Posture and body mechanics are two things that most people don't pay enough attention to. If they are neglected for long enough, permanent damage and stress can be made to structures. One thing that can happen is lower back pain. This is probably the most common result because of the stress that is put on the lumbar vertebrae and the intervertebral discs in between. With bad body mechanics, you have the risk of bulging or herniating your discs which is another reason to position your body correctly when performing a task. A third reason a person needs to have good posture and body mechanics is because nerves can become impinged primarily in the thoracic area of the back causing increased pain. Another reason is that when you are lifting something incorrectly or performing some other task incorrectly, you can possibly pull or strain the muscles being used along with the tendons, ligaments, or joints all resulting in problems.
One method that can be used to teach better posture to a person is slouch-overcorrect technique. If someone has to sit a lot during the day and for long periods of time, this would be a good technique to use. For this technique, you take someone with bad posture and have them flex their trunk further down and hold for 1-2 seconds. Then, have them sit upright as straight as possible to increase the lumbar lordosis and extend the trunk and hold for 1-2 seconds. They should return to a neutral position after this and be in a more upright sitting position.
As a therapist, we can show the use of good body mechanics and posture while in intervention by not doing things that might harm our bodies. We can do things like not lifting things with our backs bent, raising the bed when working on bed mobility with a client, and sitting with good posture as an example to them among many other things to protect ourselves.
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