A gentle posture is an unconscious reaction of the body to avoid pain or other stress. The equivalent in movements that have the same goal is the gentle posture.
What is a gentle posture?
A gentle posture is an unconscious reaction of the body to avoid pain or other stress. However, gentle postures can also cause muscle tension and strain. The body reacts to certain stimuli, which may be unpleasant or potentially harmful, with a muscular response that is intended to avoid aggravating the event. If a certain position of the body, of one or more joints is adopted, this is called a protective posture. Movement sequences that bypass or avoid the danger zone are referred to as gentle behavior. The decisive control mechanism begins in the sensitive nerve fibers that report pain or other unusual stresses in the tissues. This stimulus sets in motion responses designed to reduce mechanical stress in the affected area. The stimulus response is implemented by the muscles, either by increasing or decreasing muscle tone and assuming a relieving position. Once this position is reached, the muscles that can hold it are left in an increased state of activity, and the opposing muscles (antagonists) are inhibited. The same interplay exists in sparing behavior. Muscles that can intensify stimuli are inhibited, muscles that relieve stimuli are promoted. This results in a non-physiological movement pattern, which is also called an avoidance pattern in the literature.
Function and task
An important function of a restraining posture or behavior is to avoid or reduce unpleasant sensations, such as pain or sensory disturbances. Painful sensations caused by injury or disease may be exacerbated by mechanical stimuli. In many functional units and tissues, pressure, traction, or the combination of both can significantly increase the sensation of pain. Joints, bones, or connective tissue structures are adjusted by central nervous regulated muscle activity to minimize mechanical stress. Joints, for example, are placed in a slightly open position to reduce pressure on the bony joint partners and cartilage. Pain from injury or inflammation is reduced by teaching all structures that have an effect on the affected area to reduce traction and pressure on the stressed tissue. In that case, those muscles that bring about and maintain the approach are set hypertonic. On the other hand, those that can themselves exert traction on the damaged area become hypotonic. The protective posture is maintained until its cause is eliminated. The pain receptors take over the regulating function. They constantly provide information about the intensity of the causative damage. An improvement in the situation leads to a reduction in the reporting activity and to the gradual dissolution of the protective posture. However, if the protective posture is maintained over a long period of time, it can itself become the cause of severe pain. Among other things, this can lead to muscle tension and incorrect strain. Gentle posture has the task of avoiding mechanical overloads in tissues and functional areas by avoiding or bypassing these regions during movement. Such a mechanism is typical in the case of joint damage. Any pressure in the damaged area could potentially lead to exacerbation of the problem. Therefore, joint movements are controlled in such a way that the danger area is bypassed. The impaired areas in the joint are spared and progression of the damage is avoided or slowed down. This results in a non-physiological movement pattern, which in turn can lead to unfavorable loads with consequential damage. Painful injuries often lead to a combination of resting posture and resting behavior. The corresponding injury area is positioned in a gentle posture, as described, and associated body parts are moved only as much as absolutely necessary.
Illnesses and complaints
A typical gentle posture often occurs with abdominal injuries and abdominal pain. The affected people curl up, as they can thereby cause a relief of the pain.The abdominal muscles and all connective tissue parts of the abdominal wall are approximated and the mechanical factor is reduced to the affected area. Bone fractures can also lead to a protective posture. Fractures of the forearm or hand result in the arm being pressed against the upper body and held there in as painless a position as possible, often with the assistance of the other hand. Quite blatant relieving postures occur when the nerves that exit in the area of the lumbar spine are squeezed by a herniated disc or other structures. In the case of lumbago, the back muscles in this area are put into a spasmodic state with the aim of no longer allowing any movement there. In this case, an absolutely relieving posture develops, which is sometimes so pronounced that locomotion is no longer possible. In the case of sciatica, the pressure on the nerves is usually unilateral. The avoidance pattern to reduce the pressure on the nerves is therefore a forward tilt of the trunk with a slight inclination to the opposite side. This gentle posture creates more space for the nerves and can relieve them. Arthroses are degenerative joint diseases in which the joint cartilage is gradually broken down. The cartilage itself is insensitive to pain. Therefore, pain occurs when the damage has progressed so far that the underlying bones are subjected to too much stress. However, even before this occurs, the body takes countermeasures. These are altered movement patterns that serve to avoid pressure on the areas where there is no cartilage left. In the case of osteoarthritis in the hip or knee joint, this sparing behavior manifests itself in typical changes in the gait pattern. Injuries or diseases of the ribs or pleura are highly painful when breathing in. This results in protective breathing. Affected people avoid breathing into the painful area. They unconsciously direct their breath to other areas of the lungs and breathe more shallowly overall.
