Movement

Neck pain at work: causes and treatment

Neck pain at work: causes and treatment

 Sometimes neck pain seems to come on so suddenly (bad movement, posture or whiplash), but in other cases, it could start as a dull pain that just creeps up on you, and it is hard to know what caused it.

It doesn’t matter how it comes on, the fact is that when you have it, you’ll want to know the cause and how to relieve it quickly and effectively to continue with your daily activities.

Background

 The human head weighs approximately 10 or 11 pounds.  that’s  about 8% of your total body weight. It’s only 2 or 3 pounds lighter than a tenpin bowling ball!

That’s quite an object to balance on your neck. However, when you watch a young child first learning to sit upright their heads seem so beautifully balanced. It’s an indication that the bad postural habits you adopt as you grow older can take their toll.

Unfortunately, neck pain is more common in people who spend much of their working day at a desk with a ‘bent-forward’ posture. It is very common too. 

Two out of three people are thought to experience neck pain in their adult lives, and after the age of 45, about 1 in 5 people are thought to have neck pain problems at any given moment.

What are the causes of back pain?

The bones, ligaments, and muscles of your neck support your head and allow it for motion. If there is any abnormality, inflammation or injury, it can cause neck pain or stiffness.

some common causes are:

  • Whiplash as a result of vehicular accidents or other types of bad and involuntary movements.
  • Bad posture at work is a major factor in causing neck pain. 
  • Inadequate support for the neck while sleeping or sleeping with the neck at an awkward position.
  • Emotional and psychological stresses.
  • Non-specific neck pain. When it is hard to know the cause.
  • Falling or sudden impact that pushes the head to the side, such as sports injuries.
  • Turning the head side to side repeatedly during an activity, for example while swimming.
  • “Text neck” poor posture while using your computer (monitor) or looking down at your mobile phone for long periods of time (as we usually do).
  • Experiencing excessive stress or anxiety, which can lead to tension in the neck.
  • Holding the neck in an abnormal position for a long period, such as cradling a phone between the neck and shoulder (again, poor posture).

What are the symptoms?

Neck pain can vary in intensity, for example:

  •  annoying discomfort
  • extremely painful,
  • sharp, and limiting. 

Usually, the movement is more limited (stiffness) and pain is harder when you try to turn your neck to a particular side or direction. This can affect your activities on different levels (work, studies or daily routine). 

How can I avoid or relieve neck pain at work?

 Firstly, consider how you are set up at your office desk. There are a number of things you need to get right, but here are some of the most vital:

  • Make sure your seat is adjusted so that your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are level with your hips. 
  • Also, make sure you have plenty of support for your lower back because poor lower back posture starts a chain reaction to the neck. 
  • Make sure that your mouse is kept close to you, that you are square on to the keyboard and computer terminal.
  • Your screen must be at the right height for your natural eye line.
  •  Stand up and move at regular intervals. There is even an app for that.
  • Stretch your body, especially your neck and shoulders.
  • Try chair massage.

Why is it important to stretch my neck while working?

 Clearly, it is going to be beneficial to stretch the neck itself. The following link illustrates three simple neck stretches

In addition to stretching the neck, you should look to open up the chest by doing pectoral muscle stretches. Also, particularly in times of stress, the trapezius muscles can get very tight. This can put a lot of strain on the neck and create pain. Massage is a great way to relieve that type of tension (try chair massage, it is done in your own office).

How can Chair massage help me to get rid of neck pain?

  • It is the best option if you want a quick massage that focuses on your neck, shoulders, and back. 
  • A chair massage can also be a way to introduce you to massage if you’ve never had one before.
  •  Chair massage also helps to relieve stress and promote relaxation and could be done at your own office. This type of massage uses light to medium pressure.

What to expect during a chair massage?

During the massage, you’ll remain fully clothed and sit in a specially designed chair. You’ll straddle the chair so that your chest pushes into the back of the chair, allowing the massage therapist to have access to your back.

Undoubtedly, there is a minimum disruption to the working day.

It is a treatment that emphasises on your back, neck, shoulders, arms, and scalp. It is both therapeutic and highly relaxing.

It doesn’t take more than 30 minutes.

A final word

Remember  to check in with your emotions. Ironically, your neck pain could be due to psychological, not physiological factors. We recommend researching basic meditation or mindfulness as a possible remedy.

We hope this information is useful for you. If you have any questions about our treatments, please contact us. You can find us 3 mins away from Angel station in Islington. If you like this blog, please share!

We are always happy to help.

