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The Health and Fitness Express contains
the random and organised thoughts of John Miller
Pass this newsletter on to your OH&S
manager. I'm ready, willing and able to come to your workplace and conduct a series of
Crookback Clinics and set people up straight at their workstations. You can read more about the seminar by
clicking
here.
Click on the cover to read all about it
and then buy it.
This is probably the best book around on
musculo-skeletal dysfunction. Click on the cover to be taken to Back
Pain Books where you can read all about it - and the other books on
musculo-skeletal function that I recommend. Then buy it. |
Neither chair,
nor desk, nor monitor, nor keyboard, nor mouse, nor doctor, nor physio,
nor chiro, nor surgeon, nor chemist, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height nor depth, nor any other created thing known
to mankind will protect you from a crook back, stiff neck, 'cold'
shoulder and RSI if you don't
sit up straight.
HANG ON, HELP IS ON THE WAY
I first published this article in July
2006. Since then I've learnt a bit more about sitting up straight.
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Part of what I've learned has come from
observing people sitting in the slouch position on chairs that are miles
away from their desks.
Part of it has come from sitting in
people's chairs
whilst trying to set them up properly. There are some dreadful chairs
out there.
Part of it has come from watching the
agony induced by tight calf, hamstring and buttock muscles when people
try to sit on the floor, close in to the wall with their legs out in front of them.
Part of it has come from watching people struggle to sit
up straight because their buttock muscles are too tight. |
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Part of it has come from watching the
futile attempts of people to do a single situp or pressup. If you can't
do 40 situps and 40 pressups on the trot you're leaving yourself wide
open to musculo-skeletal dysfunction.
Part of it has come from identifying the vicious cycle
that's set up when you sit down for long periods of time - like decades!
SIT UP STRAIGHT!
Sit up straight!
You have to because the ergonomists are yet to design a chair which
will stop you from slouching.
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The definition of slouching is 'tilting your
pelvis back; contorting your spinal column into the 'C' shaped position, ie: taking the natural hollow out of
your lumbar spine.'
As a consequence your head and shoulders
are tipped forward. That's why you get sore shoulders and a stiff neck.
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WHAT'S STOPPING YOU FROM SITTING UP STRAIGHT?
Of course it's not sitting up straight per se
that's the problem. The problem is
'What's stopping you from sitting
up straight?'
It's definitely not a lack of thinking
about sitting up straight. Just
thinking about sitting up straight won't do much for your back.
You can only think about sitting up straight for a couple of
minutes and then your mind wanders off to think about something else. As soon as you stop thinking
about sitting up straight you start slouching - unless you're locked in
close to your desk.
There are 6 key issues that need to be addressed. (I'm
sure there's more but 6 will do for now.)
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1. |
You do need a
good chair, one that provides good upper back support. There's no
doubt about that. It's good upper back support that helps keep the 'S'
shaped curve in your lumbar spine, not an extra piece of sponge rubber! (If you're an executive, and you
work at your desk a lot, ditch the 'executive' chair and get a good, common
or garden typist's chair.) |
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2. |
Move your chair
in as close to your desk as you can. If your chair is a
long way away from your desk, there's a good chance you'll adopt the slouch
position. Locking yourself in close
to your desk will immediately get you sitting up straight. |
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3. |
Over time, the slouch position contributes to a
tightening of your calf, hamstring and buttock muscles.
When that happens your pelvis tilts backwards. The slouch
position becomes even more exaggerated. You've set up the
vicious cycle of musculo-skeletal dysfunction |
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4. |
Being over weight dramatically
reduces flexibility and mobility. |
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5. |
Lack of
strength to support your torso and head while you work. Your
back and abdominal muscles aren't strong enough to support your
spinal column. Your neck muscles aren't strong enough to keep
your head on the top of your shoulders! |
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6. |
Lack of
shoulder, arm and grip strength. |
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEEEED TO DO
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1. |
Take
the arm rests off your chair so you can get your chair close into
your desk. |
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2. |
Adjust the back rest to an upright
position so your thoracic spine is well
supported. In a previous age when typist's
chairs weren't so fancy, the back rest adjustment allowed you to
do this and your bottom poked out the back of the seat,
emphasizing the 'S' shaped curve of your spinal column. |
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3. |
Push your chair in so your
abdomen
is pushing in against the desk. |
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4. |
Poke your bottom out so you get the
hollow
in lumbar spine. |
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5. |
When you think about it,
relax your stomach muscles and slightly
pinch your shoulders together. |
You're locked in. You're sitting up
straight.
