Human position

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Human position
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Human position refers to a position of a human body. It can also be called a person's attitude or bearing.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Human positions by type of support
o 1.1 Standing
o 1.2 Kneeling
o 1.3 Sitting
o 1.4 Lying
o 1.5 Atypical positions
+ 1.5.1 Standing on the arms
+ 1.5.2 Standing on the head
+ 1.5.3 "On all fours"
o 1.6 Hanging
* 2 Fetal position
* 3 See also
* 4 References

[edit] Human positions by type of support

While not moving, a human can be in one of the following main positions, distinguished by the type of support.

[edit] Standing

Main article: Standing (position)

Although quiet standing appears to be static, modern instrumentation shows it to be a process of rocking from the ankle in the sagittal plane. The sway of quiet standing is often likened to the motion of an inverted pendulum. [1] There are many mechanisms in the body that are suggested to control this movement, e.g. a spring action in muscles, higher control from the nervous system or core muscles.

Although standing per se isn't dangerous, there are pathologies associated with it. One short term condition is orthostatic hypotension, and long term conditions are sore feet, stiff legs and low back pain.

[edit] Kneeling

Kneeling is standing not on the feet, but on one or both knees or shins approximately parallel to the ground, possibly raised to an angle depending on the position of the feet. The torso is usually upright but can be considered kneeling at other angles not touching the ground.

[edit] Sitting

Sitting requires a more or less horizontal structure, like a chair or the ground. Special ways of sitting are with the legs horizontal, and in an inclined seat. While on a chair the shins are usually vertical, on the ground the shins may be crossed in the lotus position or be placed horizontally under the thigh in a seiza.

[edit] Lying

When in lying position, the body may assume a great variety of shapes and positions. The following are the basic recognized positions.

Supine: lying on the back with the face up.

Prone: lying (or laying) on the chest with the face down ("lying down", "laying down", or "going prone"). See also "Prostration".

Lying on either side, with the body straight or bent/curled, forward (e.g., in fetal position) or backward.

[edit] Atypical positions

[edit] Standing on the arms

[edit] Standing on the head

[edit] "On all fours"

[edit] Hanging

Humans can hang in various positions. "Hanging" means a position when the support is above the center of gravity. Hanging may be both voluntary and involuntary.

[edit] Fetal position

The fetal position is lying or sitting curled, with limbs close to the torso and the head close to the knees.

[edit] See also

* Alexander Technique
* Dance position
* Egoscue Method
* Ergonomics
* Fetal position
* Kohnstamm's phenomenon
* Lodging
* Mitzvah Technique
* Motor control
* Positional asphyxia
* Postural Integration
* Yoga
* Terrestrial locomotion in animals
* Contortionism

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15013500&dopt=Abstract Kinematic and kinetic validity of the inverted pendulum model in quiet standing

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_position"

Categories: Articles needing additional references from February 2007 | Human body positions
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