Active Family Chiropractic

Empowering Your Health

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Standing Desks vs. Sitting Desks. How to make your work space erognomically friendly.

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A large majority of the populace have sedentary jobs, meaning that they spend the majority of their day sitting. We sit doing paperwork or working on a computer. Sitting in one position for an extended amount of time can cause damage to your spine and health.

Making your workspace ergonomically friendly can be a challenge. Here are some ways to create a positive work environment for you and your health.

The Standing Desk

These desks are designed to be raised and lowered so that you can achieve the perfect height. Standing at a desk will not only prevent you from slouching but it will boost your productivity. When you stand, your blood has an opportunity to flow unhindered. That undisturbed flow can provide additional oxygen to your muscles and brain, allowing you to think clearer.

Standing desks also promote good spinal alignment. When positioned correctly, you are able to work on a laptop or monitor by looking directly ahead. This encourages our necks to sit in a neutral position. When we are standing, looking directly ahead with a neutral spine, it allows our neural pathways to be free to work correctly.

Sitting at a Desk

So you aren’t able to get a standing desk. That’s fine. We have to make your current workstation as ergonomically friendly as we can.

Fix your monitor

When you are looking at your monitor, are you looking down? If so adjust your monitor so that it is at a height where you are looking at it straight on or elevated.Working on a laptop? Set it on a couple of books or a raised shelf and use a separate mouse and keyboard.

Get a chair that promotes good spinal alignment.

There are a couple of options here. You can invest in an ergonomic chair, sit properly or get a large ball.

The ergonomic chair. When sitting in an ergonomic chair you want to make sure that you are sitting all the way back in the seat so that your back is flush with the chair back. This will allow you to sit in correct alignment.

Can’t afford an ergonomic chair and your boss won’t buy you a new one? Buy a big ball. Sitting on a ball will not only help you strengthen your core but it promotes good spinal alignment because the minute you begin to slouch, the ball reacts and you will find yourself slipping off or you can sit on the edge of the chair you have and pull your shoulder blades back. Doing this forces you to think about your posture and work on your core at the same time!

Make sure that you get up every 20 minutes.

If you have a job where you are sitting, make sure that you’re getting up every 20 minutes. It will help promote blood circulation and give you an extra boost of energy when you feel like you’re going to fall asleep.

No matter what your work situation is, it’s important to take care of yourself and create an environment that promotes health and wellness. Taking control of your workstation and making it more ergonomic will help increase your productivity and improve your quality of life.

Want more tips on how to create a more healthy workspace? Ask Dr. B at [email protected]

How do handheld devices contribute to spinal damage?

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Does the above cartoon look like you when you’re on your hand-held device? The world is advancing at an alarming rate and with it, the technology is getting better and better. As time goes by, we find ourselves more reliant on our hand-held and mobile devices. Although these devices make our lives easier, they also contribute to spinal damage. Is my smartphone or tablet causing spinal damage? The short answer is yes.

How is my handheld device causing spinal damage?

Most hand-held devices are designed to be held in your hand, hence the name. However, they tend to have a little bit of weight to them which over the extended period of use can begin to feel heavy. This forces you to seek support for that arm holding the device, whether it be the arm of a chair or a table, or maybe your leg. This causes you to look down at the device. This puts you in forward head projection and causes your shoulders to round.  Holding this position for any amount of time can lead to a weakness in your posture. Have you ever seen Herbert, the old man from Family Guy when he’s walking with his walker? When you continually hold your device in such a way that it promotes poor spinal posture , you are in danger of ending up like him. 

Think about this. For every degree you tilt your head forward, you are adding a pound of pressure to your spine. The way most people hold their cell phones or tablets can put up to 60 additional pounds of pressure on your spine. The Guardian, a British news publication, provided a fantastic graphic to demonstrate this.

But I need to multi-task!

In this busy world, we all tend to try to do several things at once. We talk on the phone while we’re typing on our laptop or tablet. If you’re not using your speakerphone function or your headphones, which the phone company so generously supplied to you, you may find yourself trying to wedge your phone in between your head and your shoulder in order to continue to work. This action can cause spinal damage as well. When you are constantly putting your neck in a side-bending position, you are causing misalignments (subluxation). This can lead to an imbalance in your muscles and you’ll notice your head will start to constantly tilt and eventually if untreated you could look like the picture below.

Not only is this bad for your health, but it is unsightly.

What are some things I can do to prevent spinal damage from using my hand-held devices?

