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The concept of “posture” has become something of a buzzword in recent years. From posture trainers and sensors to Pilates, yoga and gym classes promising better alignment, we’re often told that good posture is something we should all be working towards. Many of us probably first heard this as children, when “Sit up straight!” or “Don’t slouch!” rang out from a teacher or parent. But beyond the buzzwords, posture simply refers to the way we hold and support our body while sitting, standing or moving. For some people, shifting out of an uncomfortable or painful position is something they can do independently. For others, the right support is needed to help maintain a safe, comfortable and functional position throughout the day. This is where postural support comes in, and why it is such a vital service here at Rocky Bay.
Postural support is not just about ‘sitting upright’, it’s about considering all the ways postural may affect everyday activities like breathing, eating/drinking, using a computer or doing schoolwork, toileting and transfers, sleeping and moving independently. When a customer comes to us for postural support, the goal for each one is to reduce pain, fatigue and pressure injuries while improving their comfort, safety and independence.
At Rocky Bay, the postural support program is led by our Advanced Clinician Postural Support Therapist Reny Mathews and Advanced Clinician Physiotherapist Merilyn Zhuo, and they take a 24-hour approach, considering how a customer is positioned across the day and night. That can include their wheelchair, bed, commode, shower chair, standing frame, alternative seating or supported lying equipment.
The aim in postural support is to understand the whole person. Their body, routines, goals, environment and the activities that matter the most to them. As Reny explains “We all have unique bodies, in the way we move, sit and stand, so for each customer the right solution has to be tailored specifically to them”
For some of our customers, that solution may be an off-the-shelf cushion, backrest or support, but for others with more complex postural needs, scoliosis, tone issues or a pressure injury risk, a custom-moulded support system may be required.
The process to determine what a customer needs is detailed and highly individual. Their history, goals, diagnosis, routines and their current equipment are all reviewed. The way they sit, move and how they are currently supported are also then assessed. How gravity affects posture, where physical support is needed and how positioning may affect breathing, eating, drinking, toileting, transfers, fatigue and pain are all also considered.
For the more complex seating, the process can involve lengthy assessments, analysis, equipment trials, funding applications, fitting, follow-ups and adjustments.
Regardless of their process and what support is needed, this is not a once-off intervention, but an on-going service that may change as their posture, health or function changes.
The impact can be life changing.
A recent success story was something as simple as being able to get an ice cream independently. “For one of my younger customers, we’d given him a power assist device as a starting point.” explains Reny “He and his mum were at the park one day after it had been fitted, and he was able to go to the ice cream vendor on his own and get himself a little treat. His mum said that it just made her day, seeing him have that opportunity to experience independence, especially as he was going to be a teenager soon and it’s so important for children to feel as though they have a little more freedom!”
For another customer, being assessed and receiving the right chair and power assist support meant being able to once again travel overseas with his parents, something they hadn’t been able to do since he was a child, where trips were made possible by the fact that his parents could carry him.
For others, it’s the simple but most important fact that once the right support in pace, they experience less pain, feel more relaxed, rest better and drive their chair properly.
Behind these outcomes is a specialist skillset that takes time, training and experience to develop. Although physiotherapists and occupational therapists do graduate with strong foundations in anatomy, physiology and function, postural support is not taught in depth at university. So Reny and Merilyn have developed a postural support competency pathway, which helps our therapists build their skills gradually, based on their experience, caseload, confidence and learning needs and giving more of our customers access to the right support for comfort, safety, independence and quality of life.
The pathway is also helping Rocky Bay build capability across hubs, so more customers can access skilled support closer to home. This is especially important in an area where demand is high, the work is complex, and the right support can make a significant difference to someone’s everyday life.
For our colleagues, it provides an opportunity to grow a specialist skillset in a field that is always changing. For customers, it means greater access to therapists who understand the complexity of postural support and can provide safe, evidence-based, person-centred care.
For the team leading the work, the reward is clear: seeing customers more comfortable, more independent and more able to do the things that matter to them.
Because postural support is not just about equipment. It is about helping people live with greater comfort, confidence and possibility.