Posturology vs Ergonomics vs Posture

Understanding Three Very Different Levels

Many people use the words posture, ergonomics, and sometimes even posturology interchangeably.

But they don’t actually describe the same thing.

They operate at different levels.

Understanding that difference helps explain why some solutions work for certain problems — and why others don’t.

Let’s look at them one by one.

1. POSTURE (THE CONVENTIONAL VIEW)

Most people think of posture as a position.

Usually something like:

• standing straight

• shoulders back

• neutral pelvis

• head aligned with the spine

In many biomechanical models used in kinesiology, physiotherapy, or osteopathy, posture is often evaluated visually.

Practitioners may look for things like:

• forward head posture

• rounded shoulders

• anterior pelvic tilt

• uneven shoulders

• hyperlordosis

• kyphosis

From there, the reasoning often becomes:

Bad posture → muscle imbalance.

So the typical solution is:

• stretch tight muscles

• strengthen weak muscles

• practice holding better posture

Sometimes this can help.

But it also leads to another common approach.

Some people buy posture braces — straps designed to pull the shoulders back and “force” the body into a straight position.

At first glance it seems logical.

If posture is a position, then holding the body in the right position should fix it.

But in practice, those straps often create new problems.

They pull on the shoulders.

They create pressure where the straps sit.

They can restrict circulation or irritate tissues.

And once the brace is removed, posture usually returns to the same pattern.

Because posture isn’t just a position.

It’s something the body organizes automatically.

And forcing the position doesn’t change how that organization happens.

2. ERGONOMICS

Ergonomics looks at a different level entirely.

Instead of focusing on the body itself, ergonomics focuses on the environment.

In simple terms:

Ergonomics is the science of adapting tools, workspaces, and environments to human capabilities.

Examples include:

• adjusting desk height

• placing the screen at eye level

• using lumbar support

• positioning keyboards and tools properly

The goal is to reduce unnecessary mechanical strain and improve comfort and efficiency.

And ergonomics can absolutely help.

If a screen is too low, raising it can reduce neck strain.

If a chair offers better support, sitting can become easier.

But ergonomics doesn’t change how your body organizes itself internally.

Two people can sit at the exact same desk.

Same chair.

Same monitor height.

Same setup.

One person feels fine.

The other develops neck pain.

Why?

Because ergonomics changes the external setup, not the internal strategy.

Here’s another way to think about it.

If neck pain were purely an ergonomic issue, it would disappear the moment you leave the desk.

But many people notice something else.

They leave work.

They sit on the couch.

They walk around.

And the tension is still there.

That’s often a sign the body had already developed a compensatory strategy.

The environment didn’t create it — it revealed it.

The irritation is no longer just about the environment.

And once that strategy has been expressed, the body doesn’t simply revert when the situation changes.

The system has already organized around it.

3. POSTUROLOGY

Posturology approaches posture from a different angle.

Instead of asking:

“What position should the body hold?”

It asks:

“How does the nervous system organize the body in space?”

Posturology is based on the idea that posture is an output of sensorimotor integration.

Your brain constantly integrates information from several sensory systems, including:

• vision

• the vestibular system (inner ear)

• proprioception (joints and muscles)

• plantar input from the feet

These systems help the brain determine:

• where the body is in space

• where vertical is

• how weight is distributed

• how stability is maintained

From that information, the nervous system organizes posture automatically.

In other words:

Posture isn’t something you manually hold.

It’s something your nervous system organizes.

When the sensory references guiding that organization become clearer or more efficient, posture can reorganize naturally.

Muscle tone changes.

Weight distribution changes.

Balance strategies change.

Not because you forced a position.

But because the system updated how it organizes the body.

(Postural control emerging from sensory integration is well described in motor control research such as Peterka, 2002 and Proske & Gandevia, 2012.)

HOW THESE THREE LEVELS RELATE

Each of these approaches addresses a different layer.

Posture correction focuses on body position.

Ergonomics focuses on environmental setup.

Posturology focuses on how the nervous system organizes posture itself.

This is why someone can:

• improve their workstation ergonomics

• strengthen certain muscles

• stretch tight areas

and still experience recurring tension or irritation.

The environment may be optimized.

Muscles may be stronger.

But the system may still be organizing movement and load the same way.

That’s where posturology operates.

Not instead of ergonomics.

Not instead of exercise.

But at the level where posture is actually organized.

And when that level changes, the others often begin to make more sense.

If tension or irritation keeps returning despite good ergonomics or exercise, this is often the level worth exploring.

Explore Posturology →

Andy Audet

Specialist in Body Recalibration and Human Performance

Saint-Bruno-De-Montarville, Québec

References

Peterka, R. J. (2002). Sensorimotor integration in human postural control. Journal of Neurophysiology, 88(3), 1097–1118.

Proske, U., & Gandevia, S. C. (2012). The proprioceptive senses: Their roles in signaling body shape, body position and movement. Physiological Reviews, 92(4), 1651–1697.