How to master working from home

Working from home has probably become the new normal for a lot of us over the last few months. However, it is likely that you don’t have the same ergonomic set-up that you do at work. Spending many hours at a work station that is not well set-up can result in back and neck discomfort, eye strain, and headaches, as well as reducing your productivity and efficiency. 

Here are a few tips and tricks to make your home office set-up as comfortable and efficient as possible:

• Chair height: Hips should be slightly higher than knees and feet placed flat on the floor to reduce strain on the low back. A kitchen chair can work well in the absence of a traditional office chair. Add a small lumbar pillow or roll up a towel to place in the small of the back if needed. If you have armrests, make sure they are set low enough that your shoulders aren’t scrunching up.

• Screen: The top of the screen should be at or just below eye level and about an arm’s length away from your eyes to reduce neck and eye strain. If you only have a laptop, we recommend placing some books underneath it or getting a laptop stand to lift the height of the screen. 

• Desk or table height: Forearms should rest comfortably on the table, or arm rests of chair about parallel to the floor.

• Movement: Set at timer for activity and stretching breaks every 30-60 minutes. Get up and walk or stretch. One of my favorite stretches that helps reverse the effects of prolonged desk work is an arm opening. Lie on your side with your arms straight in front of your shoulders, as seen in the photo on the left below. Breathe out as you lift your uppermost arm towards the ceiling and then allow the upper body to rotate so that the chest is turning towards the ceiling. Allow the head to follow the movement of the arm. Hold this position for a few breaths in and out, then bring the arm back to the start position.

If you are experiencing discomfort that does not resolve with these adjustments to your posture and set-up, do not hesitate to contact us. We may need to include some more specific and personalized recommendations or exercises to best help you.

World MS Day 2018

World MS day is a wonderful international day that brings awareness to the disease and current research.  It's a day that makes us stop and think about the importance of a collaborative approach between the different healthcare professionals and our clients. 

At Bespoke we really enjoy working with the many members of our MS clients healthcare team, Neurologists, GP's, personal trainers, massage therapists, workplace employment consultants, just to name a few.  There are also a couple of organisations which we think do an amazing job raising awareness, conducting research and supporting people with MS.  I've attached the links just in case you're interested or are happy to give a few dollars to their worthy cause:

http://www.neuroscience.org.au/

https://www.msaustralia.org.au/stay-connected/world-ms-day-2018

https://www.ms.org.au/support-services/ms-connect.aspx

MS is  a complex disease requiring a comprehensive approach. Lets work together #bringinguscloser

#bringinguscloser

Professor Claude Bernard, Internationally renowned MS researcher with Jane Costello

I want to ride my bicycle!

Cycling builds and maintains cardiovascular strength and endurance, and can complement many rehabilitation programs. Cycling can be a safe and low-impact exercise when performed correctly.

Lower back pain can be commonly experienced by cyclists; this is largely as a result of poor cycling technique or poor bike set-up. If you experience discomfort in the lower back when you cycle there are a few things that you could consider:

Check your posture: The sustained flexion position of the lower back, that most are accustomed to while cycling, places a lot of strain through the soft tissues in and around the spine.  This can lead to pain or irritation in the low back, and may also be felt into the buttock or legs.

When cycling try to adapt a ‘neutral spine’ position, by making adjustments to the pelvis position into a more flat-back position, you should be able to feel a low-level muscle activity through the lower stomach muscles. This will also enable you to cycle with more efficiency, as engaging these postural-support muscles improves force transfer across the pelvis.

Start integrating the postural changes with short cycles only. Over time you will gradually increase the endurance of the postural muscles to more-easily sustain the neutral spine posture.

Get a professional bike-fit: To prevent unnecessary strain to the body, and to ride with efficiency see a local bike store for a comprehensive bike-fitting. It is important that your bike frame is the correct size, and bike fittings such as the handle-bar height, saddle height, and saddle angle are adjusted to your body dimensions.

Small alterations can impact how we use our muscles. For example; saddle angle directly effects the tilt of the pelvis; which correlates to the position of the joints of the lower back. All spinal joints are most happy in a mid-range posture; the easiest way to maintain this neutral spine posture is with a saddle angle that is level with the ground.

Use your gears: An ideal cadence during rehab to progress towards is above 70 RPM. A higher cadence (ie a low gear) such as this, will decrease muscle tension and allow blood flow to nourish working muscles. Moving down the gears as the incline increases will challenge the cardiovascular system more, but will avoid increased pressure through the soft tissues.

Cycling is a repetitive movement, so regular position changes to the front and back of the saddle, and to standing are encouraged to further avoid strain. 

At Bespoke Physiotherapy, a number of our clients use cycling as an integral part of their rehabilitation process. For some, even with appropriate bike-set up and correct use of gears cycling may not be appropriate. Weakness around the core, reduced flexibility and poor postural habits will have a large impact on discomfort and may need to be addressed prior. 

Clinical Pilates is a great form of exercise to help you prepare for your return to cycling after injury or surgery because of it's emphasis on improving core stability, postural awareness, strength, balance and flexibility. 

We'd love to hear from you if you're considering getting back on your bike! 

Remember that cycling may not be appropriate after surgery or some injuries.  If cycling is something that you would like to work towards please don't hesitate to chat to one of our Physios who can assist and advise in a return to cycling program.