Work Stations and Ergonomic Challenge

Despite having given postural advice over the last 25 years I'd never been on a course looking at ergonomics at work. That omission has now been corrected and thanks to the enthusiasm of the Ergonomist turned Osteopath running the event I have a new found passion for getting everybody sitting comfortably. It seems to me that most people have appropriate equipment at work but often we are not using it properly, either due to lack of knowledge and training or a lack of interest. However when I first started in practice the low back was the most common place for spinal problems. Nowadays I see so many people with painful necks and shoulder girdles which are, I am sure, work related that I feel the need to start nagging and wagging my finger.

So here's the challenge;

Ask a colleague to take a snapshot of you at your desk/workstation unawares. Really get to know your chair and what all of its levers do. Do you need a footstool,( yes even men often need them too) do you need to raise/lower your screen? Walk to the printer and rather than e-mailing someone in the office get up and speak to them. Get a drink, go to the loo. All of these will break up the hours sitting in one position. Then set yourself up EVERY time you return to your desk, it'll take less than a minute. Now, dare we even look at those of us working from home. To my shame I had forgotten that 'lap top' has to be one of the worse names for a piece of kit in the history of names for a piece of kit. 'Personal computer which will give you neck and back strain if you use it on your lap' is not quite so catchy, but nearer the truth. Please I beg you, sit at a table with your screen raised, a keyboard in front of you and an ergonomic mouse. Yop can buy the keyboard and mouse, and a laptop stand for less than £35 which is the cost of a treatment from me...hang about I'm trying to put myself out of business.

Next time you're in to see me, bring that workstation picture and I'll try and advise you on how to improve your sitting habits, or give me a ring and I'll come and see you behind your desk at work.

https://noijam.com/2016/07/01/the-cave/

I loved this item from NOIJAM.

NOI stands for the Neuro Orthopaedic Institute Australasia. This institute's vision is to 'seed healthy notions of self through neuroscience knowledge' worldwide.

JAM for spreadable, digestable, sticky, musical, noisey, flavoursome, collaberative.

Go on, have a look!

Strong Women

Why women should do weights

Osteoporosis is a condition that makes bones more brittle and prone to fracture. Although osteoporosis can effect men and younger people, post-menopausal women are most at risk. One of the best ways to help maintain healthy bones is to exercise regularly – which encourages the bones to absorb calcium and other mineral salts that keep bones strong.

Weight bearing exercises and weight resisted exercises are best for strengthening bones and muscles and as well as helping to keep bones in good health may also reduce the likelihood of falls as you age. Weight bearing exercises are those where your body is supporting its own weight, such as walking or housework or carrying groceries. Weight resisted exercise involves pushing or pulling against an additional weight, like a dumbbell or barbell or resistance equipment in a gym.

The younger you start, the better

Anyone can benefit from weight training but it has been demonstrated that younger women who trained using weights have stronger bones later in life, this essentially means that you can bank bone when you're younger to help prevent fractures later in life – a kind of insurance scheme for your body. A life time of active living not only protects your bones but also keeps your heart healthy and may protect you from other diseases such as cancer and type two diabetes.

But starting at any age will help

Everyone can benefit from increasing their activity levels. Studies have shown that people who have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis can improve their bone health significantly through weight bearing exercising, the key is getting good advice on how to move well and how to self-manage.

Some more benefits

Strong muscles burn more calories, so if you need to control your bodyweight, lifting weights can help. It also helps with balance and can help you to regulate your sleep patterns.

'I don't want to look muscled'

It takes women a lot of heavy weight lifting, and sometimes the use of controlled substances like steroids and hormones, to achieve the physique of the heavily muscled power lifter. Women don't normally have enough testosterone in their bodies to develop bulging muscles, but can, with regular, moderate training achieve lean, toned and strong muscles.

'I hate gyms'

No problem. There are plenty of other exercises you can do that don't involve a visit to the gym. Dancing, yoga, tennis, Pilates, walking, running, gardening and even housework count – all you are aiming to do is increase your heart rate and make yourself feel a little warmer. You can do it in several short blocks of 15 minute or more but aim for at least a total of 150 minutes per week over at least 5 days per week for the best results. If you're unused to exercise, start slowly and build up to this target.

