The PRO.PO.DE. STA Method

the PRO.PO.DE.STA method

by Richard Ellis

PROprioceptive POstural and DEambulatory STAbility

During an average person’s lifetime, posture and locomotion develop independently and are rarely, if ever, executed correctly. While this situation generally has little major effect during youth, serious issues can develop in middle aged and older adults. Furthermore, if trauma or certain neurological and/or musculoskeletal diseases intervene at any time during a person’s life span, the lack of correct posture and deambulatory methods can seriously affect recuperation and return to proper health.

The root of this situation should be apparent and lies in the fact that newborns first learn to crawl, then to stand and then to walk without ever receiving instructions on how to perform these actions properly. As the proportions of the children’s bodies change radically during their development, there continues to be no instructions given as to how to improve posture and locomotion beyond a generic “stand straight” often admonished by parents. This lack of guidance translates into a tendency to accommodate rather than correct negative habits, further enhancing issues that may be due to congenital, developmental, or environmental origins.

Present methods of rehabilitation and corrective measures are based on mechanics which, while addressing the “how”, do little to address the “why”. The PRO.PO.DE.STA. method approaches the problem at its source, using a step by step system of proprioceptive exercises specifically designed to increase stability in both static posture and movement. These exercises are based on decades of experience with disciplines requiring heightened stability in motion and have been used with success on patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, patients with hip replacements, patients with knee pathologies and the elderly.

 Copyright 2012 Oriental Health Academy