7 Easy Exercises At Your Desk

1. Do a runner’s stretch for your calf muscles. Stand facing a wall, put one foot in front of the other foot, and place your arms out in front of you on the wall. Push into the wall with your hands. Keep both feet facing forward and keep both heels on the floor. The leg behind you will get a stretch to the calf. Calf flexibility can help to prevent Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis.

2.Stretch your arms up to the sky and reach up as far as you can. Hold this stretch for a few seconds. This stretches your shoulders and can help to prevent frozen shoulder.

3.Roll your shoulders backwards. Roll them upward, backward and downward. Do big circles and small circles. This will remind you about proper upper body posture, which helps to prevent neck and shoulder pain, especially related to sitting excessively at work.

4.Move your neck up and down as far as is comfortable by looking up and down. Hold for a few seconds each way. Feel the motion of your upper spine and your neck muscles. Good motion of your neck is needed for almost all your daily tasks. If you do not have full motion of your neck in all directions, you likely have a neck problem that needs treatment (such as Physical Therapy).

Photo: ergomomma.com

5.Bring your hands behind your back and join your fingers from both hands together. Then reach both arms upward until you feel a stretch in your chest. Hold for at least ten seconds. Most people have poor posture, so their chest muscles remain tight. This stretch can help to prevent such tightness.

6.Move your ankles around in circles. Circle both directions at least ten times. Ankle motion is important to maintain good circulation of blood through the legs, which can help to prevent blood clots.

7.Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Feel the muscles between the shoulder blades pinch together. Hold for 5-10 seconds. Repeat several times. Shoulder blade motion is important to assist with shoulder motion, and shoulder blade muscle strength assists with good posture.

Back Pain Prevention: Proper Lifting Techniques

Photo: New York Public Library

Never lift an object if you are in a forward bent position. The picture here shows a proper squat in order to reach down to the floor. Your spine is a perfectly stable system of bones (vertebrae) with discs in between each one. This system is designed to support your body weight and has the capacity to support much more weight (for example, carrying furniture) if the spine is maintained in its neutral position. (Note, it is not designed to support excessive body weight). The neutral position of the spine is when each vertebra is stacked on the one above it, which happens when you are demonstrating proper posture. You lose the stability and strength of the spine when you are twisted or bent, which removes the vertebrae from their properly stacked resting position. When this occurs, the muscles of your back have to be used in a way they were not made for. Why not use the stability of your spine when you lift instead of straining weak back muscles? 

Back muscles can be strengthened, but strong back muscles alone cannot prevent back injuries when your spine is in a compromised position, such as bent forward. Instead, it is best to lift when your back is straight and you use your legs to do the work. This involves squatting down but maintaining a straight back position. Our leg muscles are very strong and large and are made to do the work of lifting heavy objects, if we use our legs instead of our backs. If you are familiar with weight lifting, squatting is the exercise in which one can lift the most weight, compared to dead lifts, bench press, etc. This is because the thighs and buttocks have huge, powerful muscles, which are much less prone to injury. I rarely see patients for quadriceps (anterior thigh muscle) or gluteus maximus (buttocks muscle) strains whereas low back strains are very common in outpatient PT clinics.

What Your Toothbrush Tells You About Back Pain

Where do you store your toothbrush? Most of us store it right on the bathroom sink. Why do you store it there? Why don't you store it up on the top shelf or down in the bottom drawer? Your answer gives a simple example of BODY MECHANICS! You store your toothbrush within close reach to make life easier and more convenient. Why bend if you don't have to?

BODY MECHANICS is using your body to its advantage so that you don't have to work harder than necessary for whatever task you are doing. Here is another example. Ladies: why don't you carry your heavy purse by holding it with 1 or 2 fingers? You have naturally learned that the easiest way to carry a large handbag is strapped over your shoulder. 

We all practice good body mechanics with things like where we place our cups/plates/silverware in the kitchen, where we put our socks in our drawers and where we position our debit cards in our wallets. We want easy access to the objects that we use the most every day. So good body mechanics comes naturally...until we deal with our backs. We use our backs for things that our legs and arms should do, such as lifting and bending. Our leg muscles are massive and powerful and can do much heavier lifting than our back muscles. And our shoulder and arm muscles are very strong and able to lift, carry or hold significant amounts of weight.

So to prevent back pain, keep your back straight and use your legs more. Try squatting down using only your legs (maintaining a straight spine position) the next time you need to reach down toward the floor. Here is one easy way to demonstrate bad body mechanics: hold one arm straight out in front of you (with elbow straight) and place a dictionary or phone book in your hand. Time yourself to see how long you can keep it there.

Right Way To Unload Dryer, Short Video

Wrong Way To Use Computer, Short Video

Right Way To Load Dishwasher FUNNY

Right Way To Brush Teeth, Funny Video

How Should I Stretch My Neck?

