Body Mechanics

Whether you are a massage therapist, bike racer or secretary, body mechanics are important to reducing pain and energy expenditure. To me, proper body mechanics means "use of energy-efficient movement patterns which are sustainable and distribute workloads so as to reduce chance of injury."

Energy efficiency allows you greater longevity at your endeavor. A cyclist may need an energy reserve to sprint to the finish line. A massage therapist needs to see several clients each day throughout the week to generate their income. A secretary needs to be able complete his/her day without feeling exhausted, allowing him/her to stay focused on task.

Moving in an efficient manner can be examined on a macro-scale or a micro-scale, for example, examining the work done around a specific set of vertebrae or over the trunk and upper body. The idea behind each is the same, but the manner in which each are accomplished is different. By watching for compensation patterns which use extraneous muscles, an accomplished therapist can pinpoint your pattern and them devise a strategy for introducing an alternative pattern that is more efficient.

Distributing workloads over a greater area of the musculoskeletal system means that motions take place over the range of several joints and muscles, instead of just a few. This transfers loads to those muscles that are better capable of sustained work. An example of this is a massage therapist who generates their strokes from their feet and legs, rocking their whole body with the rhythm, instead of pushing with their arms and shoulders. The forces that they are able to generate with their whole body is much greater than what is possible with the smaller muscles and less stable joints of the arms and shoulders.

The importance of use of proper, efficient body mechanics cannot be understated. By targeting assessment to meet goals of pain relief, athletic performance or injury reduction, a skilled therapist will be able to aid you with the movement patterns most efficient for you at the time.