Occupational health
and fitness newsletter
SIT UP STRAIGHT
The Crookback Clinic is Australia's leading corporate musculo-skeletal risk audit and management program.
In the Crookback Clinic I come to your office and take your staff through a comprehensive, 2 hour, musculo-skeletal health program.
It's a program for all your staff, whether they spend most of their day sitting down or standing up.
For those of your staff who spend all day sitting down, I spend time at their desk helping them to set the chair, the desk the keyboard and the monitor up so they're sitting up straight.
Most importantly, they'll learn some of the key exercises they need to do on a regular and systematic basis to get themselves back in alignment.
Musculo-skeletal Risk Management Audit Report
Even more importantly, at the conclusion of the program I present you with a musculo-skeletal risk management audit report and recommendations about what you can do to dramatically lower the risk of musculo-skeletal dysfunction in your workplace.
Click here to take a look at some of the recent audit reports.
To learn more about this program and how it can dramatically lower your organisation's risk of musculo-skeletal dysfunction click here.
Click on the cover to purchase a copy of my ebook, How to Fix Up a Crook Back. This is the book you can purchase for your staff.
This is just about the best book around on fixing musculo-skeletal dysfunction. Click on the cover to purchaser a copy.
My back got better after I bought this book, went to the Egoscue Clinic in San Diego and started doing the exercises. Before I did that, I couldn't sneeze or cough without feeling like some one was pushing a red hot poker into my back. Now, whilst I'm not 97% fat free, I'm 97% pain free. Dysfunction gone.
THE OFFER
Feel free to send this newsletter out to your staff.
Send them to this link for some of the key exercises they need to do to keep their back and neck in better alignment.
Neither chair, nor desk, nor monitor, nor keyboard, nor mouse, nor doctor, nor physio, nor chiro, nor surgeon, nor chemist, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing known to mankind will protect you from a crook back, stiff neck, 'cold' shoulder and RSI if you don't sit up straight.
HANG ON, HELP IS ON THE WAY
I first published this article in July 2006. Since then I've learnt a bit more about sitting up straight.
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Part of what I've learned has come from observing people sitting in the slouch position on chairs that are miles away from their desks.
Part of it has come from sitting in people's chairs whilst trying to set them up properly. There are some dreadful chairs out there.
Part of it has come from watching the agony induced by tight calf, hamstring and buttock muscles when people try to sit on the floor, close in to the wall with their legs out in front of them.
Part of it has come from watching people struggle to sit up straight because their buttock muscles are too tight. |
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Part of it has come from watching the futile attempts of people to do a single situp or pressup. If you can't do 40 situps and 40 pressups on the trot you're leaving yourself wide open to musculo-skeletal dysfunction.
Part of it has come from identifying the vicious cycle that's set up when you sit down for long periods of time - like decades!
SIT UP STRAIGHT!
Sit up straight! You have to because the ergonomists are yet to design a chair which will stop you from slouching.
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The definition of slouching is 'tilting your pelvis back; contorting your spinal column into the 'C' shaped position, ie: taking the natural hollow out of your lumbar spine.'
As a consequence your head and shoulders are tipped forward. That's why you get sore shoulders and a stiff neck. |
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WHAT'S STOPPING YOU FROM SITTING UP STRAIGHT?
Of course it's not sitting up straight per se that's the problem. The problem is 'What's stopping you from sitting up straight?'
It's definitely not a lack of thinking about sitting up straight. Just thinking about sitting up straight won't do much for your back. You can only think about sitting up straight for a couple of minutes and then your mind wanders off to think about something else. As soon as you stop thinking about sitting up straight you start slouching - unless you're locked in close to your desk.
There are 6 key issues that need to be addressed. (I'm sure there's more but 6 will do for now.)
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You do need a good chair, one that provides good upper back support. There's no doubt about that. It's good upper back support that helps keep the 'S' shaped curve in your lumbar spine, not an extra piece of sponge rubber! (If you're an executive, and you work at your desk a lot, ditch the 'executive' chair and get a good, common or garden typist's chair.) |
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Move your chair in as close to your desk as you can. If your chair is a long way away from your desk, there's a good chance you'll adopt the slouch position. Locking yourself in close to your desk will immediately get you sitting up straight. |
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Over time, the slouch position contributes to a tightening of your calf, hamstring and buttock muscles. When that happens your pelvis tilts backwards. The slouch position becomes even more exaggerated. You've set up the vicious cycle of musculo-skeletal dysfunction |
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Being over weight dramatically reduces flexibility and mobility. |
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Lack of strength to support your torso and head while you work. Your back and abdominal muscles aren't strong enough to support your spinal column. Your neck muscles aren't strong enough to keep your head on the top of your shoulders! |
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Lack of shoulder, arm and grip strength. |
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEEEED TO DO
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Take the arm rests off your chair so you can get your chair close into your desk. |
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Adjust the back rest to an upright position so your thoracic spine is well supported. In a previous age when typist's chairs weren't so fancy, the back rest adjustment allowed you to do this and your bottom poked out the back of the seat, emphasizing the 'S' shaped curve of your spinal column. |
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Push your chair in so your abdomen is pushing in against the desk. |
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Poke your bottom out so you get the hollow in lumbar spine. |
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When you think about it, relax your stomach muscles and slightly pinch your shoulders together. |
You're locked in. You're sitting up straight.
