Most people sit down for a rest but sitting should be more active. When sitting for prolonged periods it is important that you maintain good posture using the deep stabilising muscles around your spine and pelvis. Your chair will help you to do this but will not do the whole job. You need to help your postural muscles to support your spine and this will help prevent problems from developing. The following information aims to help you understand how you can improve your posture and contains tips on exercises and stretches for you to do if you spend the majority of your day sitting.
Positioning your spine correctly and using your chair to help you maintain a good position is the best way to start.
Healthy sitting
Remember there is no such thing as only one correct sitting position - it is good to move and the optimal position can be different for each individual! We recommend you start with the following steps:
• Sit on your office chair and make sure both your feet are resting comfortably on the floor and your thighs are fully supported. Raise or lower your chair to do this. If you are small you may need to place your feet on a footrest. It is often more comfortable to adjust the seat so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.
• Make sure you are sitting right back in the chair and the seat edge finishes approximately an inch behind your knee crease. Slide the seat forward or back to make sure the seat edge is in the correct place.
• Then roll forward a little from your pelvis lifting your tailbone upwards so that your low back curves forwards and you feel your weight roll onto your sitting bones. Your back should not be straight but gently curved in an ‘S’ shape.
• Slide the back of your chair up or down so that you can support yourself in this position, you should find that the deepest part of the support curve will be just above your pelvis, at the base of your low back. You may find it helpful to tip your seat forward a little so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees. The chair should support your natural curve not push you into it.
Now you have corrected your low back position you will find it much easier to adjust your middle back and neck position.
• Lift your breastbone upward to stretch out your upper back and relax your shoulder blades down your back. If your pelvis is in the correct position this should be easy. Be careful that you don’t elevate your shoulders or overextend through the middle of the spine whilst doing this.
• Elongate the back of your neck by imagining your head is being drawn upwards by a piece of string attached to the crown so your chin slightly drops as if you were gently nodding. Your head will then be in a more balanced position and it will be easier for you to move your neck.
TIPS!
Have the monitor centred in front of you and at a fingertip distance away.
Have the top of the screen at eye level approximately and the monitor tilted up slightly.
If you use a keyboard:
Have the keyboard in front of the monitor and the mouse close to the keyboard.
Keep your wrists straight and not bent up or down or to the side
Keep elbows relaxed by your side bent to approximately 90 degrees
Avoid hammering the keys
Only use a wrist support between typing
If you use a mouse:
Keep your wrists straight and not bent up or down or to the side
Keep it close
Hands off when not using it!
Don’t squeeze the mouse
Use a mouse mat for better contact
Remember the mouse can be used on the other side of the keyboard
Avoid double clicking, use the return key instead of the second click
If you use a copyholder:
Place the copyholder so that it is at the same height above the desktop as the centre of the screen
If you touch type and spend more time looking at the copyholder then place this directly in front of you
If you use a telephone:
Avoid straining your neck to the side or into a twisted position
Never cradle the telephone in between your neck and shoulders
If you use the phone for long periods consider using a headset
If you are writing:
Keep the wrist straight, not bent sideways on the table
Move your whole arm across the paper rather than bending the wrist
Avoid pressing too hard or gripping the pen too firmly
Limit the time you spend writing
Try to be aware of increased muscle tension or joint pain and act quickly to rectify it. Remember to get up and move, try to get up and stretch every 20 minutes or so. People who change their positions and avoid prolonged sitting have a lower incidence of back pain. If you sit correctly in a well-designed chair intra-discal pressure can even be lower than when standing
Exercises
Sitting
• Turn your head left and right to look over your shoulder.
• Tilt head side to side (toward your ear).
• Flex and extend wrists.
• Cross your arms across your chest and twist to the right and left.
• Place your hands on your head and bend side to side.
• Clasp your hands together and stretch your arms up over the back of your chair.
When stretching you should feel strain not pain. Hold the position for a few seconds and feel tension ease. Concentrate on areas that feel particularly tight.
• It is important that you look after your general health too. Sitting in an office all day followed by sitting in the car or train followed by sitting in front of the TV is not conducive to a healthy body!