References

https://www.healthline.com/health/neck-pain#treatment

https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/treatment-stiff-neck

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Toxins-How to detox your body

Toxins-How to detox your body

Feeling tired at work? Maybe it´s time to detox your body

This is the time of the year when most of us have to return to workplace. But after resting for some days, do you still feel tired? During Christmas and New Year most of us drink and eat too much, neglecting our eating habits. As a result, you may feel tired, so a detox may be an excellent alternative for your body. A detox would help you eliminate all these excesses that you committed during Holidays. Also, you will help your body to eliminate accumulated toxins and feel better and renovated. Next, you will find some tips to detox your body.

Tips to detox your body

Detoxing your body in the correct way requires dedication. You can find harmful toxins in food, drinks or different products you intake or use every day, so it’s important to eliminate them from your life. On the other hand, as you eliminate these unwanted products, you can replace them with food and product that are really good for your health.

Avoid products with toxins

 Some of them are:

  • alcohol
  • milk
  • processed meat
  • cigarettes
  • refined sugars
  • fast food
  • saturated fats
  • personal care and products with too much chemicals.

All of these things bring harmful toxins into your bodies, but if we eradicate them from your life, over time the toxins within your body will decrease.

Add more fibre & Vitamin C to your diet

Fibre helps to push out from your body toxins. Toxins tend to stick to your colon and intestines. Increasing fibre in your diet, toxins will stop building up and can be removed.

Vitamin C can help to detox your liver, as it helps to increase the number of antioxidants that are naturally found in the body. Antioxidants help your body reduce damage caused by free radicals. This may lower the risk of diseases.

Drink more water

Water is vital for your daily functions, regardless of whether you are currently detoxing or not. However, when you decide to start a detoxing process, you are advised to increase your water intake from 2 litres to 3 litres. Water allows your body to remove waste products from your blood.

Move frequently

Exercise reduces inflammation and helps your body to detox properly. 

Sleep well

Sleeping well allows your brain to:

  • relax
  • reorganize
  • recharge
  • reduce stress and anxiety
  • eliminate toxins

Take care of your eating habits

When detoxing (and in general), it is important to consider eating natural and healthy products. So, next time you go to the supermarket think and more important read before buying a product, take your time to consider if that product is good for you. Some products that you should consider include in your diet are:

  • Herbs such as Dandelion or Milk Thistle. These herbs can help to provide your body with an extra boost of vitamins and nutrients, which help you remain healthy by removing harmful toxins.
  • Prebiotics. They keep your digestive system healthy and improve your immune health. Examples of food rich in prebiotics are: tomatoes, bananas, garlic, onions, asparagus, etc.

We hope this information is useful for you. If you need advice or have any questions about our treatments, please contact us. You can find us 3 mins away from Angel station in Islington. We are always happy to help. If you like this blog, please share!

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Back pain in the office: causes and how to get relief

Back pain in the office: causes and how to get relief

3 tips to get back pain relief in the office

Back pain is one of the most common presentations to GP practices and it’s not always possible to identify its cause, but most comes from joints or soft tissues. Pain of mechanical origin is usually aggravated by some movement and relieved by another. In some cases it takes some weeks to get back pain relief. However you can help your body to heal faster just changing some working routines. In this article, we show you the most common causes of back pain and how to relieve it in your own office.

Causes of back pain at work

There is a huge list of causes for back pain. Also, it is more common after 30-40. However, at the office it could take place at any time due to some factors such as: 

  • Weak muscles in back and abdomen or muscle imbalance, due to lack of exercise.
  • Bad lifting techniques. Lifting or moving heavy objects can cause you an injury because you are exerting too much force in your back.
  • Incorrect posture at desk. Be careful with your DSE, chair support and posture while sitting.
  • Repetitive movements, especially when you have to twist or rotate your spine.
  • Inactive desk job. Being sat the entire day is bad for you, even if you feel comfortable in your chair. Inaction can lead you to back pain or spine injuries.
  • Stress and anxiety a triggers of back pain at the office.
  • Trauma or falls.

What  can I do to get relief of back pain at the office?

 

  1. Sit correctly.

It minimises the stress and strain on your back, muscles and joints. Also, it allows good circulation. Having a relaxed posture allows you to breathe normally.

To help facilitate this there are certain things you should aim to do.

  • Aim to keep your feet flat on the floor
  • Have your chair at a height that allows your thighs to be parallel to the floor
  • In addition, let the arms rest flat with wrists straight (not cocked at an angle)
  • Ensure the top of the screen is at eye-level to keep the head in a balanced position
  • Crucially, make sure the base of the spine is properly supported.

2. Move and stretch

Being at the office, it´s not an excuse for inactivity. On our previous blog, we explain you how important is to be active in the office.

Bellow, we describe some movements you can do in your own office floor to avoid and also get relief of back pain.

