The Language of Slouch

To get a greater understanding of how people’s day to day activities affect the back I created the Language of slouch. The Language of slouch is a interactive tool that allows the user to flick through different screen showing the different positions that people sit and stand in which affects the back. A categorised these into six sections, each section showing a different position. I decided to incorporate Italian into the Language of Slouch as i wanted to create my own unique Language for the tool.



The First section of the Language of Slouch is the ‘Divanio Slouch’, this is the position that most take when relaxing in the evenings after a hard had at work. While seated like this the individual is completely relaxed, letting their body go and allowing the sofa to take all their weight. Although this may be seen as comfortable, has comfort overtaken posture and sitting correctly? While seated like this the back is curved in the wrong direction, and the weight of the upper body in forced on the lower lumbar region of the back. This is the area of the back that is most affected by the Divanio Slouch and with our hectic lifestyles forcing us onto the sofas in the evening, it is becoming a great problem and a real danger to the lower back.



The second section is the position some take while sitting at a desk, working at either a computer or a laptop, I call this the ‘Gobba Hunch’. They hunch over the desk curving he spine like in the Divanio slouch which again causes strain on the lower and middle back. In this position the individual is concentrating on what they are doing and is usually bringing their head closer to the screen which will cause more curving of the spine. It is the sedentarily lifestyle that a high percentage of the UK live these days that are forcing the workforce to work at a desk, and as we are not sitting correctly it is affecting our backs.



The second section is the position some take while sitting at a desk, working at either a computer or a laptop. They hunch over the desk curving he spine like in the Divanio slouch which again causes strain on the lower and middle back. In this position the individual is concentrating on what they are doing and is usually bringing their head closer to the screen which will cause more curving of the spine. It is the sedentarily lifestyle that a high percentage of the UK live these days that are forcing the workforce to work at a desk, and as we are not sitting correctly it is affecting our backs.



Next is the ‘Camminare’, which is how we walk and stand. How we walk can say a lot about a person, if a person walks tall with good posture, this shows that a person is confident. Opposite to that if a person walks with his head down and has bad posture this can mean he is unconfident, so confidence can also help stop back pain becoming a problem. Carrying bags and rucksacks can also lead to back pain. This extra weight being applied to the back causes extra stress for the core muscle groups, also wearing a rucksack on one shoulder can twist the spine in the opposite direction. All these issues can have a significant effect on our backs and with simple steps like concentrating on how we walk and keeping a good posture we can help eliminate back pain.



The ‘Tipici’ is a collection of the day to day positions that we take up that can affect our backs. Simple things like having the car seat in the correct position while driving can stop back pain. There are many things we can do to help in the aid of back pain and bellow are a couple.



The ‘Seduto dritto’ is the correct way to hold your body while seated or standing. By following simple steps like the image of a man sitting at a desk, back pain can be prevented. If we payed more attention to our posture and our core muscle groups this would really help us prevent back pain if acute from becoming chronic.
My Language of Slouch then shows at a glance the positions that we adopt that can lead to back pain, and simply by have this tool in the back of your mind it can help with the prevention of back pain.