• Weekend warriors beware! After sitting in the office all week your body is not conditioned to play a hard game or work out strenouously on the weekend. This is when injuries occur. Try to be involved in regular sport or exercise and get your body ready for the big game.
Home stretches
After a long day in the office it's a good idea to stretch your back. Try the following: Roll up a towel (a hand towel is best) and place it on the floor. Place a flat pillow perpendicular to the towel and lie down on your back with your knees bent so that your head is on the pillow and the towel is lengthwise down the upper part of your spine
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Skiing Tips
The snow as begun to fall in the European ski resorts and happy skiers will be filling the slopes very soon. Every year we see enthusiastic skiers come into our clinic with unfortunate injuries. They range from thumb and hand injuries, to knee and shoulder injuries.
We have put together some Skiing tips to help you avoid any injuries this ski season.
• If you fall, do not attempt to get up whilst still moving.
• If you are out of control do not attempt to sit down (as this puts your knee joints under strain).
• Try to keep your weight forward and arms in front.
• Avoid crossing your skis.
• Avoid very wide snow-plough positions.
• Make sure you prepare yourself physically. Knee pain is not just the result of an injury either. In many cases knee pain occurs in the skier with faulty biomechanics or in those out of condition.
• Beginners should take lessons from a certified instructor.
• Never ski or snowboard alone.
• Exercise and stretch before skiing or snowboarding each day.
• Stay on marked trails.
• Wear helmets and other appropriate gear.
• Quit before becoming overly tired.
Don’t let avoidable knee injuries ruin your next ski holiday. Call us at East Coast Physio to book a screening check or, if you have had a previous injury, you might like to discuss ways of minimising re-injury.
We can design a programme to help you get the most out of your body and your ski holiday.
Some good exercises, to help prepare for the slopes include those which use similar motions. Swimming, bicycling and rowing use similar muscles and build endurance, as well as strength. Exercises which strengthen the muscles are also helpful, such as squats.
Stretching also improves your flexibility, another key ingredient in avoiding a ski injury.
After your training, it is important to make sure the joints are well tended to. Make sure to properly stretch the muscles you have worked and remember to ice any joints that may be inflamed for 20 minutes after your workout.
So after all those tips, enjoy the slopes this year!
We have put together some Skiing tips to help you avoid any injuries this ski season.
• If you fall, do not attempt to get up whilst still moving.
• If you are out of control do not attempt to sit down (as this puts your knee joints under strain).
• Try to keep your weight forward and arms in front.
• Avoid crossing your skis.
• Avoid very wide snow-plough positions.
• Make sure you prepare yourself physically. Knee pain is not just the result of an injury either. In many cases knee pain occurs in the skier with faulty biomechanics or in those out of condition.
• Beginners should take lessons from a certified instructor.
• Never ski or snowboard alone.
• Exercise and stretch before skiing or snowboarding each day.
• Stay on marked trails.
• Wear helmets and other appropriate gear.
• Quit before becoming overly tired.
Don’t let avoidable knee injuries ruin your next ski holiday. Call us at East Coast Physio to book a screening check or, if you have had a previous injury, you might like to discuss ways of minimising re-injury.
We can design a programme to help you get the most out of your body and your ski holiday.
Some good exercises, to help prepare for the slopes include those which use similar motions. Swimming, bicycling and rowing use similar muscles and build endurance, as well as strength. Exercises which strengthen the muscles are also helpful, such as squats.
Stretching also improves your flexibility, another key ingredient in avoiding a ski injury.
After your training, it is important to make sure the joints are well tended to. Make sure to properly stretch the muscles you have worked and remember to ice any joints that may be inflamed for 20 minutes after your workout.
So after all those tips, enjoy the slopes this year!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Green, white and...GOLD!!
It’s a rare moment when you can stand in your Irish strip, singing Amhran na bhFiann while the Irish flag is being raised. A moment I treasured at the European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, standing with the deputy manager Teresa McDaid.
