Saturday 12th October
Even while reading this, do you feel hunched over? Are you bent forward over your phone or laptop? Having a bad sitting posture can exacerbate neck pain.
The habit of staring at our phone, screen or the TV can cause a habit to form where our necks are being ‘pushed’ forward. When we look at an ideal posture, the ears need to be in line with the shoulders. This means we need to pay attention when we are settling into the bad habit of slouching. To combat this, we need to focus on keeping your spine active – sitting is not a passive action, all the stabilising muscles should still be working when we are sitting.
Stress can adversely affect our posture, and vice-versa, so much so that when people are stressed their shoulders become raised and rounded. This can impact our neck and shoulders hugely! So, throughout the day bring attention to relaxing and dropping your shoulders and bringing your chest forward. Focus on sitting up tall, as if you are trying to make yourself taller than the person next to you, to help maintain an upright posture. A good practice is then to take a few big, deep, slow breaths to help calm your body and mind.
Pro Chiro Tip: Use your watch to set you an alarm every 20 minutes, as simple as one buzz like a notification, to remind you to sit up tall. You will be surprised how quickly you can build good postural habits by doing this for 30 days.
Whether you have been a desk worker for a day or years, your body can benefit from a few minutes of movement even if you can’t step away from your desk completely.
Seated Cat Cow
Sit forward into the edge of your chair, so that there is some space between your back and the back of your chair
With your palms down, rest your hands on your knees and sit up tall
Lowering your chin to your chest slowly, and round your spine until you feel a stretch (like a cat)
Hold here for 5 seconds
Now look up towards the ceiling, arch your back as you push your stomach forward
Hold here for 5 seconds
Flow smoothly between these two poses and focus on maintaining your calm breathing
Chest Stretch
Sit forward into the edge of your chair, so that there is some space between your back and the back of your chair
Sitting up tall in your chair, bring your hands behind your lower back, interlock your fingers
Pull your elbows back and push out your chest
Hold here for 15-30 seconds
Torso Rotation
Sit forward into the edge of your chair, so that there is some space between your back and the back of your chair, sit up tall
Place your hands behind your head
Keeping your feet flat on the floor and your hips still, slowly turn your torso to the right and hold for 5 seconds
Repeat this movement to the left
Flow smoothly between these two poses and focus on maintaining your calm breathing
Neck Stretch
Sit forward into the edge of your chair, so that there is some space between your back and the back of your chair
Hold onto the side of the chair with your left hand
Bring your right hand over to the base of your skull on the left side, and gently stretch your neck over to the right, assisting this with a gentle pull with the right hand
Hold here for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side
Pro Chiro Tip: Start and end your day with these stretches to get ahead of the curve to help prevent potential issues building up.
Within the office or working from home, it’s likely that we have got into a routine with how we sit throughout our day. But is your desk setup actually good for your body?
Consider your chair’s position: Sit deeply onto your chair, so your back is flat against the backrest. If your chair does not have lumbar support, then you can put a small pillow behind the small of your back. There should be a few inches between the back of your knees and the edge of the chair (if you have an adjustable chair, there is often a lever where you can move the seat pad forward or back, to create this position).
Once you are sat at the desk, pull yourself in as close as possible. Adjust the armrests so they support your forearms when your shoulders are in a relaxed position. Your keyboard and mouse should be close enough so that you can maintain your arms on the arm rest and avoid over-reaching. Adjust the height of the chair so the armrests are at the level with the top of your desk. Your feet should touch the floor when the armrests are level with the desk (if they don’t then adjust the height of the desk or place a footrest under your desk to raise your feet).
Often when we are looking at a screen, for example a computer screen, we end up slouched over and looking down at our screen as we sit there for hours concentrating. When we have our heads in this position, it creates a lot of added stress on the neck. The muscles, joints and discs in the neck have to work harder to hold your neck, and in a potentially stressful position, which can then cause issues. When you sit ready to work on your computer, close your eyes, get yourself comfortable in your chair, sit upright, shoulders relaxed and with a straight spine. Relax your breathing. When you open your eyes, your gaze should be at the top third of the screen you are looking at. If not, you need to raise your screen. Sitting in a chair with a headrest can also be very beneficial to provide neck support.
