Employee health

Now that we can refer to our exercise video library, I can share with you a short exercise sequence to follow at work/in the office that will take you less than 2 minutes to complete.

If performed every couple of hours (say 4 times a day) these exercises would probably largely curtail posture-induced pain and workplace injury. This is something we tend to teach it in our Posture Management Workshops that we deliver to local companies and organisations (found under the Employee Health section of our website).

Refer to the following exercises in the following sequence:

Exercise 1: Chin Tucks

Exercise 2: Neck Mobility

Exercise 4: Shoulder Mobility

Exercise 12: Pelvic Mobility

Exercise 9B: Thoracic Spine Mobility in a Wheely Chair

If you have any feedback or questions regarding these videos, or are interested in our local employee health programme, please contact us on 020 8566 0767 (Ealing) or 01895 2000 50 (Uxbridge), or by email at help@bridgetohealth.co.uk.

Many of our patients blame their aches and pains on their own bad postural habits; the implication is that if only they could maintain good posture in the chair at work, they would not encounter the same problems. Whilst good posture can help, it is part of a wider picture, and in most cases Osteopathic treatment is a very effective part of the solution. Here are ten reasons why:

1. There is no such thing as perfect chair posture; human beings are not designed to sit in chairs all day
2. A degree of objectivity is needed to evaluate the problem; this is very hard to do for yourself, and the trained eye of an Osteopath will quickly focus on the key issues
3. Assessment means that all related health problems may be identified at the same time, and treated appropriately in a structured and integrated manner
4. The result of sitting in chairs from schooldays onwards is that your body will have adapted e.g. certain joints will be stiffer; treatment can identify and modify those factors
5. Personalised exercise prescription can focus your efforts onto the most effective, relieving and restorative exercises for you as an individual
6. The first aim of treatment is to guide you back towards a sustainable state of relative comfort
7. Treatment is also aimed at improving your general health and mobility over the very long term
8. Consideration of lifestyle factors (such as work patterns or dietary habits) means that improvements are more likely to be sustained
9. It is common for patients to express surprise and delight that they are experiencing a state of physical ease and wellbeing they had forgotten was possible
10. The experience can equip you with the understanding and means to tackle similar health issues as and when they arise in the future

We’ve posted a few entries about posture at work – on a wide variety of topics such as

• what sort of bag is best for my back?
• Top tips for good posture at work (in the office)
• It’s just my posture … the slippery slope towards work related injury

I’ll post again in the next day or so some simple 2 minutes exercises that can help with good posture.

Most of our office-based patients come to us complaining of a similar set of injuries typically induced by the sedentary lifestyle that goes with working at a desk, and the poor postural habits we acquire in that environment.

Once the pain and other symptoms have been addressed, the focus of patient care switches to the prevention of similar occurences in the future. Ever in quest of the magic bullet, many patients ask us whether acquiring good working posture will address the problem.

Inevitably, the answer is… both yes and no!

Unquestionably, learning and applying the basic components of good desk-based posture – as outlined in an earlier post – Top tips for better posture at work (in the office) – is pivotal to injury prevention.

But we also have to acknowledge some fundamental truths: namely, that we were not designed and equipped to work for hours at a time at a desk (no more than to drive for hours in a car or totter around on 3-inch heels carrying a briefcase crammed with laptops and documents…).

Effective workplace injury prevention involves addressing a much wider range of issues including:

1. desk and office-based exercises at regular intervals during the working day
2. daily home exercise to counter some of the stresses inherent to desk-related postural imbalances
3. nutrition and hydration habits at home and work
4. sound lifting and carrying ergonomics (some advice posted here)
5. regular and effective relaxation/recovery routines
6. good sleeping habits and posture

All of which combine to provide a more comprehensive insurance against posture and stress-related injuries in the future. It is with this in mind that we designed our Workplace Injury Prevention Workshop, which aims to train office workers, increase awareness and reduce the risk and cost of postural and repetitive strain injuries. If we can help your organisation – please get in touch (we are osteopaths based in Ealing and Uxbridge)

This article aims to provide a rapid, practical checklist of good postural habits for people working at a desk so as to lower the risk of the many postural injuries we routinely see in clinic.

Your Seated Body

• Keep your head up, chin tucked in, shoulders relaxed
• Ensure your elbows are tucked in, your arms and hands broadly horizontal, avoid flexing or extending your wrists
• Ensure your thighs are at around 45 degrees to the top half of the body, and your feet flat on the ground – remove high heals at the desk!

