Taking the pain out of Christmas

It is here again, Christmas is almost upon us. The Christmas and New Year period can be a stressful time, with lots of social commitments, shopping, visiting friends, family and the office party,  all changes to your usual daily routine that can compromise your nutrition, exercise and healthy regimes leading to an increased risk of problems like back and neck pain. Below are some tips to try and avoid aches and pain this Christmas.

 

 

• Holiday Indulgences

Overindulging at Christmas can lead to weight gain placing more strain on your joints and muscles.

Try to keep a healthy diet, don't over indulge at every party, eating and drinking in moderation will help keep off those extra pounds. Keeping to your gym routine can be tricky, but gentle exercise such as walking can help prevent joints from stiffening up and keep you feeling energetic.

 

• Shopping Safely

Carrying heavy bags or awkward presents can put pressure on your spine and strain your shoulder muscles, leading to neck and shoulder pain. Take things easy, distribute weight evenly by using a suitable sized back pack or shopping trolley and take regular breaks mid shopping-spree.

 

• Preparation is key

Wrap up warm in the cold, if you are sitting for long periods outside take a thick blanket or cushion to prevent a numb or painful behind. Prevent excessive postural strain by wearing your most comfortable shoes to walk in.

Whilst hanging Christmas decorations take care if you are climbing on stools or ladders. Get some help, use a safe ladder and avoid over stretching to hang that high up decoration.

Drink plenty of water, hangovers and the resultant dehydration do not help with muscular and joint pain and can make some spinal conditions worse. 

 

• Back care at Christmas

When lifting that oversized Christmas turkey out of the oven, bend your knees and keep your back straight, if you are in pain get somebody else to do the heavy lifting.

Don’t spend too long trying to beat the kids on their new sports computer game, but do remember to get some regular exercise be it walking, stretching or cycling. Stay warm use hot water bottles to soothe aching and tired muscles, a hot bath with some relaxing lavender oil or Epsom Salts can help relax and aid muscular aches.

If you are suffering with any muscular or joint aches and pain, consult a professional for some guidance and treatment. Chart Clinic offers free advice and consultations, for more information visit www.chartclinic.co.uk or call 01737 248 023.

Smartphone user? How smart is your posture?

The smartphone is undoubtedly one of the most significant innovations of most recent times, with ever increasing capabilities and ease of use, more and more people are spending time on them. But this is not just limited to smartphones, portable tablets also, allow  users to spend time on them easily whether at home, travelling or commuting to work.

A recent study found that people spending longer on these devices outside of work hours could potentially be putting themselves at risk, this article on the BBC New Website summarises the findings - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18490433

Reproduced with permission from Joseph E. Muscolino, DC. Art work by Giovanni Rimasti. Originally published in the Massage Therapy Journal: Seven Keys to Healthy Neck Posture, 2010

So what can smartphone and tablet users do to avoid the potential pitfalls of using these devices and causing strain on their backs and necks? Well as obvious as it may seem, just watch your posture. Slouching causes undue strain in the neck and back, compound that effect by flexing your neck forward on an already hunched back and you have a pretty disastrous position for you spine.

To avoid placing excessive tension through the muscles in the back of your neck and back, the user can simply bring the device up to eyelevel and support the hand holding the smartphone or tablet with the other arm, the accompanying picture is self explanatory and a useful visual guide to help improve your smartphone posture.

If you are suffering with back and neck pain, try and alter the way you use your smartphone/tablet, how does it feel? Is there less strain in you neck and back? If you would like to know more about how and Osteopath can help you, please feel free to get in contact.

Back Care Awarness Week - Is Your Back In Good Shape?

Back Care Awareness week is almost upon us and here at Chart Clinic Osteopathy & Sports Massage we are passionate about helping people maintain a healthy spine!

Back pain, much of the time arises from the modern day sedentary lifestyle. The desk job for example, so many of us spend long hours behind a desk, hunched over our computers or laptops; the human spine is not designed for that. We have evolved from cavemen but seemed to have gone full circle if you look at some of the postures we let ourselves slump into. The bad news is a poor posture causes a lot strain on the spine.