Creating a desk set up that is in tune with your body, can significantly reduce unnecessary negative stresses into your spine.
Pro Chiro Tip: Use your neighbouring office worker to look at you from the side to see if your head is stacked over your body. It can be easier for other people to spot bad posture before we feel it!
Over the last 100 years, a lot has changed; technology has advanced so much, there’s not a lot left that needs streamlining. It’s sped up how we travel, how we cook, how we clean… it gives us so much extra time in the day. What do we do with all this extra time in our days? Mostly… nothing! We have gained hours every day, compared to what we would have had 100 years ago. This is mostly spent in front of the television.
We’ve lost all these opportunities to use our bodies manually, to lift, shift, clean and transport ourselves and others. If you compound this with the ease of nutrition, it doesn’t look too great. We are consuming more and moving less every year.
Make time for your health, in as little as 3 hours. That’s how long you need to have a dramatic shift in your biomarkers, cardiovascular system, mood… the list goes on. Aim to go on three 1 hour walks each week. You should walk at a pace that makes you breathe more heavily, but still maintain a conversation.
This places you in a zone of cardiovascular training which has a great transfer to health and fitness. You’ll have an opportunity to explore nature with friends and family, whilst creating a huge shift in your health.
Pro Chiro Tip: Even if you are working from home, start and end your day with a ‘commute’ to work, a 30 minute walk either side of your work day!
We’ve all experienced what a great night’s sleep feels like, and trying to work after a bad night’s sleep is sometimes near-impossible. Aches and pains shouldn’t get in the way of a good night’s sleep, so how can you hack your sleeping position?
The most important thing is to find a position that you sleep comfortably in. The first thing to consider is a neutral spine. This is possible on your side or your back. It is NOT POSSIBLE on your front. So, from an optimisation standpoint, this is out of the cards already. Although if this is the only position you can sleep in… it’s better than not sleeping. By reducing areas of torque or twisting in your spine, can reduce the strain onto your joints, nerves, muscles and ligaments in your spine.
Listen to your body when you wake up, if you are feeling stiffness or pain, focus on that areas first to try to reduce the stress in your body.
Pro Chiro Tip: Think about your pillow position to better support you throughout the night:
If You Sleep On Your Back:
Sleeping on your back can be an easy position to keep your spine in a neutral position. However, make sure your pillow is not causing your neck to be at a steep angle. Your pillow should not be forcing your chin to your chest.
Make sure your pillow also supports the curve of your neck, not just your head. You want the back of the skull and top of the back to be level. A support for your cervical (neck) curve is important. This could be a small pillow or simply a rolled-up towel.
If You Sleep On Your Side:
Sleeping on your side can also be a great way to keep your spine in a neutral position. For a lot of people, it can be the most comfortable way to sleep if you have neck or back pain. When you are on your side, make sure your pillow is allowing your head to stay in a straight line with your spine and that there is pillow support under your neck.
When laying on our sides, to keep our neck in a neutral position, we want our pillow to fill the gap between our ear and shoulder when compressed (not before). This means that when the head is fully relaxed on the pillow, you will be in good alignment. For side sleepers, you can add a pillow in front of you as if you are hugging it, to reduce twist through your thoracic spine (upper back) and top shoulder, or put a pillow between your knees to help reduce strain on your lower back.
If You Sleep On Your Front:
Sleeping on your front can make it hard to keep your spine in a neutral position and can cause some strain on your neck. This is most common when people have only one side, they turn their head to when they sleep on their front.
Make sure you are not forcing your head back due to a thick pillow. You can try to reduce the stress through your neck by resting only your forehead on the pillow. You can also try adding a thin pillow under your pelvis to take some of the stress off your lower back.