When your neck is stiff and tired from working all day or being on the computer all night, what is a good stretch? Your natural tendency is right--your neck needs to be moved and stretched.

Tuck in your chin toward your throat as if you are trying to create a double chin. Hold the position for at least 3-5 seconds. Repeat 5-10x. Do this several times throughout the day, especially when you are sitting at a desk or computer. This is an important stretch because most of us tend to have bad back and neck posture, especially when we are sitting at a computer or desk. Slumped low back posture leads to slumped upper back and neck postures, with the shoulders being rounded and the head too far forward. That is one reason why your neck may hurt at the end of each workday.

In order to prevent neck pain, stiffness and knots, be sure to improve your sitting posture by using a low back support (small pillow, lumbar roll or rolled up towel) in any chair that you are in for an extended period of time. It will be impossible to maintain a good neck position if your low back posture is slouched. Try to modify your sitting posture now because a lifetime of poor posture leads to multiple neck and back problems with increasing age.



Ref: McKenzie, Robin. Treat Your Own Neck. 2011: Orthopedic Physical Therapy Product.

How to avoid BACK PAIN with reaching/bending

My patients with back pain typically fall into two categories: trauma vs non-trauma. Traumatic injuries can come from a major accident or an easy task done incorrectly (bending down to pick up shoes from the floor and then patient is unable to stand back up). Non-traumatic back pain frequently comes from repetitive poor postures and bad bending/reaching habits.

Based on my posts "How many times per day do you reach to the floor," the number is likely more than 30 times and may be even higher than 50 for those of you with small children. So how can you modify these RTF's (reach-to-floors) so as to decrease your risk for back pain, back spasm, back strain or worse?

First, check your back position each time you reach down to the ground or a low surface. You can squat (with your back straight) or use the golfer's grab (kick 1 leg back behind you). You can sit on a stool or chair. You can kneel. You can get on your hands and knees. You can sit on the floor. Be creative; there are many ways to reach down without straining your back. It simply takes the effort to think twice before you bend.

Next, modify where you place the objects that you use the most to be at an easy-to-reach height. For example, store your dish soap in a decorative container on the counter instead of under the sink. What objects do you have in your lower cabinets, cupboards, drawers and shelves? They should be the ones you use rarely. Anything you use multiple times/day should be easily accessible with minimal reaching required. This is especially true for those of you with back problems (which limit your ability to bend) and knee problems (which limit your ability to squat).

Finally, always give yourself the mechanical advantage. Use your big muscles to do the work they were made for (thigh, buttocks muscles). They are easily able to do the work of lifting so your back does not have to.

Right Way To Feed The Dog (Video)

Wrong Way To Feed The Dog (Video)

How many times per day do you reach to the floor? Part 2

15. Reach into bottom drawer of the refrigerator for an apple.

16. Reach down into lower kitchen cabinet for a tupperware to take leftovers to work.

17. Pick up your keys, which you dropped on the floor.

18. Throw your bags into the trunk of your car or your back seat.

19. Reach down to the floor of your car for the water bottle that fell.

20. Pick up your bag/briefcase out of the trunk or back seat.

21. Pick up the quarter you found on the sidewalk.

22. Place your bag/briefcase down on the floor while you take off your coat.

23. Pick up the paper from your desk that blew off.

24. Get a book out of the bottom drawer/shelf.

25. Reach down to get the water bottle you just bought from the vending machine.

26. Plug in the cord from your laptop into the outlet.

27. At lunch, pick up the napkin that fell off your table.

28. Tie your shoelaces.

RTF's (reach-to-floors) continue increasing, and it's only 2 pm!

To be continued.

How many times per day do you reach to the floor?

How many times per day do you reach down to the floor to pick up a light object? Consider how you do this reaching because it is quite frequent. And if you bend/twist your back every time, you are at high risk for back pain. So let's consider a typical weekday and count up the necessary RTF's (reach-to-floor's).

1. Pick up the pillow on the floor that fell off during the night.
2. Reach under the bathroom sink for a towel.
3. Reach under the bathroom sink for another roll of toilet paper.
4. Reach down to wash your toes.
5. Reach down to dry your toes.
6. Reach into bottom drawer of your dresser.
7. Pick up your shoes from the floor.
8. Tie your shoes.
9. Pick up your cell phone that dropped out of your pocket.
10. Reach under the bathroom sink for your after-shave or makeup.
11. Pick up your socks that you threw on the floor.
12. Pick up your briefcase or computer bag.
13. Pick up Snoopy's water bowl.
14. Replace Snoopy's water bowl.

As you can see, the RTF's add up, with 14 by 7AM! To be continued.

Top 7 reasons why sitting causes back pain

1. Most people sit with slouched posture, which puts your low back in a rounded or flexed position for hours each day. Our backs were not made to stay in one position all the time. This can cause future problems in the spine such as arthrits, herniated disks, and sciatica.