Your Chair

• Edge well back in your chair, sitting tall and maintaining the slightly extended curvature of your lower back
• Adjust your backrest to support the small of your back
• Do away with armrests – which encourage slouching – and ensure that your elbows are at same height as the keyboard

Your Workstation

• Push your keyboard back from the edge of the table to give your hands and wrists the space to remain aligned
• Position your mouse as close as possible to the keyboard, and favour keyboard functions over mouse wherever possible
• Set your screen square on, and the top of it just below eye level – if you have a laptop, ensure you have a separate screen and keyboard
• Adjust your screen to remove any glare
• Have a document holder and position it as close to the screen as possible – use eyes rather than neck for reading and touchtyping
• Remove any clutter from under your desk

Managing Health during the Working Day

• No-one can maintain good posture for long – set your computer timer to remind you every hour to get up and walk about for a bit
• Use that break to do a few simple neck and shoulder movements: head forward/back, rotating right/left, ear to shoulder right/left, roll shoulders backwards and forwards, repeating each 4-6 times
• Keep a 1.5L bottle of water close to hand; sip at regular intervals aiming to finish the bottle in the day
• Leave your desk at lunch – eating and working do not mix well!

If you are looking for a good desk chair, you may want to look at the Bambach saddle seat which was designed by an Australian therapist to maintain optimal posture – but remember that the secret of good posture resides in… not remaining seated too long!

If you have any views or questions, please contact Mathieu or Peter by email or phone (01895 20 00 50). We would love to hear your feedback, and any suggestions for future topics too. You can also leave a comment on our blog here.

Every day of the week, we are visited by patients complaining of lower back pain, neck pain, head-aches, shoulder, elbow or wrist strains.

Many of them are busy professionals from companies and organisations in the Uxbridge and Hillingdon area. As we gather background information relative to the causes of injury, many of these patients will rather insightfully say

“it must be posture-related”.

In a sense, they are right: as office workers sit at their desk all day, increasingly hunched over their computer screen, so their chest and neck muscles tighten, compressing the vertebrae in their neck, straining their mid and lower back muscles, causing their shoulders, elbows and wrists to function at unnatural angles, and to sustain repetitive strain injuries; and as they cross their legs in these interminable meetings, so their pelvis may become twisted, resulting in lower back pain and lower limb complaints. The current prevailing mood of heightened stress is but an extra potential trigger of the injury process…

However, there is a degree of fatalism in incriminating posture, in other words it is often seen as an inevitable fact of life.

As osteopaths, we hope you would expect us to disagree strongly: with a little awareness focussed on understanding the mechanism of injury, altering the layout of work stations, improving working posture and implementing some basic lifestyle and postural exercise routines, the frequency of work-related injuries can be radically altered.

Over the coming weeks and months, Bridge to Health’s osteopaths will be stepping up their campaign to increase public awareness of how to prevent these types of injuries.

Our June health offer to local employees living or working in and around Uxbridge will centre on a postural assessment and osteopathic treatment, coupled with some practical exercises to enhance posture.

We will also be speaking to our corporate clients to encourage them in a pragmatic approach to work-station ergonomic assessments, coupled with employee training in workplace injury prevention practices.

If you believe you’re suffering from the effects of poor posture, feel free to contact your local osteopath on 01895 20 00 50 (the address for our Osteopathic Clinic in Uxbridge is here). If you think that a conversation with your company’s health and safety representative would be helpful, they are welcome to visit our website www.bridgetohealth.co.uk and then to contact us on the same number.

I am struck with a mild sense of guilt that we see an average of two patients a week whose back injury has been caused by lifting or carrying weights “the wrong way”, yet we have not yet hatched a blog entry providing some common sense advice on lifting ergonomics “the right way”.

Whenever you need to lift or carry a load of any consequence, it is always useful to plan rather than charge head-down as too many of us do.

Step 1. Planning the Route

When getting a heavy item from point A to B, consider the following:

1. Start with the destination: do you know where it is? Is it safe to unload? Is there an obvious, clear space where to unload? Can you unload “ergonomically” (see below)?
2. Check the route travelled: is the route clear, wide enough and free from obstruction? are there any tight passages requiring a change of hold, some “squeezing through”? are there any sharp corners, projecting features (e.g. ledges, shelves, nails etc.)?
3. If the route is long and the load heavy: are there easy places where to unload safely and rest?
4. If the carrying involves two people: can you maintain good eye and voice contact throughout? If not, can a third person be recruited to guide and co-ordinate?
5. The load itself: is the load stable? is the weight evenly distributed? is it easily gripped and carried? Do you need to measure up to check it will get round tricky corners or restricted passages?