CAN YOU SIT UP STRAIGHT?
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If you've got a crook back or stiff neck there's a good chance you won't be able to sit on the floor like this. è
When you can sit up straight like this, the chances of you having a crook back are dramatically reduced. |
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SEARCH FOR THE CAUSE OF THE PAIN?
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You can be pretty certain that the cause of the pain is unlikely to be at the site of the pain.
A lot of the people I see with crook backs and stiff necks squeal like stuck pigs when someone massages their buttock muscles when lying in this position. It's a dead give-away as to one of the causes of musculo-skeletal dysfunction further up the body.
Most people in this position find that one side is tighter than the bother. They're out of alignment. |
Doing this exercise over and over again, first one side and then the other for 30 minutes, helps get the body back into alignment, pain goes away. You won't need a rub down, crunch, electric shock, tablet or a hot wheat bag. |
BALANS CHAIR
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I don't know why more organisations don't recommend this chair to their staff, or why staff don't get one for themselves and bring it in to work.
When you sit on the Balans chair you immediately sit up straight with the 'S' shaped curve in your spinal column.
The reason you sit up straight is that your pelvis and spinal column are no longer impacted upon by the effect of tight calf, hamstring and buttock muscles. |
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I read somewhere that some people can't sit for long on these chairs because it hurts their knees. If that's the case spend part of your day sitting on one. If you've got tight hamstring and buttock muscles this is definitely worth considering.
STAND UP, STAND UP - for crying out loud
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When sitting down's the killer, I don't know why more people don't stand up to work.
In researching this article I came across
Melbourne desk manufacturer AME
System. Their activDesk range of electric height adjustable computer
desks are designed with the user in mind. You can regularly re-position
your desktop at exactly the preferred heights for both sitting
and standing.
Electronically controlled actuators respond smoothly, quickly and quietly to the push of a button to adjust the height of the work surface. This allows flexible configuration of the computer desk that helps reduce discomfort and long term physical damage while avoiding unnecessary (sic) reaching (sic) and bad posture. |
AME System activDesk |
Spend as much of your day as you can standing up. If 'they' won't get you an activDesk, get a box to put your keyboard and mouse on, tilt the monitor back a bit and you're in business.
No-one ever said you have to sit down all day. In the history of the world this is a very recent phenomenon. It's one of the reasons why 30 - 40% of people have crook backs.
BUY A COPY OF MY EBOOK - How to Fix Up a Crook Back.
Click on the cover to read all about it and then buy it.
THE SIT UP STRAIGHT EXERCISE
Try this simple exercise for a couple of minutes each day to help you sit up straight.
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STRENGTHEN YOUR BODY
On top of that you're going to have to do some strength exercises. No chair yet devised will protect you from a crook back if you're not strong enough to hold you body upright while you work.
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Sit ups |
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Press ups |
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Air bench |
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Superman |
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Build up slowly. You'll know you're in good shape when you can do 40 pressups and 40 situps on the trot, stay in the air bench position for 2 minutes and do a minute's worth of superman.
AND NOW FOR THE STRETCHES YOU NEED TO DO
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Wall sit Here's the classic exercise to do to gradually loosen up your calf and hamstring muscles and get you sitting up straighter. Once you've done that the pain in your lower back, neck and shoulders should go away.
With legs straight, bring your toes back toward your chest, tighten your thigh muscles. Sit up straight.
Then lean forward, with shoulders and head back, aiming to take your navel down towards your knees.
Do that 4 times. It'll take about a minute.
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Sit up straight Here's the exercise to loosen up your buttock muscles. Do that and you'll start to sit up straighter. Your back, neck and shoulders will feel better.
If your buttock muscles are really tight you'll fall over when you clasp your hands behind your back.
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Hip crossover You've got to do hip crossover. Build up to 5 minutes each side, over and over again for 40 minutes. Do it in front of TV or while reading a book. |
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FINALLY
I'm ready, willing and able to come to your workplace and conduct a series of Crookback Clinics and set people up straight at their workstations. You can read more about the seminar by clicking here.
Regards
John Miller
If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, send me an email. If there is someone else in your organisation to who I could send a copy I'd be most appreciative if you could send me their name and address.