It’s been 16 years since our last cross country gold (that was Catherina McKiernan winning the Europeans in 1994), and our first ever team gold, won by the men’s under 23’s team. It was a special weekend from the start. There were 32 athletes in total, made up from male and female junior, under 23’s and senior teams, including Wicklow athletes Fionnuala Britton, Brian Farrell, and junior Fiona McKenna. Team manager was the accomplished runner Ann Keenan-Buckley. I was the only physio but luckily they were a low maintenance, injury-free bunch, so my workload was relatively light. We also had a guest motivational coach on the trip, Liam Moggin from Coaching Ireland, and certainly his daily talks added to the team spirit and atmosphere.
The day of competition itself I base myself in the warm-up tent, where the athletes arrive and prepare for their race. Fionnuala Britton gave us a lot to shout about in the women’s senior race as she put in a superb performance but narrowly missed out on a medal by finishing in 4th place. An exciting performance from a great athlete, there is a lot more to come from Fionnuala who has been in rising form this season.
Our victorious team of David McCarthy, Brendan O’Neill, Michael Mulhare, David Rooney, John Coughlan and Ciaran O’ Lioniard I have to say were infectious with their energy before their race, you could feel that something special was happening as they left the tent to give the performance of their lives in taking home gold. They deservedly received a hero’s welcome in Dublin Airport last Monday when we arrived home, we were blinded by flash photography as we arrived out, with a strong media presence to interview the lads. All in all, a great weekend for Irish Athletics, with high hopes for the future.
It’s been 16 years since our last cross country gold (that was Catherina McKiernan winning the Europeans in 1994), and our first ever team gold, won by the men’s under 23’s team. It was a special weekend from the start. There were 32 athletes in total, made up from male and female junior, under 23’s and senior teams, including Wicklow athletes Fionnuala Britton, Brian Farrell, and junior Fiona McKenna. Team manager was the accomplished runner Ann Keenan-Buckley. I was the only physio but luckily they were a low maintenance, injury-free bunch, so my workload was relatively light. We also had a guest motivational coach on the trip, Liam Moggin from Coaching Ireland, and certainly his daily talks added to the team spirit and atmosphere.
The day of competition itself I base myself in the warm-up tent, where the athletes arrive and prepare for their race. Fionnuala Britton gave us a lot to shout about in the women’s senior race as she put in a superb performance but narrowly missed out on a medal by finishing in 4th place. An exciting performance from a great athlete, there is a lot more to come from Fionnuala who has been in rising form this season.
Our victorious team of David McCarthy, Brendan O’Neill, Michael Mulhare, David Rooney, John Coughlan and Ciaran O’ Lioniard I have to say were infectious with their energy before their race, you could feel that something special was happening as they left the tent to give the performance of their lives in taking home gold. They deservedly received a hero’s welcome in Dublin Airport last Monday when we arrived home, we were blinded by flash photography as we arrived out, with a strong media presence to interview the lads. All in all, a great weekend for Irish Athletics, with high hopes for the future.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Avril returns to LRFC
The LRFC have returned to division one this season and will play 8 teams home and away in the1B division. We have currently played 3 games away and two at home in Lansdowne Road. Although we have maintained a winning record at home, we still remain to clinch an away win. We were up in Dungannon a few weekends ago, and we battled hard against a very strong side. We lost by 2 points, when the opposition scored a drop goal in the last minute.
In the physio room we have a few hamstring injuries to contend with presently. The lads are diligently keeping the rehab going and the physio team work on them weekly to restore good movement and flexibility to the muscle. We have one or two knee joint injuries currently also, again the rehab is essential and we keep the lads well strapped for games to protect and support the knee joint during play. It has been a busy start to the season in the physio room & it will no doubt be another busy season for the Medical team, to keep all the players in shape.
Low Back Pain (LBP)
Low back pain (LBP) is the most common problem we see as a Chartered Physiotherapist. Statistically up to 80% of people get LBP at one stage during their life. There are many reasons for LBP. The muscles, ligaments, discs or vertebrae/bones in our back can all cause pain. Pain may come on suddenly or slowly, it can be constant or intermittent, stay in one place or radiate to other areas. It may be a dull ache, or a sharp or piercing or burning sensation. The pain may radiate into the leg or foot, and may include symptoms other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling. Large nerves that originate in the spine and go to the legs can make pain radiate to the extremities.
