Hi All,
Happy Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur. I hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day weekend! Make sure to come out and visit the Stern Chiropractic booth today at the Buffalo Grove Stampede, Sunday September 8th at Ryan’s Run in Vernon Hills and Friday September 20th at the District 102 Party in the Park at Meridian School were we will be providing FREE Nerve System Health and Stress Evaluations (click HERE for details).
(Make sure to read all the way down to the bottom to see this months Healthy Lifestyles SPECIAL OFFER).
Posture & Ergonomics
Is sitting at the computer and in the car all day getting to you? Does your neck ache at the 
end of the day? Do you have pain between your shoulder blades and in your low back after work or school?
With the kids back in school and life back to “normal”, adults and kids alike need to focus on better Posture & Ergonomics. Many kids and adults are sitting and slouching all day and that is just not good for your health.
Good posture is vital to proper spinal and nerve system health and can truly make a big difference in how you feel each day. Standing and/or sitting upright makes you feel healthier, more energized and you will make a much better first impression on the people you meet.
When Should I Start to Focus on Having Good Posture?
The best time to start maintaining good posture is as a child. Good habits follow you through life and, as you will read later in this newsletter, this good habit will have substantial benefits to your health. It is never too late to improve your posture. No matter how late in life you start, there will always be some benefit from good posture.
Why Should I Care About My Posture?
Your body adapts to your posture and over time will alter its normal position and function in accordance with your posture. If you sit all day, every day at your computer with your shoulders rolled forward, your head protruding forward and your low back rounded (opposite of its normal curve), over time, you will have weakening of certain postural muscles and tightening of others, causing your posture to degrade. Eventually, you turn into that stereotyped elderly person who slowly walks down the street with a cane, hunched over with his/her head tilted all the way back and chin jutting forward.
In addition to this lovely picture I just painted for you, your health is also greatly affected by poor posture. By having a more upright posture you have much greater lung capacity, you have greater range of motion and your muscles are better able to function at their maximum strength. Poor posture will eventually cause decreased range of motion, less then maximum performance of your muscles, impaired nerve flow and early degeneration of your joints.
What Can I Do To Correct My Posture and Improve my Ergonomics?
The following are some simple tips to help you improve your posture and ergonomics (do your best with the detailed computer/workstation ergonomics – even if you can only make some of the changes, it will help):
1. Place small stickers or post-it-notes in different places around your desk, house … and use them as reminders. Any time you see one, it reminds you to straighten up your posture.
2. Take a few minute break each hour to get up and stretch. Fatigue is one of the major causes of poor posture.
3. When reading and studying, place your books in a book stand instead of flat on your desk.
4. Backpacks should be worn over both shoulders, should fit correctly and should not exceed 5-10% of your body weight. See last month’s newsletter on Backpack
Safety for more details.
5. Have proper lumbar support in your chairs and automobiles. Stern Chiropractic offers several excellent postural supports – come in and try them out!
6. Use a good orthopedic pillow for sleeping at night (Stern Chiropractic carries the BEST pillow available for those who change positions while they sleep).
7. Make sure your work area is ergonomically correct for you:
- Good chair with the proper support
- Your feet should sit flat on the floor with your knees at 90-120° angle
- The top of the computer screen should be at or below eye level
- There should be two inches between the front edge of the chair and the back of the knee
- Your elbow should rest within a 70-130° angle to the computer keyboard
- There should be adequate light.
8. If a child is using an adult work area, provide proper modifications to accommodate the recommendations above i.e. a stool or box can be used so the feet rest flat with proper knee angle.
9. Stretch and exercise daily.
10. Drink water instead of coffee and soda.
11. Eat properly and take a good multi-vitamin with extra anti-oxidants.
12. Go to your chiropractor for regular spine & nerve system check-ups (just like you go to the dentist for dental check-ups).
Products of the Month Specials:
Sitback Rest Lumbar Cushion & Back Vitalizer Postural Support
Sitback Rests are low back support cushions for your chairs and your car. Proper low back support is vital to good posture and you should have this support in any and all chairs that you sit in for extended periods of time. These cushions come in gray, navy and black and fit all chairs. They are portable and can be moved from chair to chair. Come to my office and sit in one of the chairs with a sitback rest, you will notice the difference immediately.
The Back Vitalizer is clinically designed for reducing and preventing pain, stiffness or fatigue in your lower back, neck and shoulder, and proven in over 15 countries, Back Vitalizer is the world’s only 5-in-1 proprioceptive therapy device that provides the combined benefits of a neuromuscular stimulator, posture positioning device, custom lumbar support, spine decompression device, functional balance trainer and a cervical pillow. Special pricing is available on bulk/group sales.
Special discounts on these products for this month only.
Healthy Lifestyle Special Offer
During the month of September, Stern Chiropractic is offering FREE Child and Adult Posture evaluations for all who schedule their evaluation by September 20, 2013.
Call today to make your appointment.