Stretches to Help Lower Back Pain
If you remember last week, I shared some tips on how to prevent lower back pain. These tips were inspired by me straining one of my lower back muscles while on holiday in Bulgaria. I stated last week that it was sorted out by a combination of massage, stretches and back exercises.
So this week I want to share the three simple stretches I used to ease my back.
1. Knees to Chest
For the first day this is the only stretch I did. You lie on your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Put your hands behind your knees and gently bring your knees towards your chest. I held this stretch for about 2 minutes and did it 3 – 4 times a day.
2. Two – knee – twist
Lying on your back, bend your knees into your chest and bring your arms out at a T. As you exhale lower your knees to ground on the right. Keep both shoulders pressing down firmly. If the left shoulder lifts, lower your knees further away from the right arm. Hold for 1-2 minutes each side. Again I repeated this stretch 3 – 4 times a day.
3. Thread the Needle
Lying on your back, bend both knees with the feet flat on the ground. Bend the right knee like a figure four, with the outer left ankle to the right thigh. Lift the left foot into the air, bringing the left calf parallel to the ground. Thread your right hand between the opening of the legs and interlace your hands behind your left thigh. Hold 2-3 minutes and then repeat on the other side. Again I repeated this stretch 3 – 4 times a day.
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How to stay healthy at your desk
This week the daily mail reported that three in four office workers blame desk for sickness: badly set up desks and chairs cost companies 7bn each year. Rather than sitting in silence or popping pain killers to ease headaches or back pain, here are my top 7 tips for staying healthy while working at your desk.
- Sit up straight. As you read this post, if you’re not running to an appointment or standing, how are you sitting? Really take notice of how you are sitting and poised. Are you legs crossed? Is your back hunched over as you read this? Or are you sitting up straight? If you are sitting ensure that you are sitting up straight, not slouched, with your head directly over your torso and your feet on the ground, using a foot rest if necessary.
- User a wrist support. Repeatedly bending your wrists up and down (extension and flexion) compresses structures inside the carpal tunnel in the wrist. This can cause pain and lead to injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. Place the heel of your palm on a wrists pad to minimise wrist pain.
- Use a headset. If you spend a lot of time on the phone user a head set rather to avoid holding the phone to your ear by raising your shoulder which may cause neck & shoulder pain.
- Don't bang the keyboard instead use a light touch. Try to use the minimum amount of force necessary to depress the keys. The tendons from your fingers connect near your elbow, so striking the keys too hard can lead to problems you might not associate with your keyboard-for example, pain and inflammation in your elbows (Epicondylitis).
- Look straight ahead. Maintaining proper eye level with your computer monitor is essential. This helps you avoid straining your back, neck, shoulders, and arms. In addition, proper eye level reduces unnecessary eye strain. To accomplish this sit in your office chair and stare straight ahead. You should be looking directly at the center of your monitor. If you are not looking at the center of the screen adjust the monitor until you have the correct measurement and use a monitor riser where necessary.
- Save your work, save your shoulders. Working as a massage therapist who specialise in Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage withing an office environment, I know muscular tension in shoulders causing neck and shoulder pain is a common problem. To minimise the build up of muscular tension in your shoulders, every time your save your work or send an email simply circle your shoulder three times clockwise and then three times anti-clockwise.
- Book a massage. If you are feeling the stain and pain for working long hours at your desk then book a massage which are highly effective at relieving neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and tension headaches.
Can exercise help reduce blood pressure?
High blood pressure is known as the silent killer becuase of its the link to heart attacks and strokes. The causes of high blood pressure are: Mental stress: Stress can have a severe impact on blood pressure, especially when it is chronic. It can occur as a result of both socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. Some aspects of sex: In general, high blood pressure is more common among adult men than adult women. However, after the age of 55 years, a woman's relative risk of hypertension increases. A recent study compared the impact of medication and exercise for reducing high systolic blood pressure. The researchers reviewed 197 exercise randomised control trials and 194 randomised control trials looking at medication. While anti-hypertensive medications achived hight reductions in blood pressure that exercise. Researches concluded that modest but consistent reductions in systolic blood pressure can be achieved with exercise. Reference
