example, and it’s a
real hazard to kneecaps— avoidable and
entirely caused by a lack of awareness of how
knees work.

8. • What about Postural laziness? That’s what
most people picture when they think of poor
posture.
• The avoidance of Postural challenges leads
over time to Poor Postural fitness.
• If you avoid postural challenges enough,
eventually you’ll have trouble coping with
them when you have to … and so we’re back
to the first definition (POOR POSTURE).

9. Factors leading to Poor Posture:
• Genetics & Hereditary
• Current/past injuries
• Job – Related
• Aging process
• Stature – height
• Psychological aspect – emotional-confidence, joy,
depression, fear, mood.
• Anatomy of women
• Pregnancy
• Culture
• Fatigue posture

10. Poor Posture Related Injuries
• Ligaments can permanently stretch
• Cartilages can be damaged due to abnormal friction
• Disc injuries
• Neurological problems like headaches, numbness,
tingling
• Arthritic changes in weight-bearing joints
• Decreased ROM, Strength, and Joint dysfunction.
• Continuous and long-term pain
• Work-related musculoskeletal disorders
• Cumulative Trauma cycle

11. The Evolution of Posture:

12. Why Implement A Posture Assessment
Program?
• Critical to assesses body alignment and design
exercise prescription.
• Improve Our Professional skill level.
• Re-evaluation and measure outcome of
patient.
• Visual feedback mechanism to Patients.
• For Research proposal and Documentation.
• Referral source will be increased.

13. Does Posture matter?

14. Does Posture matter?
POOR
POSTURAL
FITNESS

15. How to Assess Posture?
• Visual Observation method.
• Goniometric method.
• Plumb line method.
• Photographic and Digitization method.
• Radiographic method.
• Photogrammetric method.
• Posture Grid charts.
• Posture analysis software.
• 2D & 3D Video-Motion analysis.

19. Can you Change posture?
• Much of what we perceive as “Poor Posture”
is the result of biological adaption over
decades and is unlikely to change without a
truly heroic effort — and perhaps not even
then.
• In principle, humans can adapt to almost
anything — in fact, it’s the law.
• However, the same principle dictates that
change is slow and difficult.

20. Address Major systemic barriers to
success

21. CONCLUSION:
• Posture is almost certainly associated with
some pain problems.
• Much of so-called “Poor Posture” is actually
just postural strain and bad ergonomics.
• Poor Posture are probably the result of long-
term biological adaptation that is either
extremely difficult or impossible to change.
• Posture can affect mood, emotion and
probably pain sensitivity.

22. • EARLIER EVALUATION AND CORRECTION OF
POSTURAL ADAPTATION HELPS TO MAINTAIN
POSTURAL FITNESS AND PHYSICAL
CAPABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS.

23. Thank you