Everyday Ergonomics: The Importance of Body Mechanics & the 7 Functional Movements

By Maggie Rutkowski, OTD, CEAS II

While ergonomics is known for being related to the workplace, it has relevance in our everyday lives. Ergonomics places a heavy emphasis on the interaction of humans and the tools they use, as well as efficiency and performance of an activity. Our bodies and musculoskeletal systems are some of our greatest tools. Every day, both at and outside of work, we use our bodies to interact with something in our environment to perform activities or tasks. Therefore, it should be recognized that we want our bodies to move and work with us, not against us, while interacting with our everyday environments.

Body Mechanics is defined as the way we move as we go about completing all of the tasks we want and need to do, including sitting, standing, lifting, carrying, bending, or even sleeping. The goal of body mechanics is to complete tasks efficiently through the use of the body’s strength to its best advantage. Injuries not only occur from difficult tasks, but also because we are not practicing good body mechanics and using our bodies to their full advantage.

To improve your body mechanics in your everyday life it is important to understand the 7 functional movements that we should master to improve our body mechanics and daily efficiency, while reducing additional strain on our bodies.

1. Squat – You may already be familiar with these and practice them at the gym. The squat is a functional movement that, when done properly, reduces the load and strain we place on our back by engaging our core and upper leg strength. Every time we sit down, get up, or lift a box, pet, or child, a squat can be implemented. To do it properly, start by engaging your core, place your feet shoulder width apart with your knees slightly pointed outward, and place your weight in your heels. As you lower, engage your core and keep your torso upright with your head in a neutral position.

2. Hinge – Hip Hinging, or more simply put, bending over, is something we do almost everyday whether we need to set something down or pick something up from a lower level (for example, unloading a dishwasher). Repeated incorrect bending over places loads of additional unneeded stress on our back. Incorrect bending, your back will look like C shape, however, when we hip hinge correctly our backs are nice and flat like a tabletop and the bending movement is coming from our hips and knees, not our spine. If lifting something from the floor or an extremely low surface a combination of hip hinging and squatting may occur.

3. Lunge – A common example of lunge is going up the stairs, while it may not be as exaggerated as a typical lunge, the concept is the same. A lunge is done one leg at a time. Tips for a proper lunge include keeping your chest up and standing tall, avoid leaning over. Do not allow your front knee to move past your toes and keep your knee in line with your ankle. Keep your weight in your heels and engage your abdominal muscles.

4. Push – This functional movement occurs anytime we push a load away from you or push your own bodyweight away, such as a push-up or opening doors, pushing a cart. This movement engages your triceps, shoulders, and chest. To do this properly, center yourself with the object you are pushing, keep your feet shoulder-width apart and engage your core.

5. Pull – This functional movement occurs when you pull something toward yourself, or your body toward something. Pulling in our everyday life could include grabbing a book off of a high shelf or doing lateral pull-downs or pull-ups at the gym. Essentially, the opposite of the push. Pushing is always better than pulling, but if pushing is not an option, to pull properly maintain a neutral stance, engage your core, align your body with the object you are pulling and place your weight in your heels.

6. Twist – Twisting is something we do often but may not realize it. When we go to grab something off to the side, when we look at something or someone that isn’t clearly in front of us, or when we are driving and need to look behind us when parallel parking. The goal is to complete a twist by using your legs and hips instead of your lumbar spine. To properly twist allow the legs to initiate the movement, allow your hips to rotate and shift weight in your legs as the twist progresses.

7. Gait – Also referred to as walking, which is something we do every day – walking to the kitchen, to our cars, and oftentimes we are carrying something while we walk – a package, purse, groceries, or backpacks. Remember to keep your core engaged when walking to prevent over-arching your lower back, keep your head in neutral to support neck and spine alignment. If walking with a load, try to keep the load as close to the body as possible.

Mastering these moves and learning to move through life correctly can reduce common everyday injuries that come from completing everyday tasks and increase efficiency and safety.

As you go about your day-to-day tasks, remember to practice good form to prevent injury from everyday activities, try to train your body in a functional way in addition to traditional workouts, and pay attention to how much these movements occur in your day-to-day tasks!

For more information on body mechanics, functional movement, and ergonomics contact us as at connect@risingworkplace.com or 828.214.5045.