Strength and Core exercises to prevent neck & shoulder pain.

There is scientific evidence to suggest the exercises below when combined with shoulder flexilbity exercises reduce Neck & Shoulder pain.

Related Posts

  • The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 7

    There is a wide range of American start up companies, creating technology solutions to combat the new "sitting disease".  In previous posts I have discussed in the impact of sitting all day

    In my post, "Taking a Break", I explored the reasons for taking a break and looked at the latest research on the length of break you need to take and the frequency.  In my last blog post, "Get Moving" I looked at how you can move while working.  In this post I want to review the technology solutions that are out there. Activity Trackers Most of the technology solutions currently available are wearable activity trackers. These products are basically advanced sensors that come embedded inside of bracelets or clips that hook onto your clothing. They measure your daily activity (steps taken and calories burned), sleep, and through an associated app, diet.  Below I list some of the common trackers.
    • 1. Apple Watch
    Everyone knows that Apple is about to launch the Apple Watch which will have a plethora of health and fitness functionalities. However the Apple Watch heavily relies on the iPhone to function and is not really considered a standalone device. But I want to focus on one interesting feature which is that ten minutes before each hour, the Apple Watch taps on their arms as an alert to ecourage you to stay active or just simply stand up. I can see this being essential for people who want to stay active but find they lose track of time when they work.
    • 2. Jawbone UP
    The company’s wearable activity tracker, Jawbone UP includes a step counter, sleep tracker and an idle alert, which offers reminders to users by buzzing if they are inactive. What is neat about Jawbone is that it links to your calendar from your iPhone and see what your schedule is with meetings and we can say — rather than buzzing you during the middle of your board meeting — we can actually wait until the end and give you some insight.
    • 3. Nike+ Fuelband
    What is good about the Nike+ Fuelband activity tracker is that lets you set an activity goal, you can press a button on an LED screen to check your progress, and displays a green light when you have achieved your goal.  However it can be inaccurate if for some reason you happen to move your hands swiftly throughout the day.
    • 4. Fitbit One
    Fitbit One is the best holistic tracking of activity, diet and sleep and is good value compared to some of the other activity trackers. The app creates graphs, charts and tools based on your data and lets you easily log food, water, weight, food plans and more.  It is especially good for women as you can clip it in the center of your bra, rather than trying to blend in a wrist based activity tracker with your outfit. Applications “I'll help you unclog your mind and uncramp your body”, is the promise of HotSeat health app that turns short breaks into meaningful activity through nudges and social accountability.  What I like about this application is that it allows you to create competition - which are always very motivational! Darma - The Hitech Cushion Digital health upstart Darma have developed a cushion that aims to help people take control of their sitting habits.  It helps you remember to maintain good posture when sitting down for long periods of time. The cushion contains one millimeter-thick fiber optic sensors that sense the user’s movements. The pillow also has embedded sensors that detect heart rate, stress level, and respiration. All of this information is sent to a companion app on the user’s smartphone. The app can then track a user’s stress level, sitting time, and posture and try to motivate users to get up every now and then. It will also alert users when they’ve slipped into a bad position and explain how to correct their posture. If users are feeling back pain, the app can guide them through stretches that might help relieve it.  To me this more directly provides relevant information to help my clients than some of the more wearable technology solutions.  I am looking forward to its launch later this year, until then there is always massage!

  • Guess what science has discovered about back pain …

    According to the UK's Office for National Statistics the UK  economy loses almost 31 million work days per year which costs the UK economy £14 billion to bad backs, neck & other muscle problems.  A bad back is of the most common causes of absence and 80% of p will suffer with people will experience back pain at some point in their lives.  At Vitality Therapy we find back pain is something we treat on a regular basis. I know a lot of my clients and potential clients are interested in what the latest scientific research is on how effective massage is for treating back pain, becuase they don't want to waste their time and money if massage isn't going to help them. Until now scientific studies of the effectiveness of massage were conducted in controlled research situations.  However in a recent study, a physician sent patients to a massage therapist.  The massage therapist designed and provided a series of 10 massage -- at no cost to the patient -- in a clinical treatment environment.  This clinical treatment environment mimicks the experience of people who choose to seek massage in the real world. More than 50 percent of those who participated in the study experienced clinically meaningful improvements in their low back pain.  The reasearches concluded that the study gives primary care providers (i.e. GPs) the confidence to tell patients with chronic low back pain to try massage, if the patients can afford to do so. References http://www.nhsemployers.org/news/2015/04/bad-backs-cost-the-uk-31-million-days-of-work Elder WG, Munk N, et al, 2017, Real Wold Massage Therapy Produces Meaningful Effectiveness Signal for Primary Care Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: Results of a Repeated Measures Cohort Study, Journal of Pain Medicine, 18(7):1394-1405  

  • Do you have tight hips? – part 1

    Many of the clients we see exercise regularly but I have never heard anyone mention including in their workouts exercises that focus on the hips.  Yet, this is extremely important, as sitting for long periods of time can cause your hip flexors to become tight  or weak or both leading to problems with posture and back pain.  In addition weak hip flexors contribute to foot, ankle and knee injuries. Sitting is a primary culprit in tight hips and thighs because the muscles are rarely extended (although they may also become tight from working out). To lengthen and strengthen these muscles, try this move created by Suzanne Bowen, creator of BarreAmped, an internationally taught barre technique chosen by Fitness Magazine and Natural Health Magazine as the best barre workouts in 2015. You'll need a chair or kitchen counter for support. Start out in a kneeling lunge position with your right foot in front and leg bent at the knee in a 90-degree angle. Your left knee should be a few inches behind your left hip. To do the exercise, Bowen recommends:

    "1. Press forward a few inches into your right leg just until you feel a gentle stretch in the opposite hip.
    If you have very tight hips, this might be as far as you go. (Protect the front knee by making sure it doesn't extend out beyond the toes.) For a more advanced stretch, straighten the left leg behind you and then press forward.
    2. When you're ready to move on, reposition the rear leg as needed so you can stretch your right leg straight out in front of you.
    Keep your back straight and lean a few inches forward from the hips and feel the stretch in the right hamstring."
    Hold each position for two to five deep breaths, then switch sides. References Los Angeles Times January 9, 2016 Pop Sugar April 17, 2016 Men’s Health January 28, 2016 Greatist December 15, 2011 Clin J Sport Med. 2005 Jan;15(1):14-21. Los Angeles Times January 9, 2016