Let’s say you’ve had a busy week. You had a major project that was due by the end of the week and you didn’t have time to
worry about taking breaks and getting up to grab lunch. How sore are you? How is your back feeling? How about your neck? Your arms? I’m going to venture to guess that you’re having some aches and pains, maybe even some numbness and tingling in your arms. What does all of this mean? What caused you to be in this pain?
worry about taking breaks and getting up to grab lunch. How sore are you? How is your back feeling? How about your neck? Your arms? I’m going to venture to guess that you’re having some aches and pains, maybe even some numbness and tingling in your arms. What does all of this mean? What caused you to be in this pain?
Many people end up in this situation, but not necessarily because they’ve had a busy work week. This kind of problem can occur simply because you have to do the same tasks day in and day out at your computer or desk. But this is your job! You have to do it! So how can you prevent the pain that so often occurs after working at your desk?
The first thing that we need to look at is your POSTURE. Do you tend to slouch with your head forward while you are working? This is a position that commonly causes pain in the back and neck. If you maintain this inappropriate position for a prolonged period of time while also using your arms for typing, you may end up with symptoms into your shoulders and arms as well. Activating your back muscles in order to hold your chest upright is the best way to correct poor posture. Maintaining the head, neck, and shoulders in a neutral position instead of forward, helps to decrease strain along your joints and ligaments. If the pain you are getting is lower, then your problem may be related to the lumbar spine. Sitting upright is also important for this low back region, but other practices including abdominal muscle strengthening and hamstring stretching may also be beneficial. Tightening the abdominal muscles helps to strengthen those muscles that surround and support your spine, thus stabilizing you and decreasing pain. Hamstring tightness can easily occur when you sit for most of your day, so stretching is important after long periods of sitting.
The second thing that we want to look at is your WORKSTATION and ERGONOMICS. If your desk is not set up appropriately, then you may be experiencing more strain on your body than necessary. This link gives an excellent depiction for the proper set up of a workstation. Consider 4 steps when setting up your computer work station. Step 1 is your chair. Push your hips as far back as possible in your chair, adjust the seat so your feet are flat on the floor with the knees even with the hips, adjust the back of the chair to a 100-110° angle, and adjust the armrests so that your shoulders are relaxed. Step 2 is your keyboard. Pull up close to your keyboard, position the board directly in front of your body, adjust the board height so that your elbows are at 100-110° and your wrists and hands are straight, and place the mouse as close to the keyboard as possible. Step 3 is your monitor, documents, and telephone. Center the monitor directly in front of you, position the top of the monitor approximately 2-3 inches above seated eye level, sit at least an arm’s length away from the screen, reduce glare by positioning the screen at a right angle to windows and adjusting the vertical angle of the screen, position documents from which you are typing directly in front of you between the monitor and the keyboard, place your telephone within easy reach, and use headsets and speaker phone rather than cradling the phone between your head and shoulder. Step 4 is pausing and taking breaks. Take short 1-2 minute stretch breaks every 20-30 minutes, rest and refocus your eyes periodically to avoid eye fatigue, and use correct posture when working. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) also released a video that addresses the appropriate ergonomic positioning for desk work. This video can be viewed here.
In general, your body is programmed for movement, so make sure that you get up and move around, even for very short amounts of time. Ultimately, it can make a huge difference on your level of pain. If you have any questions on this topic or any others in which you are interested, feel free to leave any questions, comments, or suggestions. Thank you for reading and stay active.
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If you were not already aware, August is National Golf Month. If you are not a golfer yourself, it is likely that you have a friend or relative who has already been out to the golf course at least once this summer. This particular sport is one that has become more popular within the last 10-15 years. The average golfer is estimated to play approximately 37 rounds of golf per year, spending much more time practicing. It is not surprising then that, with the increase in popularity, there has also been an increase in golf related injuries.
the elbow, golfers elbow can be reduced by slowing down your golf swing so that there is less shock on the arms as the ball is hit. Exercises to strengthen this area include tennis ball squeezes, wrist curls, and reverse wrist curls. These exercises can also be helpful for preventing wrist injuries. For theshoulders, a good warm up with exercises focused on the shoulder muscles, especially the muscles most used during the golf swing, will help to reduce injury. It is important to stretch the arms as well as the back and legs prior to golfing. Don’t underestimate a good warm up by practicing your swing with a bucket of balls prior to starting play. One additional component that is a key for any golfer is a proper swing. The best way to ensure that you do not have poor mechanics during your swing is to have a professional like a golf-pro or a physical therapist assess you. The physical therapist can help you determine the appropriate exercises to do to improve your mechanics. We offer a video swing analysis as part of our golf fitness assessment, here at Advanced Physical Therapy and Fitness.
diabetes or atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries). PAD frequently occurs in individuals between 50 and 75 years old. More than half of all amputations occurring in the USA are in people diagnosed with diabetes. Various studies have shown that 28-51% of amputees with diabetes will undergo a second amputation within 5 years. In a 2011 study published in Diabetes Care, researchers found that males with diabetes, who were heavy smokers, with high blood pressure and diabetic eye disease, and had less blood glucose control, were more likely to have lower limb amputations. If you are diabetic, controlling your blood glucose and blood pressure and not smoking can reduce your risks of amputation.
There are a great variety of prosthetic arms and legs available and there is not one “best prosthesis” for a given type of amputation. Prosthetic prescription and fitting are very individualized and most likely will be changed during the course of an individual’s life due to technological advancements, changes in the individual’s size or functional ability. Prostheses have come a long way from the “wooden leg” of the Civil War era to the advanced myoelectric, “bionic” and osseointegrated (attached to the residual limb by the bone rather than suspended from it by one of several methods) prostheses of today. There are also specialized prostheses for different activities such as running. 