CMS Education Articles — posture
Stand up tall when walking with your Rollator/Walker!
Tips on how to avoid a hunched over posture when using your mobility aid
We have all seen it, the hunched over Rollator or Walker user. Walking around with their head pointing down to the ground, arms are almost straight out in front of their body, and the Rollator or Walker is very far away from the user's body. Learning how to use a Rollator or Walker correctly takes some time and practice. These movements do not always come naturally, but is it important to ensure you are using your Rollator or Walker correctly. Incorrect use can increase the users risk of falling or cause more aches and pains in the shoulders, neck, or back. So why are people walking this way?
“Honey, You Can be Such a Pain in My Neck”
3 Strategies to help improve your posture.
“Don’t slouch”. “Stand-up straight”. These phrases may cause horrific anxiety inducing memories for some of you from your childhood. I will be perfectly honest, I didn’t hear this too often as a child. Not that my Mom didn’t care, more so that it wasn’t as important as keeping 3 neanderthal-like boys from killing each other. Also, I grew up at a time when personal screens weren’t in existence quite yet. However, today is a very different story, not only do we have 3 smartphones and 2 tablets in our house, I am married to a physiotherapist. It is an understatement that I hear a version of these two statements daily. On bad days, I hear them with statistics (I love you, honey…).
To add insult to injury, I know that she is absolutely right. (Yes, honey I admitted you’re right… this time!). I have a honours degree in kinesiology that focused on biomechanics. Not only do I know that poor posture is bad for you. I know how to calculate how bad it is for you. Now before you run away on me. This article is not a run through of the grueling mathematics of poor posture, nor is it intended to guilt you into acknowledging how bad your posture is (because of course, dear reader, your posture is perfect. You’re reading this article for someone else). This article simply contains a few quick tricks to help correct or at least minimize some of the common poor posture habits, and the pains that come with them that most of us (but not you) are prone to.