Workstation Ergonomics: Tips to staying pain free
With a large percentage of people now working from home the team at East Vic Park Physio thought it would be a good idea to provide some simple but useful information on workstation ergonomics.
Previous to what we used to think, there is not one way to correctly sit at your workstation. Your set up should be able to accommodate for a range of comfortable positions that you can frequently change throughout the day.
With a large percentage of people now working from home the team at East Vic Park Physio thought it would be a good idea to provide some simple but useful information on workstation ergonomics.
Previous to what we used to think, there is not one way to correctly sit at your workstation. Your set up should be able to accommodate for a range of comfortable positions that you can frequently change throughout the day. The optimal/most comfortable sitting position will change from person to person and will depend on:
The type of work being done
Visual demands
Individual body shape
Tips for setting up your home workstation:
Sitting with body close to desk
The head and neck are in a forward facing and in midline position (i.e no backward arching of the neck and or forward extension of the chin)
The shoulders are relaxed and relatively symmetrical, elbows close to the side of the body
The back is supported by the chair backrest. The curved lower part of the backrest should sit into the lower back
Having an open angle of 100-120 degrees (slightly more than right angles) at the hip. This can be achieved by adjusting the seat pan tilt and the backrest
o As a general rule have your knees at a height lower than your hip
Ensuring a gap or 2-3 fingers widths between the front of the chair and the back of your knees
Having feet flat on the floor or footrest
Sleep Hygiene: Simple tips to keep it clean
here is a reason we spend approximately one third of our lives sleeping. It is a very important aspect of life and affects just about every biological system of the human body in one way or another. With that in mind it is still amazing how many people still deprive themselves of it. According to the Geneva Convention, sleep deprivation can be interpreted as a form of torture. So, it begs the question, why do we knowingly do it to ourselves?
There is a reason we spend approximately one third of our lives sleeping. It is a very important aspect of life and affects just about every biological system of the human body in one way or another. With that in mind it is still amazing how many people still deprive themselves of it. According to the Geneva Convention, sleep deprivation can be interpreted as a form of torture. So, it begs the question, why do we knowingly do it to ourselves?
It has been reported that up to 45 % of Australians suffer from inadequate sleep. With 24/7 nature of life today, the time we would normally allocate to sleep is now taken up with other “more important” activities such as studying for an exam, working late to earn that promotion or just partying. As a consequence, both sleep quality and quantity are being affected which is having a bigger impact than we think on our health.
Loss of sleep affects our ability to function at optimal efficiency. It can affect physical performance such as reaction time, tissue recovery and aerobic endurance as well as cognitive performance such as alertness and ability to perform complex problem-solving tasks.
In addition to the obvious and more noticeable and immediate side effects of sleep deprivation. There are many invisible yet serious consequences that affect our immune, hormone and metabolic function. They can subsequently increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, depression, chronic pain disorders, developing the cold/flu and even increase the risk of sustaining sporting injuries by nearly 2-fold.
So how much sleep do i need?
Age and genetics play a key role in this. However generally:
· Infants need around 16-18 hours of sleep
· Teenagers need around 9 hours
· Adults need between 7-8 hours
Research has shown that both deprivation of sleep quantity and continuous sleep interruption (waking throughout the night) may have very similar effects. Therefore, not only getting an adequate amount of sleep is important but also sleep without regular waking is required for good sleep health.
Can I nap during the day?
Having an afternoon nap can help offset the negative effects of sleep deprivation. Research have also shown It can also have a positive effect on sporting performance although only for people who have had reduced night time sleep. Napping can be an effective way to improve sleep health. Just be mindful not to nap too late in the afternoon or for too long which may impact the quality of night time sleep. Napping/sleeping more than 30 minutes can lead to “sleep inertia” which is a physiological state where you feel less alert and drowsier when waking.
How can I achieve good sleep hygiene?
Good sleep environment
Numerous studies have shown a relaxing environment has a significant impact on sleep. A dark and quiet bedroom will help optimise sleep. Additionally, the temperature of the room can also play a big role with research showing a bedroom temperature of 18-22 degrees appears to best for a good night’s sleep. If you are still struggling to reduce external stimuli, the use of earplugs and eye masks can be helpful.
Get off the grid and unplug before bed
Limit use of devices such as phones, tablets, laptops at least 1 hour before bed. The use of these devices will make it difficult to relax prior to bed due to an increase in brain activity. Blue light also has a suppressive effect on production of the hormone melatonin which assists the body in falling asleep. If you must use a device close to bed Night Shift setting on devices or applications that filter blue light are recommended.
Avoid stimulants too close to bedtime
Avoid taking stimulants such as caffeine (within 5-8 hours before bed) and alcohol before bed. Although alcohol may seem to assist in getting to sleep faster it can actually affect the quality of sleep throughout the night
Food and drink
Avoid large meals and large quantity of fluids immediately before going to sleep. This has shown to have a negative effect on sleep. Try to aim to eat approximately 2-4 hours prior to sleep.