Pelvic tilts – Lie on your back. Knees in a bent position. Pull your belly button in towards your spine. Tilt the pelvis forward and hold for 5 seconds. This can be repeated a few times in a row to help mobilize the lower spine.

 

.Knee rolls – Lying on your back. Bending the knees so the knees are off the ground. Keeping as much of the back on the floor as possible. Rotate the knees toward the floor on one side. Then gently swing the knees over to the other side. And repeat this movement a handful of times.

 

3.Chair massage.

Chair massage is the type of massage which is performed with you being in a seated position on a special massage chair. We perform the massage over the clothing and does not require oil. During the massage, our therapist  applies pressure to the most affected areas of your back. Chair massage has a lot of health benefits. It helps to alleviate tension, ache and pain accumulated in the back, neck and shoulders; improves circulation; relieves stress; helps to reduce anxiety; and improves sleep. So why don´t you try it?

A final word

After that, if your condition doesn’t improve in a few days, it’s advisable to see one of our msk specialists, who can assess your problem and take you through all the steps of treatment care, from acute injury to releasing chronic tightness, mobilise/manipulate restricted areas and will advise you about regular maintenance to prevent re-occurrence.

We hope this information is useful for you. If you have any questions about our treatments, please contact us. You can find us 3 mins away from Angel station in Islington. If you like this blog, please share!

We are always happy to help.

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Importance of movement in the office

Importance of movement in the office

Benefits of movement in the office: why should I move?

Does regular movement help with posture in office?

Regular movement throughout the day is associated with better posture while sitting at a desk at work. It has been observed that those who move regularly, once every hour for 2-5 min, tend to sit back in a good posture. It is believed that this occurs because of better self-awareness after movement as spending several hours just sitting at a desk working people tend to totally forget about the posture and focus purely on the task.

What is considered moving regularly at the office?

Any type of movement that would involve you moving your neck, arms, back and legs. It can be as simple as going to have a glass of water or a loo break. If you have a set of exercises prescribed by your physician, this is a time to do them. If your routine takes 10 – 15 min, split it. Complete a whole set of one exercise every hour, hence, before you even leave your workplace, you would have completed your prescribed routine as well as having been active while still at work.

Moreover, if at all possible, try to arrange a standing desk so that you would be able to sit and stand throughout your day at the office. When setting up a standing desk, ensure that your screen is approximately at your eye level. Having your screen too high or too low will still have a negative impact on your neck and shoulders even though you will be standing.

How can regular movement sharpen your mind?

Moving regularly improves the circulation, hence, increasing the blood flow into the brain. Enhanced blood flow carries more fresh oxygen and nutrients to the brain which are very important for your brain function. This helps you to maintain your focus for longer. Also, moving regularly takes your mind off of work for a brief moment. This may help to come up with creative ideas or solutions to a problem, if there is one. 

Can regular movement reduce neck and shoulder pain?

This very much depends on why you are experiencing neck and shoulder pain in the first place. For example, if you have been diagnosed with a bulging disk, spinal stenosis, spondylosis, which is spine arthritis, or any other condition, regular movement can help to manage your symptoms. If, however, you have not been diagnosed with any of the above, the chances of regular movement reducing neck and shoulder pain are significantly higher. If you do not have any pain or ache in your shoulders, then moving regularly can significantly reduce the risk of you developing it in the first place.

Can regular movement ‘reset’ your mind?

As mentioned above, moving regularly throughout the day can help you to sharpen and refresh your mind and thoughts which can have a positive impact on your overall productivity.

Can moving regularly reduce the risk of cardiovascular compromise?

In short, yes, it can. Regular movement increases blood flow to your whole body. It also increases the heart rate which helps it to become stronger. Strong heart and unrestricted blood flow will help to maintain the health of the arteries and veins and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as cardiac arrest or stroke.

How can moving regularly reduce stress?

Regular movement throughout the day promotes the endorphin release. Endorphins are chemicals which are released from your brain. They help to reduce the perception of pain and gives you the feeling of well-being. Having regular short breaks might not result in significant endorphin release as the body experiences during a longer exercise session, however, it may still have a positive impact on your physical and psychological health if done regularly.

We hope this information is useful for you. If you have any questions about our treatments, please contact us. You can find us 3 mins away from Angel station in Islington. If you like this blog, please share!

We are always happy to help.

References:

file:///C:/Users/modes/Desktop/ijerph-18-05589.pdf 

http://shura.shu.ac.uk/11023/3/Copeland%20Sedentary%20office.pdf 

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.989.6534&rep=rep1&type=pdf 

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:659502/FULLTEXT01.pdf 

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