The majority of back pain patients are diagnosed with nonspecific acute back pain which has no serious underlying medical condition (or “pathology”). However, secondary back pain which is caused by an underlying condition accounts for a small number of the cases. The most common underlying pathology in these cases is a herniated disc or a slipped disc.
Disc pain in the lower back is common. Discs are located between the vertebrae (bones) in the back. They have a hard outside layer with a softer inner layer. When people ‘slip a disc’ the jelly like inner disc substance pushes through the outer layer and causes pain. Pain can be caused by a sudden strain on the disc from lifting in the wrong way, or a gradual strain from standing or sitting in the wrong way. For this reason it is essential to have correct posture when lifting and while in sustained positions (sitting or driving). The disc strain can be called a herniated, bulging, or protruding disc. With the appropriate care the vast majority of disc strains will reabsorb over time.
One potential source of back pain is the back muscles. Potential causes of pain in muscle tissue include muscle strains (pulled muscles), muscle spasm, and muscle imbalances (a muscle working too little or too much).
Another potential source of low back pain is the joints of the spine (facet joints). In people with spinal pain stemming from the facet joints, one theory is that the tissue lining the joints may become pinched or trapped, and cause pain. Age related wear and tear of the joint surfaces also cause pinch and cause pain.
Management
The first step is to tackle the pain itself. The aim is to restore pain-free movement as soon as possible, through hands on treatment to get the joints and soft-tissues moving normally again, and an exercise programme that complements this process. It may also be helpful to use heat or ice, and take certain medication if needed. The treatment may then progress to a strengthening programme to restore strength to the area. This is done to make the area less vulnerable to further strain. The strengthening phase may include a core stability programme which would be prescribed based on a person’s individual weaknesses. An example of some of these exercises can be found on our blog (http://eastcoastphysio.blogspot.com/2010/11/core-stability-exercises.html).
The rule of thumb with LBP is that if it lasts more than 72 hours get in touch with your Chartered Physiotherapist.
The majority of back pain patients are diagnosed with nonspecific acute back pain which has no serious underlying medical condition (or “pathology”). However, secondary back pain which is caused by an underlying condition accounts for a small number of the cases. The most common underlying pathology in these cases is a herniated disc or a slipped disc.
Disc pain in the lower back is common. Discs are located between the vertebrae (bones) in the back. They have a hard outside layer with a softer inner layer. When people ‘slip a disc’ the jelly like inner disc substance pushes through the outer layer and causes pain. Pain can be caused by a sudden strain on the disc from lifting in the wrong way, or a gradual strain from standing or sitting in the wrong way. For this reason it is essential to have correct posture when lifting and while in sustained positions (sitting or driving). The disc strain can be called a herniated, bulging, or protruding disc. With the appropriate care the vast majority of disc strains will reabsorb over time.
One potential source of back pain is the back muscles. Potential causes of pain in muscle tissue include muscle strains (pulled muscles), muscle spasm, and muscle imbalances (a muscle working too little or too much).
Another potential source of low back pain is the joints of the spine (facet joints). In people with spinal pain stemming from the facet joints, one theory is that the tissue lining the joints may become pinched or trapped, and cause pain. Age related wear and tear of the joint surfaces also cause pinch and cause pain.
Management
The first step is to tackle the pain itself. The aim is to restore pain-free movement as soon as possible, through hands on treatment to get the joints and soft-tissues moving normally again, and an exercise programme that complements this process. It may also be helpful to use heat or ice, and take certain medication if needed. The treatment may then progress to a strengthening programme to restore strength to the area. This is done to make the area less vulnerable to further strain. The strengthening phase may include a core stability programme which would be prescribed based on a person’s individual weaknesses. An example of some of these exercises can be found on our blog (http://eastcoastphysio.blogspot.com/2010/11/core-stability-exercises.html).
The rule of thumb with LBP is that if it lasts more than 72 hours get in touch with your Chartered Physiotherapist.
Friday, November 12, 2010
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