Have a routine
Try to have a consistent night time routine before going to bed each day. Additionally, try going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. This consistency will help regulate your body clock allowing for better quality sleep
Get out and exercise
Regular exercise is an extremely effective way to help manage stress and ensure you are tired enough to get to sleep at the end of the day.
Additionally, exposure to natural light during the day can help normalise your body clock and hormone levels and in turn assist in good sleep health.
Wind down before sleep
Try to reduce any physical, emotional and cognitive stressors. Activities that increase physical or mental alertness will make it difficult for the body to switch off when it’s time to go bed. If you are the type to have an active mind before sleeping, techniques such as mindfulness/meditation and journaling has shown to help switch off a racing mind.
PREHAB: TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR RECOVERY
Optimising recovery from surgery:
Regardless of what it’s for, surgery can be scary and overwhelming. It is normal to feel a sense of helplessness or feeling as if you don’t have control over the end outcome. However, it is important to understand that you play the single most important role in the outcome of your recovery and it starts long before you meet with your surgeon. Preparing your body and mind for what you are about to encounter is an important aspect of recovery and creates good habits for your post-surgery rehabilitation.
How do you do this, you ask?
We call this Prehab
Prehab is a programme designed to prevent injuries before they actually occur. This can be applied to anyone or any injury however in the context of surgery it is you taking an active approach to prepare yourself physically and mentally for what you are about to go through. It plays a massive part in giving you the power to control the success of your upcoming surgery.
Why should you do Prehab?
Numerous studies have shown that patients who participate in Prehab have significantly better outcomes than those who do not. Those who undergo prehab generally have quicker recovery times, return to sport faster, have less complications and are generally more satisfied with their end outcome.
Does this apply to me?
Prehab is highly recommended for anyone planning to undertake or has been referred for surgery. Research has shown Prehab to be effective in enhancing recovery for patients undergoing total hip and knee replacements, ACL reconstructions, shoulder surgery such as rotator cuff repairs and lower back surgery.
What does it involve and how long for?
Ideally, undergoing 6-12 weeks of Prehab prior to surgery will optimise post-surgical outcomes. In most situations this is not possible due to availability with your surgeon. This does not mean that Prehab won’t help be helpful for you. As they say, something is better than nothing and there are still many meaningful benefits to be gained with only 2 weeks of preparation.
5 reasons to Prehab:
1. Get control of your pain:
A prehab program should give you the tools to minimise pain. Reducing pain early will enable normal muscle activity and put you in a good head space leading up to surgery.
2. Get in optimal physical shape:
Through a specific exercise program, you can improve muscle strength, flexibility, balance and coordination which has shown to optimise and speed up the recovery process post-surgery. Additionally, improving general fitness and wellbeing has many added benefits such as weight loss and improving mental resilience which is extremely important to recovery.
3. Create good habits and kick the bad habits
Firstly, creating good habits beforehand will make your life so much easier once you have been discharged from hospital. Good habits start with getting in a healthy exercise regime This extends to healthy sleep, nutrition and lifestyle habits which your physiotherapist and health practitioners can guide you on.
Conversely, bad habits will have the opposite effect, so you can imagine the importance in changing these prior to surgery.
4. Manage anxiety/stress
It is completely normal to feel anxious or stressed prior to surgery. In addition to physically preparing yourself you must also get yourself in the right headspace. Prehab will help mentally prepare you by getting you in a good mindset for the upcoming rehabilitation process. It will also teach you appropriate coping strategies to deal with pain and stress associated with the injury.
5. Speed up your recovery and reduce post-operative complications
Prehab sets you up for a successful recovery leading to quicker recovery and return to sport times. It also reduces the risk of common complications associated with surgery.
Please feel free to contact our team at East Vic Park Physio on 9361 3777 if you have any questions or would like to find out if Prehab is appropriate for you.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SCREENING
Finals time for most winter sports is fast approaching and from a physiotherapy perspective this is the time of year that we see a spike in sporting injuries. A lot of these injuries tend to be to parts of the body that have some sort of deficit, be it strength, length or control. It is quite hard to be able to identify these areas yourself and even physiotherapists would find it hard to accurate identify these deficits purely through observation.
Finals time for most winter sports is fast approaching and from a physiotherapy perspective this is the time of year that we see a spike in sporting injuries. A lot of these injuries tend to be to parts of the body that have some sort of deficit, be it strength, length or control. It is quite hard to be able to identify these areas yourself and even physiotherapists would find it hard to accurate identify these deficits purely through observation.
This is why screening is so widely utilised for athletes from amateur to elite. Screening usually involves a battery of tests that give objective measurements that are then compared to the normal values for an athlete in a specific sport. Screening can also involve questionnaires that focus on general health and previous injury history.
An article by Sanders, Blackburn and Boucher (2013), looked at the use of pre-participation physicals (PPE) for athletic participation. They found PPE’s to be useful, comprehensive and cost effective. They explained that PPE’s can be modified to meet the major objectives of identification of athletes at risk.
