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Body posture: a problem that afflicts workers

This article deals primarily with issues related to the definitions of body posture, the mechanisms responsible for its maintenance; of what is considered adequate or inadequate; disturbances and preventative measures and the authors' understanding of the subject. We conclude that posture is a very complex system and varies from one individual to the next. It's the corporal manifestation of the human being within the environment in which it lives. One's personality is intertwined in it, the stance one adopts in relation to Life's varied situations reflects one's trajectory and it's the result of the various systems that operate in the organism. Individuals can adopt an adequate or inadequate posture when faced with diverse stimuli. A disarrangement of various elements, both internal and external to the body can be observed in the inadequate posture, in some cases resulting in pain and discomfort. When a degree of imbalance occurs in the postural elements then alterations, disease and deviations from the body axis tend to occur. The following factors need to be considered in order to prevent postural problems, namely, one's environment, furniture, physical space and type of work, rest periods, tools and equipment, remembering that bio-mechanical characteristics should be respected, as together they all contribute to the individual's quality of life.

Body Posture; Postural Disturbances; Control Measures


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