1. Keep your back guessing! Alternate between sitting and standing.
2. Walk tall and keep your head held high! It will show you are happy and confident whilst improving your posture.
3. Keep your back fit – walking and swimming are generally the best ways to do this.
4. Losing weight will help – gravity is something we cannot change but you can ease the stress on joints by being within a healthy weight range.
5. Keep moving even if your back is sore. See our ‘what to do when you have acute back pain’ page.
6. Use a towel, a jumper or a lumbar support (available at MO) whilst driving or sitting at a desk. Use pillows when sitting on the couch!
7. Make stretching part of your daily routine. It will decrease stiffness and help your muscles stay supple.
8. When lifting, make sure the load is not too heavy, large or awkward. If possible, hug the object to you – it will keep your centre of gravity close to you and decrease the strain on your back.
9. If you are waking up stiff and sore, think about your mattress and pillow – are they right for you? MO Osteopaths can advise you on this.
10. Always feeling tired, sore and worn out? The Osteopaths at MO can help get you back on track – decrease pain and leave more energy for living!
Rachael Mason, Osteopath
It’s a not uncommon question from a patient and it seems to match a general belief that running is going to get the better of you one way or another. Either your joints or your heart is going to let you know that making you’re making fool of yourself by pounding along the pavement.The truth is rather different and recent studies have pointed to how essential running might be to our evolution as well as why we make such a mess of it when we slip on those high-tech shoes in middle age and try and recreate our glory days.
After an 18-year premiership drought, the Frankston Bombers have won the 2009 MPNFL Nepean Grand Final in a historic come-from-behind victory over Sorrento on Saturday. The win ends recent years of finals heartache for the Bombers. Late in the first quarter, Sorrento rushed to a 27-point lead but the momentum soon shifted and the Bombers kicked 12 of the next 14 goals to claim the cup by 37-points.
Posture Perfect
If you look at the way children sit stand and walk compared to many adults, its not difficult to accept that on the journey to maturity many paths are taken.
To a large degree the posture we adopt is influenced by the body architecture we inherit but some of us are able to make the best of these basic building blocks and some of us just loose the control of our soft tissues become unable to maintain a comfortable posture. Your normal body movements are based on sound mechanical principles and whilst the body is capable of adapting to imperfections this is all done at a cost. Gradually your body becomes less able to adapt to extra factors like fatigue,strain or injury overwhelms your adaptations
Some postures don’t just look wrong: they can eventually lead to spinal pain and disability.
Even in the short term a bad posture increases the workload on the body and can make you feel unusually tired or cause aches and stiffness. These days, prolonged sitting at keyboards or driving is one of the major factors adding load to our postural balance . With fatigue and stress our neck and arm muscles muscles protest and the spectre of work related hand/arm/shoulder/neck/head pain is never far away.
Osteopathic treatment will not only unwind the postural strains and help you regain your adaptation to your body imperfections but advice and learning the tricks of postural control helps you take charge of regaining good postural habits, making a fuller recovery and cut down future problems.
Healthy posture is easy when you know how to achieve it.
We know how and will help you achieve it.
Miles James, Osteopath