Neutral Posture in Industrial Settings
What is “neutral posture”?
Neutral posture is the best alignment of each joint - this means that the position of the joint is the least stressful to the joint, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, etc. The further away from neutral that you are, the more stress there is on the joint. When we talk about “good” working postures, we’re talking about postures that are as close to neutral as possible. On the other hand, when we discuss “awkward” working postures, we’re talking about postures that are not neutral. There are several factors that come into play, but in general, the farther a posture is from neutral, then the more likely it is to cause discomfort, and the higher the risk of injury.
In an office setting, it can be fairly easy for a person to achieve a neutral seated posture (and, when applicable, a neutral standing posture), if provided with the right equipment. In an industrial setting, the environment and tasks can be so varied that achieving neutral posture might be really easy, really difficult, or somewhere in between. In fact, there are some tasks that cannot be performed in a neutral posture, and can’t be changed. What do you do when this is the case?
One technique is to briefly return to neutral posture between tasks. For example, if you have been working overhead – stop, put your arms by your sides, and allow your shoulders to fully relax when you can safely do so. Avoid staying in an awkward posture, like overhead reaching, for any longer than you have to.
When you do have to work in one position for a long period of time, “recovery positions” can be very helpful. A recovery position is something that balances the position you have been in. Often, it's a stretch in the opposite direction. For instance, in the scenario above (overhead work), you would stop between tasks for a longer period of time, and perform a few shoulder stretches. As another example, if you’ve been leaning forward while performing a task, you would stop and do a backbend stretch to “un-do” this awkward posture.
What can you do if your work is constantly “pulling” you or your employees out of neutral?
If you or your employees work in any type of industrial setting, and you’re getting frequent reports of discomfort, it is likely that something is pulling employees out of neutral while they are working. Occasionally, there are factors that can’t be changed, perhaps due to the environment, engineering specifications, or a limited number of tools that must be used for a particular task – this is when those small breaks, recovery positions, and stretches can be especially important.
On the other hand, sometimes there are small, cost-effective changes that can be made, that will make a huge difference! We’re happy to come analyze your workplace, and make recommendations for beneficial changes.
And if the work itself can’t be changed, we can help your employees learn to find those natural pauses in the work for microbreaks, utilize longer pauses for recovery breaks, and learn task-specific stretches that are specialized to each job. We can work with you to come up with a plan that works for you and your employees, to minimize wear and tear, maximize strength and endurance, and make a healthier, more comfortable work environment – whatever that environment may be!