Posture and Position

 

Over the weekend, I did two Zoom meetings focusing on ergonomics and efficiency in weaving.

One of the things I see on line is photos of people sitting in ordinary kitchen chairs at a loom.  This is not a great idea.

Ordinary chairs for sitting on are usually raked towards the back of the chair.  This tends to position one's bottom slightly lower than the knees.

Then people have a tendency to slouch into the chair and sit more on their coccyx than more upright.  This is a 'bad' position for doing something like treadling a loom.  There is a reason loom benches are flat or have a slight incline towards the loom.

As we get older and our bodies begin to age and take longer to heal from physical exertion, we need to pay attention to our position and posture before we injure ourselves by doing repetitive motions to the point of setting up inflammation in our muscles.  

Once we have chronic inflammation in our body, we take even longer to heal, not to mention the lingering pain we experience.

I am not a medical professional so I strongly suggest if you are having physical injuries that seem to be made worse by your weaving (or any other) practice, see a professional.  A physiotherapist, one who specializes in sports injuries, or has a degree in body mechanics, might be a good possibility.  Then explain to them what it is you are doing and how you do it.  Let them see the motions you do, over and over again, and the posture you use while doing it.  Then listen to them, work with them by doing the exercises and stretches they recommend.

We only get one body.  Take care of it.  

Currently reading No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox