Good Posture Can Help Reduce Back Pain

Correct posture is a simple but very important way to keep the many intricate structures in the back and spine healthy.  It is much more than cosmetic - good posture and back support are critical to reducing the incidence and levels of back pain and neck pain.  Back support is especially important for patients who spend many hours sitting in an office chair or standing throughout the day.

Guidelines to Improve Posture:

For correction of poor posture, it is important to determine where improvement is needed, such as when sitting in an office chair.  Next, patients must work on changing daily habits to correct those areas.  This effort will improve back support and over time help decrease back pain and neck pain.  It will take some effort and perseverance, and will seem a little unnatural at first.  It is typical to feel uncomfortable, and even feel a little taller, but over time the new posture will seem natural and more comfortable.

Sitting Posture for Office Chairs

• Be sure the back is aligned against the back of the office chair.  Avoid slouching or leaning forward, especially when tired from sitting in the office chair for long periods.
• For long term sitting, be sure the chair is ergonomically designed to properly support the back and that it is a custom fit.
• When sitting in an office chair at a desk, arms should be flexed at a 75 to 90 degree angle at the elbows.  If this is not the case, the office chair should be adjusted accordingly.
• Knees should be even with the hips or slightly higher when sitting in an office chair.

Tips for Improving Posture and Ergonomics

• Know the warning signs of back pain caused by poor ergonomics and posture.  Back pain may be the result of poor ergonomics and posture if the back pain is worse at certain times of the day or week (such as after a long day sitting in an office chair in front of a computer, but not during the weekend); pain that starts in the neck and moves downwards into the upper back, lower back and extremities; pain that goes away after switching positions while sitting or standing; sudden back pain that is experienced with a new job, a new office chair, or a new car; and/or back pain that comes and goes for months.
• Get up and move. As muscles tire, slouching. slumping, and other poor postures become more likely; this in turn puts extra pressure on the neck and back.  In order to maintain a relaxed yet supported posture, change positions frequently.  One way is to take a break from sitting in an office chair every half hour for 2 minutes in order to stretch, stand, and walk.

Our offices provide on site ergonomic assessments and workplace wellness programs.  If you are interested in finding out more about proper office chair set-up, contact our Appleton office at 920-738-0200 or our Neenah office at 920-720-0660.

Article content from Spine-Health.com

How Can I Quit Smoking?

Smoking cigarettes tops the list as the most important preventable major risk factor of the nation's number one killer - heart and blood vessel disease. Smoking also harms thousands of nonsmokers, including infants and children, who are exposed to cigarette smoke.

If you smoke, you have good reason to worry about its effect on your health, your loved ones, and others. You could become one of the more than 440,000 smoking related deaths every year.  When you quit, you reduce that risk tremendously!

It is never too late to quit.  No matter how much or how long you've smoked, when you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease and stroke starts to drop.  In time, your risk will be about the same as if you'd never smoked.

How do I quit?
Step One

• List your reasons for quitting and read them several times per day.
• Wrap your cigarette pack with paper and rubber bands.  Each time you smoke, write down the time of day, how you feel, and how important that cigarette is to you on a scale of 1-5.
• Re wrap the pack after each cigarette so you have to make a conscious decision to smoke.

Step Two

• Keep reading your list of reasons to quit and add to it if you can
• Don't carry matches or a lighter and keep your cigarettes out of easy reach
• Each day, try to smoke fewer cigarettes, and try to eliminate the ones that aren't the most important based on your rating scale above.

Step Three

• Continue with Step Two but set a target date to quit
• Don't buy a new pack until you have finished the one you are smoking
• Try to stop for 48 hours at one time

Step Four

• Quit smoking completely.  Throw out all cigarettes, matches, and lighters.  Get rid of ashtrays.
• Stay busy!  Go to the movies, exercise, take long walks, go bike riding.  Find activities that make it difficult to smoke.
• Avoid situations and triggers you relate to smoking
• Find healthy substitutes for smoking
• Carry sugarless gum or artificially sweetened mints.  Munch on carrots or celery sticks.  Try doing crafts or other things with your hands
• Do deep breathing exercises when you get the urge to smoke.

Remember that you are doing a great thing for yourself and your family when you quit smoking!

From the American Heart Association

Baseball Star Teixeira Uses Chiropractic, ART, and Graston to Stay in the Game

Yankee first baseman, Mark Teixeira, has a lingering calf injury.  He also has the goal of playing for 8 more seasons.  To reach that goal, he has committed to weekly, two hour sessions with Chiropractor Gil Chimes for chiropractic care and soft tissue work.  Chimes uses ART (Active Release Techniques) as well as Graston to help the calf muscle grow more supple to absorb and disperse force.  ART is a targeted deep muscle massage and Graston breaks up scar tissue.

To read more about this story, go to the April 2013 issue of Men's Journal.  Dr. Nathan Zachor is certified in ART and a number of our chiropractors are certified in the Graston Technique.  Please call our offices at 920-738-0200 (Appleton) or 920-720-0660 (Neenah) if you are interested in learning more.