An article by Maffey and Emery (2006) looked at the ability of pre-participation examinations to contribute to identifying risk factors for injury. They found limited evidence for examinations in terms of the ability to reduce injury rates among athletes. However, they were effective in the identification of previous injury (such as ankle sprains) and providing appropriate prevention strategies (such as balance training). From this it has been shown to reduce the risk of recurrent injury. It may also be useful in identifying known risk factors which can be addressed by specific injury prevention interventions.
An example of a screening measure that is typically used in screening protocols includes a knee to wall test (KTW). This test is used for ankle dorsiflexion as well as soleus muscle length (one of your calf muscles). The test is performed using a ruler which is placed perpendicular to a wall with no skirting board. The athlete puts their foot flat on the ground next to the ruler and as far from the wall as possible as long as their knee is touching the wall. Distance from the wall to the end of the big toe is noted by looking at the ruler. An example of a normal distance for netball players is greater than 15cm on each side.
Here at East Vic Park Physiotherapy we have developed a number of specific musculoskeletal screens for a variety of sports including netball, running, swimming and throwing sports. They comprehensively identify the key risk factors that are seen in injuries sustained in each sport. If you are interested in preventing injury for the upcoming sports season, then contact the clinic on 9361 3777 and book your screening appointment today!
Low Back Pain
Approximately 80% of people will experience lower back pain at some stage in their life. It is one of the most common reasons for people missing work and seeing a doctor or physiotherapist. Although it is extremely common it can often a bit of an unknown to the general public as to what is the cause for their pain and disability.
There are many different causes of low back pain from strains/sprains, posture related pain and overuse injuries. This blog post will mainly focus on acute strains or sprains of the low back.
Similar to other joints around the body, strains or sprains to the low back occur when a stress is placed on a tissue that exceeds what it is capable of handling. An example of this could be someone bending over to lift a heavy object off the floor. However, a heavy force is not always required to strain the back. Repetitive movements of small force can also do this.
Again like other joints around the body, different structures around that area can be irritated or strained. For the low back this can be surrounding muscles, ligaments, facet joints, discs or a combination of a few structures.
Timeframes of recovery will vary depending on what structures are involved, the severity of the injury, the demand of the person and lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress levels, diet ect.
What Can I do?
The back responds very well to movement. It is encouraged to continue to keep moving within your pain limitations. Identify positions and movements your back feels better with adopt these positions rather than the painful ones. This will differ from person to person so your physiotherapist will go over these particular activities/positions with you.
What can’t I do?
Your pain and symptoms will often be exacerbated immediately during specific activities. However, an increase in symptoms can often be noticed after completing particular tasks or even the following morning/day.
It is important to identify these activities or postures and avoid over repetition of them or prolonged time spent in those positions. These activities are often simple tasks we complete on a regular basis throughout the day so it is often unrealistic to completely avoid them. Instead, modifying how we complete them or limiting how much of them we do of them will be more effective. Eg sitting posture or length of time spent sitting.
Do I need a scan?
The majority of back injuries do not require any scans or imagining and will resolve without the need for a scan. Scans can also be misleading at times as they tend to show everything that is happening in your back even when it’s not the source of your pain. Scan results can make people anxious, worried and stressed which can make their pain significantly worse.
Imaging of the low back is potentially required when treatment/management of the injury could potentially change depending on the diagnosis or extent of the injury. Your GP or physiotherapist will discuss with you if they think imaging is required in your case.
Do I need surgery?
Again, like imaging most low back injuries do not require surgery. However, there are circumstances where surgery may be required or beneficial in addressing certain injuries. Obviously there are risks when any surgery is performed and so they are only recommended when they are truly needed.
When can I return to exercise?
This is a difficult question to answer as it will depend on a number of factors including the type of exercise you are attempting to return back to, the severity of the injury and previous injury history. However, in general, most soft tissue injuries have a recovery timeline of about 4-6 weeks. There will often still be things you will be able to do during your rehabilitation. This will usually start off with activities that do not exacerbate symptoms followed by modified versions of more complicated tasks with the aim to progress back to your previous level of function.
Will this injury reoccur?
Like most injuries there is always a risk it re-aggravating Your treating physiotherapist will advise you on ways to best prevent this from happening. This will often involve an exercise program to address any deficiencies and optimising technique and posture with specific tasks/activities.
UNDERSTANDING PAIN
An excellent video on what our understanding of pain currently is and in particular the complexities of chronic pain.
SPORTS INJURY MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
Whether your sports season is heading into finals or you are about to start gearing up for the summer season ahead, the information presented will help you to perform at your best.
a FREE seminar on sports injury management presented by the Physiotherapists at East Vic Park Physiotherapy. Topics will include muscle contusion (corkie) management, post-game recovery and a practical session on strapping.
Whether your sports season is heading into finals or you are about to start gearing up for the summer season ahead, the information presented will help you to perform at your best.
Appropriate for all athletes, parents, trainers and coaches.
Food will be provided - let us know if you have any dietary requests.
Spaces are limited so call us on 9361 3777 to secure your place now.