CAN YOU SIT UP STRAIGHT?
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If you've got a crook back or stiff neck there's a good
chance you won't be able to sit on the
floor like this. è
When you can sit up straight like this, the
chances of you having a crook back are dramatically reduced. |
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SEARCH FOR THE CAUSE OF THE PAIN?
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You can be pretty certain that the cause of the pain is
unlikely to be at the site of the pain.
A lot of the people I see with crook backs and stiff
necks squeal like stuck pigs when someone massages their buttock muscles
when lying in this position. It's a dead give-away as to one of the
causes of musculo-skeletal dysfunction further up the body.
Most people in this position find that one side is
tighter than the bother. They're out of alignment.
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Doing this exercise over and over again, first
one side and then the other for 30 minutes, helps get the body
back into alignment, pain goes away. You won't need a rub down,
crunch, electric shock, tablet or a hot wheat bag. |
BALANS CHAIR
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I don't know why more organisations don't recommend this
chair to their staff, or why staff don't get one for themselves and
bring it in to work.
When you sit on the Balans chair you immediately sit up
straight with the 'S' shaped curve in your spinal column.
The reason you sit up straight is that your pelvis and spinal column
are no longer impacted upon by the effect of tight calf, hamstring and
buttock muscles.
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I read somewhere that some people can't sit for long on
these chairs because it hurts their knees. If that's the case spend part
of your day sitting on one. If you've got tight hamstring and buttock
muscles this is definitely worth considering.
STAND UP, STAND UP - for crying
out loud
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When sitting down's the killer, I don't
know why more people don't stand up to work.
In researching this article I came across
Melbourne desk manufacturer AME
System. Their activDesk range of electric height adjustable computer
desks are designed with the user in mind. You can regularly re-position
your desktop at exactly the preferred heights for both sitting
and standing.
Here's what their online blurb says:
Electronically controlled actuators
respond smoothly, quickly and quietly to the push of a button to adjust
the height of the work surface. This allows flexible configuration of
the computer desk that helps reduce discomfort and long term physical
damage while avoiding unnecessary (sic) reaching (sic) and bad posture.
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AME System activDesk |
Spend as much of your day as you can
standing up. If 'they' won't get you an activDesk, get a box to put your keyboard and mouse on, tilt the
monitor back a bit and you're in business.
No-one ever said you have to sit down all
day. In the history of the world this is a very recent phenomenon. It's
one of the reasons why 30 - 40% of people have crook backs.
BUY A COPY OF MY EBOOK - How to Fix Up a Crook
Back.
Click on the cover to read all about it
and then buy it.
THE SIT UP STRAIGHT EXERCISE
Try this simple exercise
for a couple of minutes each day
to help you sit up straight.
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1. |
Sit
up straight with your back off the back of the chair, feet flat. |
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2. |
Tilt your pelvis forward so you accentuate
the hollow in your lumbar spine. |
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3. |
Lightly and slightly pinch your shoulder
blades together. |
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4. |
Let your stomach muscles hang loose. |
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STRENGTHEN YOUR BODY
On top of that you're going to have to do
some strength exercises. No chair yet devised will protect you from a
crook back if you're not strong enough to hold you body upright while
you work.
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Sit ups |
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Press ups |
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Air bench |
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Superman |
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Build up slowly. You'll know you're in
good shape when you can do 40 pressups and 40 situps on the trot, stay in the air
bench position for 2 minutes and do a minute's worth of superman.
AND NOW FOR THE STRETCHES YOU NEED TO
DO
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Wall sit
Here's the classic exercise to do to gradually
loosen up your calf and hamstring muscles and get you sitting up
straighter. Once you've done that the pain in your lower back,
neck and shoulders should go away.
With legs straight, bring your toes back toward
your chest, tighten your thigh muscles. Sit up straight.
Then lean forward, with shoulders
and head back, aiming to
take your navel down towards your knees.
Do that 4 times. It'll take about
a minute.
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Sit up straight
Here's the exercise to loosen up your buttock
muscles. Do that and you'll start to sit up straighter. Your
back, neck and shoulders will feel better.
If your buttock muscles are really
tight you'll fall over when you clasp your hands behind your
back.
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Hip
crossover
You've got to do hip crossover.
Build up to 5 minutes each side, over and over again for 40
minutes. Do it in front of TV or while reading a book. |
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FINALLY
I'm ready, willing and able to come to your workplace and conduct a series of
Crookback Clinics and set people up straight at their workstations. You can read more about the seminar by
clicking
here.
Regards
John Miller
If you no longer wish to receive stuff, send me an email.
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