2. People who sit at work typically sit for too long without changing positions. If your job involves sitting all day, standing up, stretching or walking around briefly every 30-60 minutes will help.

3. Very few people sit with lumbar support, which helps to align the low back. Good posture starts with the pelvis. Tilt your pelvis forward so that less of your buttocks are supported on the chair. That way the bottom of your pelvis is supporting your trunk and you increase the arch in your low back. Once you have that position, use a lumbar roll/pillow to maintain it.

4. A slumped low back leads to a rounded mid back with shoulders rounded forward and the neck to be excessively forward. This can lead to progressive neck problems and even shoulder pain (especially with lifting overhead).

5. Aside from sitting at work, we tend to have a sedentary lifestyle, with many leisure activities done also in the sitting position. With present technology, we can do almost everything from the convenience of our homes. While it is convenient to buy clothes and even stamps at home, it is taking a toll on our backs. Having a sedentary lifestyle leads to obesity, which carries multiple health risks.

6. We do very few activities with our spines extended backward, which is an important position to achieve regularly for optimal back health. If you do not regularly lean backward (increasing the arch in your low back), then start doing so several times daily. It can be done sitting or standing. Another way to arch backward is to lie on your tummy and prop up on your forearms.

7. Slumped sitting posture puts the back muscles (and other back tissues) in a lengthened or stretched position while also causing the muscles and tissues on the front of the hip, abdomen and chest to be in a shortened position. This imbalance can cause further posture problems, weakness and instability with greater risk for back pain and injury.

Right and wrong way to pick up toys

Charging your cell phone and laptop

Unless you follow my blog regularly and have begun to think like a PT, you probably have never thought about body mechanics while plugging in your electronic devices. But everything you do can and should be done with good body mechanics so as to PREVENT PAIN! So here are some tips for the next time you plug in your phone charger.

1. Squat instead of bending your back. (You guessed right!)

2. Hold onto the bed or desk, kick one leg back behind you and perform a golfer's grab.

3. Try charging your phone in the kitchen or bathroom, where the plugs are higher.

4. Keep the phone connection piece (what's it called?) up on a table or chair instead of on the floor.

5. Use a desktop charging device.

6. Try to avoid outlets that are hidden behind furniture.

7. Be careful not to twist your back if the outlet is hard to reach. You may need to get onto your hands and knees. 

So think twice the next time you have to plug anything into the wall, and check your body mechanics! A lifetime of good choices will make your future less painful!

Prevent recurrent daily PAIN

"It hurts every time I..." Fill in the blank. What activity causes you some pain or discomfort every time you do it? Here are some examples:

1. Feeding the dog.

2. Blow drying your hair.

3. Playing tennis.

4. Running.

5. Working in the yard.

6. Picking up your child.

7. Sitting in a certain chair.

8. Closing the trunk of your car.

You get the idea. So can you think of something you do that causes pain regularly?

Here are the steps to fix it. 

1. Name the activity and the area of pain.

2. Think about how you do that activity. What about that activity causes you pain?

3. Think of ways to modify the activity to make it easier for you. Are you using the right body mechanics? How is your posture? Is there a tool you could use? Could you simply use two hands instead of one? Are you using a small muscle to do something a large muscle could do easily? Could you take a few rest breaks? Is there a stretch that helps? Brainstorm ways to modify the activity.

4. Test out the modifications to see what works the best. 

5. Implement your new way of doing the activity. Modify it as needed. 

6. Do it consistently for best results!

Why live with pain if you don't have to? Catch your pain before it is too late! If you catch it early, you can prevent it from becoming an injury.

How to sit at a computer

The perfect SQUAT

In light of yesterday's video, "How to make a bed," let's talk about squatting. Can you squat down to the floor while keeping your back straight? If there were a 20-lb. box on the floor, could you pick it up by squatting the right way? Can you make your bed without bending your back? Just "lifting with your legs" is not enough for good body mechanics. It must be accompanied by a straight back position.

Unless you have hip or knee problems, you should be able to learn the skill of squatting. First, start with a small squat. Spread your feet apart. Squat halfway down (or less), checking your back position. It should be completely straight the whole time. If you find yourself bending your spine as you squat, then decrease how far you squat down. Practice the partial squat with perfect back position. Then you can increase the depth of the squat progressively. But only squat as low as you can maintain your straight back position. Be careful to limit your repetitions if you get any knee discomfort.

If you cannot squat because of various orthopedic or other medical problems, then you must learn how to do activities without bending your back. Here are some ideas:

1. Sit on a chair or stool when doing tasks such as unloading the dishwasher.
2. Use a "reacher" so that you can pick up light objects from the floor easily.
3. Have a stool or folding chair in every room of the house so they are accessible.
4. Avoid putting objects on the floor (clothes, shoes, bags, etc), knowing that you cannot easily pick them up.

How to make a bed.M2TS