I don't know where to start

This is where your friendly local osteopath can help. They can screen you for any health concerns that might affect your ability to exercise, help to resolve any injuries or pain that might be holding you back and advise you on what exercises might suit your goals best. Many can teach you how to exercise correctly, avoiding injuries and how to gradually build up as your ability and fitness levels improve.

Gold medals all round

Despite myself I have enjoyed the Olympics from the sportsmanship and athleticism of the Amazonian hockey players to the sheer joy of the gymnast Simone Biles's floor performance. I say despite myself because I'm not an avid sports fan, neither watching or playing. I used to sail and race quite competitively but it is the memories of sailing around Portsmouth Harbour with a friend in a little mirror dinghy that I treasure (probably would be frowned on nowadays..no parental supervision or rescue boat!) or going for a joy ride along the coast in a super cool sailing machine.

It does worry me that the 'Olympic legacy' we have now is about elite training, harsh regimes of self sacrifice with family and friends coming second to training, going to the 'job' of sport. This is fine for the few, but what about the rest of us? Are we left feeling that it's not ok just to do something for fun, for fitness, for sociability, for the sheer silliness of sport? In which case why bother?

Last week I did my annual cycle trip with my son. It was fabulous, we hit that window of fine weather and cycled from Berwick upon Tweed to North Berwick. It was a harder trip than previously in that it was quite hilly, our shortest ride was 9 miles and longest distance was 18 miles but that included the best long downhill bicycle whizz ever :) We don't own a piece of lycra between us nor yet any specialised bike equipment. The cycleways were empty of traffic.....where were you all?

My son endures these annual trips because he thinks I'm the funniest thing on a bike and probably the most incompetent. I go because every year I get a bit better on a bike (very small increments) I enjoy being with him and the pleasure of really seeing the countryside. I don't go to pump up and down hills watching the tarmac underneath me. I particularly enjoy the coffee breaks. Surely we cannot count this as sport? Hang on though, I'm increasing my fitness and skills and I'm having fun. Even though I'm not buying into the silly outfits I think I have been doing sport!

Our bodies work on the premise of movement. Movement, let's be daring and call it 'exercise' lubricates our joints, muscles, fascia and nerves. it helps blood and lymph flow and return and keeps that great muscle known as the heart strong and healthy. It provides our brains with information and feed back, and allows our brains to washed through with stabilizing hormones. It can trigger a great sense of achievement and pleasure and promote social interaction. Exercise facilitates the repair of injuries and the upkeep of damaged areas. Muscle strength and agility can be improved at any age, giving us hope for the future. We actually only have to do some exercise for about 40 minutes a day, and not necessarily in one solid block, to achieve all of these benefits.

So my plea for an Olympic legacy is that no matter what we do for exercise, if we are getting slightly fitter, slightly stronger, slightly better at it, having fun and maybe encouraging other people to join in we should all feel like medal winners (silliness is optional)

P.S....actually no, silliness is compulsory

PPS I've just heard from my colleague Liz Baker who is currently doing the Hadrian's Wall long distance footpath in the seasonal torrential rain. The group is currently "water-skiing over cowpats". Definitely should be an Olympic sport.

The Doctor who gave up drugs

This television programme was on a couple of months ago and is now unavailable so I can't guide you to watch it. The premise was whether a TV Doctor (seen on CBBC and Trust Me I'm a Doctor) could encourage people to be less dependant on drugs such as pain killers, anti-depressants and anti-biotics. Also he wanted to show that Type 2 diabetes and cholesterol could also be tackled with changes in life style.

Of course there is nothing new, probably along with every other Osteopath in the country I was shouting at the television" YES WE KNOW EXERCISE IS THE SINGLE MOST PROVEN FORM OF THERAPY FOR MOST MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AND '21st CENTURY DISEASE" but it's not easy to change our lifestyles. The thing that resonated from the programme was the fact that we all need help and encouragement to stay on track. It's easy for a health practitioner to give advise, and we all intend to follow this advise, but life, preconceptions, disbelief all get in the way and good intentions get forgotten. (Cue my Mother's saying that "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions")

The answer of course is help, encouragement and reward. We at Dunelm Osteopaths are looking into ways to improve our patients' and our own physical and mental health.

