Proper body mechanics from an engineering perspective

The economic viability of the manual therapy practitioner depends on the number of massages/treatments that can be given in a day or week. Fatigue or injuries can have a major impact on the income potential and could ultimately reach the point which causes the practitioner to quit the profession, and seek other, less physically demanding, employment. Manual therapy practitioners in general, and massage therapists in particular, can utilize a large variety of body postures while giving treatment to a client. The hypothesis of this paper is that there is an optimal method for applying force to the client, which maximizes the benefit to the client, and at the same time minimizes the strain and effort required by the practitioner. Two methods were used to quantifiably determine the effect of using "poor" body mechanics (Improper method) and "best" body mechanics (Proper/correct method). The first approach uses computer modeling to compare the two methods. Both postures were modeled, such that the biomechanical effects on the practitioner's elbow, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle joints could be calculated. The force applied to the client, along with the height and angle of application of the force, was held constant for the comparison. The second approach was a field study of massage practitioners (n=18) to determine their maximal force capability, again comparing methods using "Improper and Proper body mechanics". Five application methods were tested at three different application heights, using a digital palm force gauge. Results showed that there was a definite difference between the two methods, and that the use of correct body mechanics can have a large impact on the health and well being of the massage practitioner over both the short and long term.