Step 2. Addressing the Lift

1. Plan the lift: assess weight-load, identify grip points, plan if possible to lift facing the direction of the carrying route
2. Bracing to lift: place your feet shoulder apart or slightly wider, keeping the lead leg as far forward as is comfortable; keep shoulders level and head straight; squat down with a straight back, breathing in; get a firm grip on the load, hooking fingers together if possible, and “hugging” the load as close to the body as feasible
3. Lifting the load: breathe out, contract your abdominal muscles, and lift using your legs, not using your back; don’t jerk, lift smoothly, “hugging” the load as close to the body as possible at all times
4. Carrying the load: Move and turn using your legs, do not turn using your trunk; as relevant, keep the load’s heaviest side hugged to the body; plan some rest stops on route as required
5. Putting the load down: if feasible, plan to put it down on a higher support so that you don’t need to put it back on floor; if that is necessary, breathe in, then squat whilst breathing out and contracting your abdominal muscles, with one foot forward; adjust the load’s position so that is may not fall from a higher support.

Please note that much of this lifting advice applies even for much smaller objects.

One last message which may sound mercenary, but isn’t meant that way: if you feel you’ve “ricked” your back lifting, do not pretend it hasn’t happened, but seek professional advice fast. We treat all sorts of patients for back injuries – not just Heathrow baggage handlers – so you are not alone.

Aside of this – happy and safe lifting! However, if the advice comes too late and you already are in pain, please contact us on 01895 2000 50 (read more about our treatment for neck/back pain and injuries, what to expect and case studies here). Alternatively, if you’re reading this at your workplace, Bridge to Health also runs tailored, onsite workplace safety workshops and ergonomic assessments – our post about helping sick employees and preventing workplace injuries should be of interest.

N.B.: Some material from this article has been inspired by the Manual Handling Regulations, 1992

A Presentation to the Rotary Club, Hillingdon

In the week before last we had the pleasure of being invited by the Rotary Club of Elthorne Hillingdon to address their local members on the enticing topic of preserving good health.

The presentation was entitled “Ten Tips to Avoid the Osteopath and Maintain Rude Health“: it aimed to take to task the conventional and somewhat resigned approach of many, where health is just how one is “all equal, touch wood”, and disease is the state in which one turns to the GP for pills.

The presentation emphasised that our body and its predominant state of health are a miraculous gift, and that it is worth investing in a few simple dietary, physical and lifestyle daily practices to maintain that enviable state of health.

Some of the thoughts caused a bit of a stir – the idea of daily hot and cold showers more of a shudder – but at the end of a reasonably long and lively question and answer session, the consensus seemed to be that the osteopath had left his audience with food for thought, and some practical health hints that some might go home with and implement the very next day.

Bridge to Health in Uxbridge regularly offers to share this type of presentation with corporate audiences, health spas, gyms, sheltered housing or residential homes. If you feel that your company or organisation might benefit from this type of workshop, please contact Mathieu on 01895 2000 50 at the clinic (click here for all contact details).

In a past life, I was European managing director of a business consulting firm specialised in modelling the market impact of service performance on customer loyalty, and assessing the relative ROI (Return on Investment) of remedial action.

In my current guise as an osteopath, I decided that Bridge to Health should draw on this experience to assist its many corporate clients in limiting the costs and lost revenue incurred by work-place injuries due to preventable causes.

Just thinking of my own personal experience in the office environment – when I walked into our Finance Controller’s office to find him lying on the floor with his feet resting on the desk to alleviate his back pain – one knew he really needed to seek professional help. Ignoring the early signs and then battling with the increasing pain as the complaint worsened led to far more days off treating and recovering than if he acted on it rapidly.

The principle of our Employee Health & Wellness programme is simple: we welcome and treat an unending stream of corporate manual or office-bound employees with injuries incurred in the workplace. A dozen or so common injuries or conditions account for well over 80% of the cases we treat at the clinic. For example:

• Office workers with neck and shoulder tension pain, or tennis elbow
• Mid/lower back muscle, ligament or joint pain, with or without pelvic torsion (also common amongst office-based staff)
• Circulatory and gastro-intestinal disorders (e.g. office workers suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or bloating);
• Shoulder injuries, mid- and lower-back muscle strain, RSI-induced osteoarthritis for manual workers

It struck Marcus and I that a sizeable portion of these injuries could be prevented by drawing on our clinical experience to present to the workforce about the injuries, their root causes, and practical postural and life-style approaches to preventing them from occurring.

