Posture Month Week 1 – Awareness

The first week of Posture Month has been amazing.

Our goal was creating the strongest social media public health campaign ever to promote the importance of posture, and getting it out in the world.  And it’s working.

Thousands of doctors, therapists, trainers, educators and staff have the office handouts and social media shares from the free 2016 ToolKit, and are sharing online and in real life.  The message: Posture is REALLY important to your health. And your appearance.  And even your attitude and happiness.

Focus of Week 1:  the ‘A’ of the Posture ACE model: AWARENESS.

Here’s the key takeaway messages you should be reinforcing with your team, and all of you should communicate to patients/clients:

• Forget good or bad. Posture is strong or weak, and there’s always a path to improvement.
• Functionally strengthen posture and balance to keep your body looking good and moving well.
• Check in with your body and see how you stack up with a posture assessment (which should include a picture!)

Actions to Build your Posture Presence:

In-Office/Classroom:

WEEK 1 – Print and post the AWARENESS handout. (in your toolkit)

WEEK 2 – Post the CONTROL handout. (keep the supplemental handouts on walking, exercise, bending and getting a posture check handy to distribute as appropriate)

Online –  Follow, share and comment on new content daily.  Connect with Posture Month on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Social Shares – We’ve just loaded folders with share images and will add more each day! Return to your toolkit download page to get these images.

Encourage people you know who are active online to share your #PostureMonth posts!

• Compliance note: Its great when a patient retweets or reposts Posture Month images… but according to compliance expert Dr. Don Cross of OCCM Practice Compliance Solutions, HIPAA requires you not say things like “Mary, you are such a great patient” or otherwise tell the world that someone comes to you for care. 

Topic Handouts

Have everyone on your team review the eight TOPIC handouts, and have these available to address commonly asked questions.  In our online world, a physical handout can be powerful… especially when the visuals and concept are reinforced by online shares/images.

The Topic Handouts focused on AWARENESS are:

• May is Posture Month – Time for Your Annual Analysis  (PostureZone)
• Bad vs Good – People know they have posture issues. Here’s a great way to show how posture affects their health, confidence, mood, appearance and more!  (LUMO)
• How do you Stack Up – Have a framework to assess, document and communicate. (BodyZone) We suggest looking at each body mass with respect to the gravity line – Head, Torso, Pelvis, Lower Extremity (the 4 PostureZones).

We’re already receiving great feedback from pros telling us they’re having fun with the toolkit we’ve created, and that the people they care for are getting involved in sharing our message.  Let me know your experiences as well, and tell your colleagues to get involved and share the message!

NEXT WEEK: Control – Over the next few weeks I’ll show you ways to look at and address posture clinically as well as from a practice perspective.

PosturePractice Tip of the Week:  What’s the difference between posture awareness and posture consciousness? Awareness is intellectually knowing posture is important. Consciousness is an individual’s personal engagement of accurate perceptual proprioception of somatic position, direction and speed of motion. Read more>>>

See how these tools from Posture Month 2016 Sponsors can increase posture awareness.

Lumo BodyTech – Unlike passive posture products, Lumo Lift is an active device that provides immediate and actionable feedback. Whether you’re a physician, physical therapist, or chiropractor, Lumo can help you see your patients in a whole new way. Learn more about carrying Lumo in your practice >>>

Posture Beads – An elegant and fun tool, Posture Beads is designed to give you feedback when you slouch or round your back. You’ll find the beads are a gentle all-day reminder to sit and stand tall, and are a conversation starter. Find out more about practice retail and how they work >>>

PostureZone – Posture picture assessments create awareness by providing visual evidence to engage patients, clients and students in their posture. Posture grids make an eye-catching and effective backdrop. Systematize your process by using the PostureZone® app or software. See grids and more >>>