#Spine align ever fit manual

While back pain can be intense and distressing, for most people (90%), back pain is not associated with identifiable tissue damage or pathology. Movement is important for back health, so learning to vary and adopt different postures that are comfortable is likely to be more helpful than rigidly adhering to a specific “good” posture. People’s spines come in all shapes and sizes, so posture is highly individual. There is no evidence for a single “good posture” to prevent or reduce back pain. In a small study, as people with disabling back pain recovered, they became less protective and generally moved away from the “good” posture advice. In other words, people with back pain tend to follow “good” posture advice, but people who don’t lift in the “good” way don’t have more back pain.

#Spine align ever fit manual

In comparison, manual workers with back pain tended to adopt more of a squat lift with a straighter back. Our recent lab study found people without back pain, employed in manual work for more than five years were more likely to lift with a more stooped, round-back posture. Our systematic review found no evidence lifting with a round-back posture was associated with or predictive of back pain. Globally accepted occupational health practices about “good” or safe back postures during lifting also lack evidence. Photograph: Panther Media GmbH/Alamy Stock Vector Lifting posture However these guidelines are without an evidence base. Many of us have posters like this in our workplaces. People with both slumped and upright postures can experience back pain. People adopt a range of different spine postures, and no single posture protects a person from back pain. These findings are consistent with systematic reviews that have found no consistent differences in sitting or standing posture between adult populations with and without back pain. We investigated whether “slump” sitting or “non-neutral” standing postures (overarching or slouching the back, for example), in a large population of adolescents, were associated with, or predicted future back pain. Our group has conducted several studies exploring the relationship between spine posture and back pain.

Systematic reviews (studies looking at a number of studies in one area) have found ergonomic interventions for workers, and advice for manual workers on the best posture for lifting, have not reduced work-related back pain. Perceptions of “good” posture originate from a combination of social desirability and unfounded presumptions.

Surprisingly, there is a lack of evidence for a strong relationship between “good” posture and back pain. This view is widely held by people with and without back pain, as well as clinicians in both occupational health and primary care settings. Good posture is commonly defined as sitting “upright”, standing “tall and aligned”, and lifting with a squat technique and “straight back”.Ĭonversely, “slump” sitting, “slouch” standing and lifting with a “round back” or stooped posture are frequently warned against. There is a common belief that “good” posture is important to protect the spine from damage, as well as prevent and treat back pain.