Tag: posture

ARE YOU POSTURE PERFECT?

ICONIC PHYSIO

What is Posture?

Posture is the attitude/alignment of our body at a static position (eg. sitting, standing, sleeping) or while moving (eg. walking, running).

The way we maintain alignment of our body while we sit, stand, sleep or carry out our routine activities has an impact on our joints and muscles and overall body functions/performance.

Office ergonomic. Wrong and correct sitting posture of a man near the computer monitor

Maintaining it in an inappropriate/wrong manner for longer duration may cause discomfort and pain eventually. This occurs due to repetitive microtrauma (trauma at a micro level repetitively in the form of pull, stretch, compression etc) over a period of time. Many of us experience musculoskeletal problems – back pain, sciatica (low back pain spreading down to legs), neck pain, joint pain etc. Other than the actual injury to these areas, incorrect posture plays a major role in giving rise to pain (due to microtrauma), which may extend for months and years together. And this pain can be frustrating and draining, and at times may even become debilitating..derailing your entire routine!

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Why do we suffer from pain for so long? / Why does the pain come back?

Because we take every other treatment to cure pain but fail to check our posture! Pain killing medicines work for blocking pain sensation reaching our brain, but we fail to address the cause of this pain which may be our POSTURE. Hence, the pain may recur. And it happens because of a lack of awareness of postural health.

What to do?

Think if you are you aware of Postural health and correction!

Yes, posture correction remains the key for prevention of posture-related pain and all the possible suffering because of it. And for those, already in pain, posture correction is the extremely vital aspect along with working on the muscle tightness, strength and stamina, while correcting mechanics at the joint (Physiotherapy) and medicines (when the need be). If posture correction is not followed, the pain may subside, but temporarily and may recur!

Remember..be it anyone.. right from mother in the kitchen to a teacher at school, from a police officer to a surgeon, from a school going kid to a runway model… everyone must be aware of appropriate ways to maintain postures in order to save oneself from pain & suffering.

There is less public awareness about postural health though the impact (physical, emotional and economical) of bad posture on our health is tremendous which is easy to avoid/tackle by simple education about it.

Hence, we bring this book ‘Are You Posture Perfect?’ – a simple guide to create awareness about appropriate postures while working at desk, in kitchen, while performing household chores, while studying, sleeping, using pillow, matresses, while driving, and many more! You will find answers to many of your questions about your musculoskeletal problems along with few quick and easy exercises which can be performed in your routine. This book is for every individual right from a school kid to an elderly as every individual is entitled to awareness about selfcare. 

This is the time to take charge of our own pain and as Sir Vernon Howard said “Self knowledge is the great power by which we comprehend and control our lives,” we need to be aware to take charge of ourselves and our loved ones!

So don’t wait to get your share of knowledge and order your copy soon!

You may order it from Flipkart/Amazon or contact on 8928475928.

Authored by-
Dr Rajashree Lad (PT)
Consultant Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist
[BPT, MPT, COMT, CFMP (Canada), 
BRS (USA), CAFST (Canada), MIAFT]

Are you Posture Perfect while working from home?!

ICONIC PHYSIO

Sitting is the new Smoking. Prolonged sitting has turned all of us into couch potatoes. We sit on the couch slouching our back and poking our chin forward, completely unaware of our body posture. No doubt, these faulty postures cause various aches and pains if not corrected for long. But the good news is that you can improve your posture with a little effort.

 Here are some quick tips to correct incorrect postures –

 

1. Once every hour, take a break from sitting, and stand up and walk around for 2-3 mins.

2. Sit with your device screen at or slightly below eye-level (no chin poking forward, be sure you sit up straight).

3. Sit with your back supported well against the backrest (and you may use a small pillow to support your low back), be it a couch or a chair.

4. Don’t keep your feet dangling when sitting on chair but keep your feet supported either on footrest or floor (to reduce stress to muscles of low back).

5. Keep your forearms supported on the armrest while operating keyboard (to reduce stress to muscles of shoulder blade and upper back).

6. Take vision breaks: every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to focus on an object at least 20 feet away. Adjust screen brightness and contrast levels that allow you to comfortably view the screen.

Here are a few quick, easy and fun exercises that can be done to improve your posture and keep yourself active.

EXERCISEHOW TO DO?

Toes curling and stretching out–		Curl your toes and then stretch out to get a good stretch to all the important small muscles of your feet which we ignore most of the times.
(10 times)
Butt walking–  While sitting on the chair with your back straight, lift and shift one buttock at a time to move forward on chair. Then shift each buttock at a time again to move backward on chair and repeat again. Helps activate muscles of low back and hips better after sitting for long in one position. (5 times front and back)
Aeroplane hugs–Open your arms as wide as possible like aeroplane wings but diagonally (shown in first picture) while taking a deep breath in. Then while breathing out bring your arms closer to your body and hug yourself (second picture) Repeat it by moving arms alternately diagonally. (10 times alternate sides each)




Overhead Namaste– Perform Namaste in front of your body and gradually move it overhead giving a good stretch to your arms, shoulders, upper back while straightening your slouched back. (5 times with 10 second hold)
Clenching fist– Stretch your arms in front and clench both fists and open wide. 
(15 times)

Arm circles–  Stretch your arms to your side and move those in small circles gently. (10 times)
  Chest opener-Place hands behind your head with elbows bent. Pull the elbows out to the side while taking a deep breath in, squeezing shoulder blades, holding your head high and straightening the slouched back. Feel a good stretch to the muscles of the front of your shoulders and chest.  Breathe out and bring the elbows in and chin down. (10 repetition)


↓
Heel raises-  While standing straight behind your chair, raise your both heels off the floor and back to the floor. You may take support of the chair. (10 times)
Jog in place–Stand up and jog in place. Begin slowly and you may gradually increase the pace as tolerable. Don’t stamp your feet on the floor while jogging. Make sure you land softly. (One minute duration or more)  

These exercises help you overcome lethargy, improve  blood circulation, keep your muscles and joints active and prevent any aches and pains arising due to poor posture. 

Hope these exercises help you stay fit and posture perfect always.

Also, with the aim to raise awareness about Postural Health and prevent pain and suffering due to lack of awareness about it, we have published a book. We sincerely hope that the book serves its purpose of providing value to its readers indeed!

Grab your copy soon!

To your health,
Iconic Physio, Mumbai.
Contact: 8928475928