Over the past year, we have developed a corporate outreach programme incorporating the following services:

• Ergonomic assessments that do more than assess and advise state of the art work stations, but evaluate the workplace at large, including meeting rooms, photocopying /stationery units and canteens, and assess how employees use or abuse their work environment at the expense of their health;
• Workplace injury prevention workshops that take groups of up to 20 employees through an interactive workshop that helps them to understand the nature of the most frequently occurring workplace injuries in their environment, and equip them with the reflexes, life habits and skills to avoid them;
• In-house treatment sessions to introduce staff to manual therapy/massage and healthcare – ideal for a health awareness day or a team motivation event;
• Discounted clinic services spanning osteopathic healthcare, therapeutic massage, and diet/lifestyle/nutritional assessments and advice.

Bridge to Health have health agreements with over 30 companies and organisations around Uxbridge, Ruislip, Hillingdon and Slough (and Reading is within our reach too).

For most businesses, the employees are the key asset. As part of a fresh start for the new year and reviewing how your business is going to weather the current economic gloom, remember your workforce! Look after them.

If you’re reading this and think some of your colleagues/team/office could benefit from a treatment session or attending a workshop, email this page to the appropriate contact in your company! Or contact me (Mathieu Rossano) on 01895 2000 50 (click here for email). Bridge to Health’s osteopath clinic in Uxbridge is open 6 days a week (to 8PM weekdays, 2PM Saturday)

We spend a lot of time working with patients who have developed an injury or poor health through the stresses imposed by their occupation. There are many factors that must be considered to give a complete treatment plan.

How did the initial injury happen?
e.g. A lifting injury, picked up a large sack, forgot to bend knees and felt a twinge in the back

How are office ergonomics?
Lot’s of travel, but often need to fit into small spaces with cluttered floors… (which are occasionally on fire.)

Any dietary factors?
Excessive consumption of brandy and mince pies (nice case of raised cholesterol and liver cirrhosis)… thought about veg but always end up giving it to the reindeer.

Is stress a factor?
You try delivering gifts to every child in the world in one night and tell me how you feel!

If you have been helping Santa and are also suffering from similar aches and pains contact myself or Mathieu to book an appointment at the clinic on Uxbridge High Street (inside Fitness First).

The dominant attitude towards health today is a curative, reactive one.

Indeed, we will sit and work all day hunched back in our chair staring at a computer screen, eat our ready-meal dinner (following on from our snack lunch sat at the desk), then slouch into a settee and watch the evening news and film, putting off exercising and losing weight until tomorrow or next week… and if anything goes wrong, we only need to pay a visit to our GP, who will prescribe a few pills and get us back in the saddle – fast!

Yet why are we spending so much time damaging rather than nurturing our health? And as the damage is often gradually done over a long period of time, how can we expect our doctors to instantly assess and “fix the problem” in the space of a five minute consultation?

As holistic osteopaths, we aspire to embody and share a very different health model.

For starters, we view the human body as nothing short of a miracle of design and execution, a true gift well worth nurturing and protecting from birth into advanced decades of age.

We also know from clinical experience and practice that the body naturally tends towards health rather than disease, and has an amazing ability to self repair and right itself if allowed to.

In effect, our view is that the best form of fighting disease is not a curative pill, but the preventive approach of attending to all the conditions underpinning excellent, long term health.

The underlying conditions of health are rather more wide-ranging than consuming the “five portions of fruit and veg” a day and walking for half an hour three times a week – which sadly most of us fail to do.

We are interested in promoting health as resting on:

• an alkaline, rather than acid-forming, diet ensuring that the right balance of food groups, vitamins and minerals is fulfilled;
• enough of the right source of fluids;
• a balanced exercise schedule, combining cardiovascular health, flexibility and muscle tone;
• minimising exposure to toxins, in very practical ways;
• postural awareness, work ergonomics and workplace exercise routines that tend to prevent workplace injuries
• good breathing awareness and practice;
• good sleep;
• the regular practice of relaxation and meditation routines

Six months ago, we encompassed these thoughts and recommendations into a short workshop called “ten tips to avoid the osteopath” and have been delivering it since in a wide range of settings – health spas, companies, old peoples’ homes, sheltered accommodation, clubs – in an attempt to promote a more positive, empowered approach to health in the community.

If you are interested in this workshop either personally or on behalf of a company or organisation (as well as personal consultations we also offer a range of structured services for employers: health workshops, ergonomic assessments and on-site osteopathic treatment) please contact Mathieu at the clinic on 01895 2000 50.