In the meantime...go onto You Tube and look up 23 1/2 hours by Dr Mike Evans

Still open

Please note that despite all of the construction (deconstruction!) work at the Gates roundabout all roads are open and Dunelm Osteopaths is still easily accessible.

Goodbye and Hello!

We are seeing some changes at Dunelm Osteopaths.

Diana has decided to leave Dunelm Osteopaths to concentrate on her very successful Osteo-pilates classes. We will be maintaining close and warm links with her studio at Belmont and and wish her well. She will be leaving in the middle of December.

We are very pleased to welcome Will Philips, Osteopath, who will be working alongside Mark, Liz and myself. Will comes to us from Darlington and also works in Whitley Bay. Will starts on Friday 2nd December.

Christmas 2016

First and foremost we all at Dunelm Osteopaths wish you a happy and comfortable Christmas

We are open as usual until Friday 23rd December (except for Mark who is sloping off early ;) ) Over the Christmas break the phone will be transferred to Sian on the mobile phone ,so if you need help please ring the normal number 0191383077 for advise, or if necessary we can arrange to meet at the Practice.

We resume a with normal diary on Wednesday 4th January.

Thank you to everybody who has trusted us with their wellbeing this year, we've enjoyed seeing you all....the best bit of our job is seeing you all smile again.

Arthritis Action

About Arthritis Action

Arthritis Action (Registered Charity No. 292569) is the UK charity offering an integrated self-management approach to combat the impact of arthritis.

Members of the Charity can choose from a range of relevant, evidence-based services designed to enables them to live active lives with less pain. These include:

• Self-management educational events and Arthritis Action Groups
• Healthy eating and weight management consultations with a qualified dietitian
• An interactive website and informative magazine
• Access to subsidised physical therapies through the Associated Practitioner scheme

At Dunelm Osteopaths, we are proud to be collaborating with the Charity as Associate Practitioners, offering people with arthritis protected time with a clinician to discuss any concerns they might have about the condition and to talk about how the self-management approach might help them, at the same time as receiving some hands-on therapy. Please contact Sian for more information.

To find out more about how Arthritis Action can help you, visit their website www.arthritisaction.org.uk o r follow them on Twitter https://twitter.com/Arthritis_ACTN Facebook www.facebook.com/ArthritisAction and Health Unlocked https://healthunlocked.com/arthritis-action

Building works to The Gates, the old Passport Office and National Savings offices

All roads to Dunelm Osteopaths remain open this Friday 31st March, despite the signage suggesting otherwise. The road to the Riverside will be closed only intermittently to allow movement of machinery.

We are in contact with the Contractors and will inform people with appointments if there are any changes on this day or any other. However even should this road be closed there will be access via Sidegate which will be signed and there will be people to help guide you.

A new service at Dunelm Osteopaths

We are pleased to welcome Jane Rae into the practice. Jane will be working with us to use prescriptive exercise to help peoples' recovery from pain and to encourage us all to hit the magic bullet of 150 minutes moderate exercise a week. It's hard if you are new to exercise or returning after a long break, let Jane help you along the way. She will also be doing massage, I for one am looking forward to that! Here is her biography.

Jane is a qualified Personal Trainer and Sports Massage Therapist.

Her aim is to keep people fit and healthy, using exercise as a means to stay as well as possible. Research shows that exercise is often the most effective road to health and wellbeing.

She currently teaches fitness to a wide ranging age group, and enjoys tailoring exercise to suit the individual. The best exercise is the one you you look forward to doing, let's make it fun.

Osteopathy for all

As sit to write this blog today I find myself totally distracted and darkened by the events in Manchester last night. I have teenage children, I want to hug them tight and never let them out. Then I read of the amazing actions and response of so many people in Manchester, offering help and care to those affected, people of all sexes, faith and colour.

I have never said in any of my blogs or adverts that all are welcome in our small clinical practice. I never thought it should be necessary. After all to my mind discrimination is something we should all be aware of, and working against, despite some of the press,and the unimaginable actions of the few.

But I'll write it now. We welcome all, of any age, size, colour or faith. We don't care where you come from, or what your sexuality. We are people, we care for people.