Clinical Biomechanics: Body Alignment, Posture, and Gait
Clinical Biomechanics: Body Alignment, Posture, and Gait
We would all like to thank Dr. Richard C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC for his lifetime commitment to the profession. In the future we will continue to add materials from RC’s copyrighted books for your use.
This is Chapter 4 from RC’s best-selling book:
“Clinical Biomechanics:
Musculoskeletal Actions and Reactions”Second Edition ~ Wiliams & Wilkins
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Chapter 4: Body Alignment, Posture, and Gait
With the background material offered in the basic principles of the musculoskeletal system, statics, dynamics, and joint stability, this chapter discusses how these factors are exhibited in body alignment and posture during static and dynamic positions.
Gravitational Effects
Improper body alignment limits function, and thus it is a concern of everyone regardless of occupation, activities, environment, body type, sex, or age. To effectively overcome postural problems, therapy must be based upon mechanical principles. In the absence of gross pathology, postural alignment is a homeostatic mechanism that can be voluntarily controlled to a significant extent by osseous adjustments, direct and reflex muscle techniques, support when advisable, therapeutic exercise, and kinesthetic training.
In the health sciences, body mechanics has often been separated from the physical examination. Because physicians have been poorly educated in biomechanics, most work that has been accomplished is to the credit of physical educators and a few biophysicists. Prior to recent decades, much of this had been met with indifference if not opposition from the medical profession.
Posture Analysis (more…)