I know it might be hard but try to limit your use of your devices. If that is not an option, think about using your headphones when answering calls. Also, when texting or viewing social media, make sure that you are holding the phone up so that your neck is in a neutral position not tilted or bent forward. Doing these simple things can minimize neck and back pain as well as promote good spinal posture.

For more information or to talk about exercises, you can do to strengthen your spine email Dr. B at [email protected].

Why are my neck and back muscles always tight? Part 2: Not exercising or stretching enough.

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Have you ever wondered why your neck and back muscles are always tight? There are a number of factors that contribute to this. Bad posture, not exercising enough and bad nutritional choices are only a few. In this 3 part series, we’re going to talk about the biggest contributing factors to neck and back tightness.

Not exercising or stretching enough or at all.

Your structure, the bones of your body, dictate what your muscles are doing. If you have a poor spinal structure, you will have bad muscle function. Additionally, not exercising will cause your muscles to break down and become useless. There are easy ways to get moving.

  • Try Yoga – Yoga is the practice of strengthening and lengthening your muscles. Holding poses and easily moving from one movement to the next will help provide much-needed oxygen to your blood and muscles. Yoga creates long lean muscles and can boost the metabolism.
  • Take cues from wildlife – Many of us have animals, dogs, and cats that bring joy to our lives. Besides running and lounging, they do a lot of stretching. Try to mimic your animal for a day. If they stretch, try the stretch they’re doing. You’ll notice that you’ll start to feel more awake and refreshed throughout the day.
  • Join a social activity – People who build their social network by participating in shared activities tend to live longer and don’t we all want longevity in life? Find something that interests you. Believe it or not, getting out of the house to attend a group meeting or function will dictate that you walk somewhere and walking is exercise.
  • Everything is easier with a partner – Accountability is key to exercising. Having someone you’re accountable to will allow you to keep exercising, especially if that person is relying on you to be their exercise partner. Knowing you have someone to commiserate and rejoice with can inspire you to move more.
  • Dance like no one is watching – So you’re not someone who exercises and you’re not into stretching or yoga, that’s ok. Create a playlist of your favorite songs. Fill it with songs that there is no possible way you can sit in your seat for while you listen and dance! It only takes 1-2 good songs a day and you’re on your way to moving and providing oxygen to your muscles.

Whatever you choose just move.

No matter what you do, it’s important to move, not only for your structure and health but for your mental health as well. Doing any of the activities above will help you to forget about your stresses for a bit and that will give you the freedom to want to move more.

What are some ways that you move? Share in the comments below.

For questions on what stretches you can do at home, talk to your Chiropractor and contact Dr. B at [email protected].

See Dr.B before your next marathon run

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Looking to conquer that new personal record time?  Want to make sure you’re in tip-top shape to finish in the top tier of that 5K this coming weekend?  Well do yourself a favor and see Dr.B!

The article we are posting comes from an avid runner who sees the benefits in chiropractic in relation to not only running but for sports treatment.  Enjoy the read! http://www.active.com/running/Articles/How-Sports-Chiropractors-Prevent-Injury-in-Runners

 

September News!

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Active Family Chiropractic, PC celebrated it’s 5 year anniversary last month. Our raffle generated $50 for the Regional Food Bank, $50 for Crossfit for Hope and $100 for Joseph Jude’s Heart Fund.

Upcoming Events:

9/10/13: Albany Crossfit Posture Screening at 9 AM

9/10/13: Ciccotti Center Posture Screening at 10 AM

9/19/13: Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce Presentation at 12 PM

9/24/13: Nutrition Presentation at Active Family Chiropractic, PC at 12 PM

*RSVP required by 9/24/13

9/27/13: Albany Crossfit Posture Screening at 4 PM

 

July News!

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7/4: AFC is closed in observance of Independence Day.

7/11 and 7/12: AFC is closed for a chiropractic seminar.

7/2, 7/9, 7/16, 7/23 and 7/30:  Posture screening at ACF from 6:30-7:30 PM

7/19: Posture screening at Ciccotti Center from 1-2 PM

7/20: AFC Patient Appreciation Night and the ValleCats at 7:00 PM

*RSVPs were required prior to June 2013

7/23: Roadblocks to Wellness Workshop at AFC from 12-1 PM

*RSVP required by 7/22

*Open to the community

 

May News!

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  • 5/7: Posture screening at the Guilderland YMCA (9-10 AM)
  • 5/17: Posture screening at the Ciccotti Center (1-2 PM)
  • 5/18: SUNY Health Fair Posture screening at the Desmond (9-12 PM)
  • 5/21: Posture screening at Albany Crossfit (6:30-7:30 PM)
  • 5/27: AFC is closed in observance of Memorial Day.

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