What is postural care?
Postural care is about using the right equipment and positioning techniques to help protect and restore body shape.
We've put together a playlist of videos which explain postural care.
People who find it hard to move are most at risk of developing body shape distortions. This is because they often sit and lie in limited positions.
To avoid that risk delivering the right postural care is vital.
The earlier the intervention, the better - but it's never too late to start protecting someone's body shape.
Mencap want:
- to challenge the assumption that distortion of body shape is inevitable for people with learning disabilities
- all people with multiple disabilities (PWMD) to get the support they need to protect their shape, 24 hours a day.
Learn about postural care
Health and social care professionals and family carers and supporters can learn more about postural care from the government The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much tax Tax is the money that pays for things like schools, hospitals and the police. There are different types of taxes like income tax Income tax is the money that is taken out of the money you earn every month. It helps to pay for things we all need like hospitals and schools. , VAT VAT is also called Value Added Tax. VAT is the extra money you pay when you buy things. The money goes to the government to pay for things like schools and hospitals. and council tax Council A council is also called a local authority A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools, social care Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. (support for people), parks and dustbin collection. . They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection. Tax is the money that people pay to the council A council is also called a local authority A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools, social care Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. (support for people), parks and dustbin collection. . They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection. . It helps to pay for things like social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection. . people should pay and how things like the National Health Service A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support. ( NHS The NHS is the National Health Service. The NHS gives free healthcare to everyone in the UK and includes things like your GP (doctors) surgery and hospitals. ) should work. website A website is a page you can go to on the internet like Google or YouTube. .
Postural care is using the right equipment and positioning techniques to help protect and restore peoples body shapes.
For people with limited movement, not getting the correct postural care results in them adopting their own preferred way of sleeping or sitting which, in time, will result in them not being able to move out of that position.
This can lead to a deterioration in their body shape, resulting in health problems and pain, as well as increased equipment and dependence needs.
The Postural Care Action Group are a group of organisations Organisations are groups like companies and businesses. and individuals working to raise awareness about the importance of protecting body shape.
Organisations are:
- The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)
- The College of Occupational Therapists (COT)
- Inclusion North
- Mencap
- PAMIS
- Partners in Policymaking
- Postural Care Skills
- Potential Futures
- The Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
- Simple Stuff Works
- University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN)