Health x Wellness
Why is it important for us to take care of our posture?
Bad posture over a long period of time can lead injury of the spine. An unhealthy spine can impact our overall health, as the spine is responsible for overall mobility and functionality of our organs.
During this WFH period, we are all having to deal with finding spaces to study or work on. This can be taxing on our posture, that will eventually result in a bad payoff – that of an unhealthy spine. In a worse case scenario, you might have to dodge debt collectors, as you rack up medical bills you could have avoided by simply paying more attention to your posture, thereby saving you both time and money.
According to this study, WFH has led to an increase in both lower back pain and neck pain. Anecdotal reports – as shared in this article – find those seeking treatment for neck and back pains to be from the middle to older age groups.
The Active Age discusses the topic of chiropractic care and how it can help with overall health and in overcoming the stresses of the pandemic with Dr. Matt Kan, Senior Consultant and CEO of Chiropractic First.
the Active Age (AA): What are the most common chiropractic areas of concern where many people are continuing to WFH?
Dr. Matt Kan (MK): Working from home is leaving us with a more sedentary lifestyle – most of us are moving from the bed to the desk and from the desk to the bed. Just to be honest, some of us don’t even leave the bed. Because of this, we end up being in awkward positions as we are busy typing away on our laptops.
This results in bad posture which over a period of time leads to injury of the spine and causes symptoms like pains and aches to appear. Since the spinal cord is responsible for your mobility and the functionality of your organs, an unhealthy spine can impact your overall health. Poor ergonomics and repetitive traumas can cause the joints to go out of normal alignment. When this happens, these misaligned bones will affect the nerves exiting the spine and cause pain or symptoms where those nerves go to. This is a condition called a vertebral subluxation.
Thus, it is important that we maintain a good posture and good spine health.
AA: How can they identify the early onset of these areas?
MK: Like tooth decay and cancer, subluxations may go unnoticed before any warning signs appear. Results of a thorough examination can show the location and severity of any subluxations that you may have. Some patients may experience a lot of pain and symptoms, others might notice bad posture, some might not have any symptoms at all!
It is never too early to start with chiropractic. Chiropractic First’s chiropractors are trained to detect the root of your problem, resolve or reverse them.
AA: What type of stresses do you see with your patients?
MK: With the sedentary lifestyle, lower back pain and spinal problems are one of the most common physical ailments. We also see patients with neck pain or shoulder stiffness which are caused by everyday activities such as prolonged use of electronic devices, repeated bad posture and bad ergonomics.
Working from home has also blurred the line between personal and work time which add additional emotional stress. Emotional stress can cause the muscles to constantly tighten up, increasing the risk of muscle spasms and fatigue.
AA: Can you share some tips for readers to handle these areas and stresses?
MK: Firstly, we should inspect our working set-up. Is your monitor above your eye level? Is your table at the correct height such that your shoulders are relaxed? Are your legs planted to the ground when you’re seated? Consider using an ergonomic foot platform that helps you sit in a good working position at your desk. Ergonomic chairs and standing desks do in fact help us maintain a better posture but only to a certain extent. These are all important factors to consider as they can contribute to your body aches or make it worse.
Second, you should spend some time during your working hours to stand up, do some stretches or take a walk. Some stretches include the shoulder shrug, some neck rotations and the cat-cow stretch which stretches the back and neck while opening up the chest. You can do such exercises for about 1 minute each. Get out of your desk and spend about 5 minutes every hour doing these stretches. Take time out to clear the mind.
Lastly, it is recommended that you get chiropractic adjustments regularly as it can help reduce the stresses on the vertebrae and realign the spine which helps with reducing compression on the nerves.
AA: How can chiropractic care help with these stresses as well as from an overall health perspective?
MK: The pandemic has kept many of us stuck in our own homes which increases the chances of us falling into a more sedentary lifestyle. With such a lifestyle comes repercussions like body aches and discomfort. These issues can be addressed with chiropractic adjustments which can help to release tension in our bodies.
Chiropractic care works with the spine and improves the flow in the central nervous system (CNS), which can improve your overall body functions. A variety of over-the-counter medicine may control your pain, but they only mask the pain without addressing the cause.
Regular chiropractic adjustments can help reduce the stresses on the vertebrae and realigning the spine helps with reducing compression on the nerves. It can also improve your range of motion, flexibility, posture, and overall health of the entire spine. Through regular chiropractic care, also helps in improving sleep quality hence boosting your concentration, mood and performance!
Images credit to Chiropractic First