Keeping good physical shape, staying active and maintaining a healthy weight immediately improves spinal health. Making small changes such as adopting a more supportive chair and switching from an old mattress to a new one can help enormously.

Gentle stretching exercises are recommended, at Chart Clinic our patients benefit from receiving personalised advice and exercises, specifically designed to keep each person’s spine in optimal condition. 

Principal Osteopath, James Clapham says “People tend to take better care of their cars than the backs, an annual MOT and service keeps a car in good running condition for 10 years or so, yet our precious bodies we expect to keep going well into our eighties and longer? We neglect the most important possession we have, our physical health!  What will you do if your back wears out, unlike a car; you can’t buy a new spine”.

This Back Care Awareness month of October, Chart Clinic are offering FREE ‘Back Health Checks’, so whether or not you have aches and pains, come along and get a free assessment and advice.

We are also offering a FREE information and advice at our Open Day, Saturday 13^th October 10am-4pm.  Please feel free to come along and drop in to see us, we will be happy to talk to you about Backs, Necks and more.

To make and appointment of for more information, contact us on 01737 248 023 or visit http://www.chartclinic.co.uk/special.htm

Poor posture at work causes back and neck pain, are you sitting comfortably?

For a vast majority of people today, work involves long hours at a desk in an office.  Sitting in one place for lengthy and stressful days, it is no wonder that work-related muscular and joint problems or Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), account for an estimated 11.6 million working days lost each year.*

For most people, we are aware that our posture is probably not that great. Perhaps you are reading this now slumped in your office chair? Have I caught you?!

Do you find that you get an achy back sitting at the desk or a stiff neck looking at the computer screen? These are two of the most common problems that patients present to us at our Osteopathic clinic in Reigate.

Yes, treatments such as Osteopathy or Massage can help to provide excellent relief for these symptoms. But it’s not just about what treatment we can offer for aches and pain, it’s also about what you can do to help yourself...

So why does your neck or back ache when you are working at the computer or laptop? The answer usually lies with your posture and the way your desk arrangement is setup. If you spend hours slouched over a desk and computer, with your head not in the optimum centre of gravity, you will start to run into trouble.

Typically an adult head weighs around 5kg. We can compare the weight of your head to that of a bowling ball, now if you hold that bowling ball with your arms outstretched in front of you, they will tire out pretty quickly.  Now, hold it close to your body and you can support it much more easily. The same applies to your head, sitting up straight balances the weight of your head nicely on top of your spinal column. However, if you are hunched over your desk, the muscles and joints in your neck desperately hang on, supporting the weight of your head.

As your head pulls down and forward your neck gets totally overloaded causing strain to those muscles and joints.

So what can be done? Well in almost all cases of work related back, neck pain and various other forms of RSI we come across, the patient has paid little or no attention to desk setup or what is commonly  referred to as ‘office ergonomics’.

Why not get a colleague to secretly take a photo using their phone, of you busy at work? It has to be when you do not notice, and then we can see your bad habits at their worst!

How is your posture? Just some of the key checks to make are as follows:

§         Your Chair, is it too low or too far back from your desk?

 If it is, this encourages slouching and your back will not be supported, the head tilts forward, your shoulders hunch. You may even hook your feet into your chair base, restricting blood flow in the legs.

Shorter people may need the chair to be low enough so their feet are planted on the floor. But take care, if it is too low this may cause you to overstretch your arms or shrug your shoulders. You may require a foot rest to overcome this.

§         Your monitor, is it too low?

That will cause your head to tip forward and downwards. As a result your whole body leans further forward, moving your back away from the ‘back rest’ of the chair and encouraging you to slouch.

Remember the back rest, it does exactly what it says – rests your back! So be sure to make use of it.

Well I have been typing for far too long; it’s time for a break! Be sure to every so often, look away from your screen and focus on something in the distance this rest your eyes and get up at least once an hour and have a walk around your desk.

For any other work related problems get in touch with us, but we can only deal with musculoskeletal disorders, sorry we cannot do anything about your boss!

*(http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/msds.htm)