Osteopathy & Work related injuries

Lower back pain? Mid back pain? Neck pain or headaches? You name it and most people working at a desk will have suffered with something over their working lifetime. And with such a large percentage of people working at desks for long hours nowadays, its no surprise we see a big portion of these people at the Chart Clinic complaining of numerous aches and pains.

It’s because of this high volume that I have really started to enjoy treating and helping people with desk or posture related issues (working is usually bad enough without having to do it in pain!). 

As I mentioned previously, symptoms can crop up anywhere but spinal and shoulder/wrist problems are most common. Injuries to the spine and/or spinal muscles are most frequent mainly due to people’s poor desk posture; shoulders rolled forward, upper back slumped and neck pitched back. This position is not natural and is especially not going to be good for your body for 8+ hours a day! Humans didn’t evolve over thousands of years to sit at desks and work on computers, our bodies are designed for movement! So the best thing to do is take lots of regular ‘movement' breaks (every 30 minutes, if possible) or even work standing up for periods if your office environment allows it.

Another tip to prevent pain or fatigue is to ensure that your desk is ergonomically set up, i.e. your screen/desk is at the correct height, your chair has the correct amount of support and that you aren’t particularly rotated one way or another. If your desk set up isn’t ideal, speak to your management or HR department and ask them about an ergonomic assessment, it could save you and them hours of trouble!

The other key area for overuse is the wrist and/or shoulders, again mainly brought about by poor desk set up. If your mouse or keyboard are even just slightly too far away this can lead to a build up of stress over time which in turn can develop into a chronic injury. You can even get specialist wrist protectors to stop things such as RSI developing, and again ask your company about these if you do already get symptoms into your fingers, wrists, arms or shoulders.

Even when you try to do your absolute best at work in terms of keeping your posture correct and taking regular breaks, the body does sometimes still need a bit of external help and this is where we come in. A few osteopathic treatments in quick succession with a tailor made stretching programme should help get things moving and substantially decrease the pain. Then followed up with ongoing ‘maintenance’ treatment every 4-8 weeks is always advisable to keep things nice and flexible and allow your body to be able to cope with the physical stresses and pressures of being sat at a desk for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week!

So don’t just accept your aches and pains, come and get them sorted at The Chart Clinic so you can get through your work day pain free and actually enjoy it (perhaps that might be pushing it!)

Runners last minute marathon preparations

It’s been a long, gruelling journey to get to this point, but it is finally hear. Some of our runners will be pounding the streets or Brighton for the marathon this weekend, and next week for for the biggie the  London Marathon!

Runner’s, this week you should relax, you have been tapering for the past few weeks, now just enjoy this final week and look forward to the big day, the adrenaline and the uplifting support from the crowds, the experience alone will be amazing!

If you want to keep an eye on the weather visit the MET office website, this will help you prepare for what clothing you will need on the day, http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/events/london-marathon

In the next few days it’s worth doing a few things in final preparation:

• Rest and relax, you have done your training, now enjoy the rest and wait for race day.
• Consider a Sports Massage to help you physcially and mentally prepare.

• Eat sensibly this week; add an extra carb to your meals, such as jacket potato, rice or pasta.
• Trim your toenails before race day – to avoid any discomfort in your shoes.
• Pick your clothing for the appropriate weather.
• Check your running shoes – Remove any twigs, stones etc. from soles and check the laces are not fraying.
• Drink plenty of fluid the day before race day – your urine should be a pale straw colour.
• On race morning apply some petroleum jelly or similar lubricant to sensitive areas such as nipples, thighs and between arms and chest to avoid chafing.
• Eat something light on race morning bagel, toast, cereal or a banana are all good choices. Avoid eating too heavy a meal the evening before.

Good luck to all our marathon runners :-) - we will see you Monday for a well earned sports massage

Neck Pain - An Osteopaths approach

Neck pain is common in people of all ages and is often caused by how we use our necks.
Working all day bent over a computer, driving long distances, poor posture while standing or sitting, stress and tiredness are all factors that can cause the muscles in the neck and upper back to become tight and the joints to become stiff which can contribute to ongoing neck pain.

Sometimes a nerve in your neck can become irritated or “trapped” and cause pain in the arm going down into your shoulder or the hand, and may be accompanied by pins and needles and numbness.

Some headaches can be the result of tension or stiffness in the neck and upper back.
Osteoarthritis or age-related wear and tear in the neck can also cause muscular pain from the neck into the shoulder as well as some stiffness in moving the neck.

How can an Osteopath help?

Osteopaths can use a wide range of gentle manipulations depending on your age, fitness and diagnosis to reduce muscular tension in the neck and improve movement in the joints of the neck and upper back. We may gently massage the soft tissues or rhythmically “rock” the joints to release tension and sometimes we may gently manipulate the neck to move the joints and you may hear a “click”.

Treatment is different in every individual and sometimes it might involve treating other areas in the back and shoulders as well as the neck.

We may offer advice on your posture at work or in the car and give advice on exercise and stretching to help keep your neck and upper back muscles and joints relaxed.

X-rays, scans and other tests are sometimes required to make a diagnosis and your osteopath may refer to your GP or a specialist for any additional investigations or treatment.

Read more here

What do Osteopaths treat? - Back pain

Back pain is a very common problem, with reports suggesting as many as eight out of ten of us will suffer from it at some point during our lives (1). Around 5.6 million working days in the UK are lost each year due to back pain, second only to stress (2, 3).
Back pain can affect anyone at any age, and can often be the result of a sprain or a strain of the structures of the back such as the muscles, ligaments, joints or damage to the discs. Osteoarthritis or wear and tear in the back can also be a reason.
Most of us know that back pain can be painful and inconvenient, but it’s not usually serious and will often resolve on its own within a few weeks. However, many people seek osteopathic treatment to address it quickly(4) and at a time and place of their own choice; and osteopaths are skilled at helping prevent back pain from becoming a chronic, long-term condition.

For more information from the Institute of Osteopathy click here

Sources:

1. Palmer KT, Walsh K, et al. Back pain in Britain: comparison of two prevalence surveys at an interval of 10 years BMJ 2000;320:1577-1578
2. www.backcare.org.uk/factsandfigures
3. www.nhs.uk/Livewell/workplacehealth/Pages/backpainatwork.aspx
4. Gurry et al. (2004) looked at a multidisciplinary setting within Plymouth Primary Care Trust (PCT)46. It found that the return to work time was quicker using this service which included osteopaths than GP and physiotherapy services alone.

New Years resolutions don't need to end with an injury...we can help