03/17/2020
Anatomical Plumb Line ⬇️⠀⠀
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If we’re being honest with ourselves, most of us look like Figure A. Now it may not be as pronounced but our posture is slacking.⠀⠀
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An anatomical plumb line refers to an invisible line that starts in the center of our head and travels straight to the ground from there. This plumb line should go through specific anatomical landmarks. This is the path of the plumb line:⠀
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🔹Center of head⠀
🔹External Auditory Meatus (hole in ear)⠀
🔹Behind the axis of the hip joint⠀
🔹Anterior to the axis of the knee joint⠀
🔹Anterior to the lateral malleolus (ankle bone)⠀
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When the plumb line travels through these landmarks, proper posture is typically noted. As you can see in Figure A, rounding the shoulder and jutting the neck out allows for the plumb line to fall behind the the ear.⠀⠀
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When we see this in patients, we immediate focus on proper posture techniques, in addition to exercises to strengthen those weak muscles and soft tissue work to loosen tight muscles associated with poor posture.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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