With temperatures dipping, local trees have sprung to life in shades of yellow, orange, and red, while the cool autumn breeze has strewn the leaves on our lawns.  Before you suit up to go out and gather the colorful foliage, I have a few precautions for you to bear in mind.

Playing in the Leaves is Fun, Raking Can Be More than a Chore

Raking leaves is one of those one-sided, repetitive activities that could upset the usual, happy balance in our backs.  Muscles in our back fire in unison to maintain our posture and allow us to do work, but toil in a manner that overworks one side, and this could lead to a real stiff back.

• First, beware working predominantly on one side of the body, like when raking, digging, loading the dishwasher, placing groceries in your car, or putting a child into a car seat.  If you are raking or digging, try to periodically switch the side of your body, where you are working. If you are raking, specifically, alternate between raking front to back and side to side (across your body), to prevent any one group of muscles from fatiguing.
• Split loading activities like packing the car’s truck or bagging those colorful leaves into separate squatting and bending movements.  Avoiding motions that simultaneously twist and bend the low back can help you steer clear of back pain.  Bending and rotating at the same time puts the spine in a position of weakness and increases the chances of injury – this is the mechanism that leads to many disc injuries.
• When bending or lifting, bend your knees to lift with your legs.  The legs are the strongest muscles in your body and using the legs can save your back.

If you should happen to upset the delicate balance of muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons that allow for all our movements, remember I’m here at Matthews Chiropractic Center to help make everything work better again.  And, if just the thought of raking your leaves makes your back ache and pain-free is not your status quo, then chiropractic care could be your remedy.

Image by Adria Richards

Very often after reviewing x-rays where I have identified and measured postural imbalances, patients will ask how these changes could have come about.  They are curious why a hip is higher on one side, curvature in the low back is exaggerated, or the head is held forward.  Time and again I tell patients that have no history of an accident or injury that the position of their spine is largely related to their posture.  Sometimes the possible cause of a patient’s postural distortion is elusive and other times the cause is right before our eyes.

4 Common Causes of Postural Problems:

1. Side carrying

One cause of postural distortion is due to weight being carried more on one side of the body.  Common occurrences are carrying children on the hip, schlepping heavy pocket books and frequent use of heavy duffle bags and briefcases.  My best advice in these instances is to lighten the load when possible (I understand that children only grow), haul items in a neutral posture with chest/back carriers, backpacks or rolling luggage.  And when you have no choice but to sling over a shoulder, alternate shoulders while toting and lay the strap over the opposite shoulder (across the chest).

2. FWIRP – Fat Wallet in Rear Pocket

Ever notice on a pair of men’s jeans that one of the back pockets is stretched out or the material bears a faded, rectangular pattern.  If sitting with FWIRP can change denim this way, what is doing to our spines?

Imagine sitting all day long with a brick under one side of your backside.  The unleveling causes torsion (twisting) of the pelvis and the spine to bend sideways so we can keep sitting upright, instead of leaning.  These changes all happen automatically, so we are not even conscious of the changes taking place.  Now, a brick is an exaggeration for most, but illustrates how a thick wallet in your back pocket can affect the body.  Especially for desk workers and long distance drivers, slimming your wallet and storing it in your front pocket is a good way to avoid FWIRP syndrome.

3. Sleep Posture

If you are a side-sleeper and not using a pillow or cushion between your knees at night, then you are likely contributing to pelvic torsion.  While side-sleeping, if your top knee and leg are not resting on their counterparts below, then the knee is rotating forward, pulling the hip and pelvis into a twisted position.  Eight hours every night (hopefully) and it is easy to see how one hip might find itself higher than the other.  If you sleep side-lying, consider keeping your hips aligned with a pillow between your knees.

4. High Heels

I would be remiss if I failed to address this phenomenon.  Wearing high heeled shoes, especially over 2 inches and worn throughout the day, has a clear effect on low back posture.  Heels cause the pelvis to tilt forward and a corresponding increase in the low back curvature.  Reduce the effects of these changes by wearing shorter heels (2 inches or less) for less time.

So, hopefully you aspire to better posture and can find a way to incorporate some of the recommendations above.  If you have tried some of my suggestions and are still uncomfortable, please call Matthews Chiropractic Center at 704.841.3833 to schedule a consultation and exam.  Better spinal health could be just a call away.

As we all know, sitting is a very common activity at work, just like using a computer (a subject for another day), and it is widely accepted that sitting at a desk the whole day can lead to low back pain, soft tissue, and disc injury^[1][2]. I’ve assembled a list of things that you can do at your desk to make you feel more comfortable while sitting. There is one MAJOR caveat… most of these suggestions only help you AVOID low back pain. If you are already suffering, you may need to stop reading this and visit Matthews Chiropractic Center. This concept points to an integral part of my care, namely patient education, so that patient’s may take part in prevention of future problems.

4 Tips for Desk Jockey Comfort

1. Maintain Good Posture / Ergonomics

Make sure that your back is supported by your chair^[3], Use a foot rest, Make your hips higher than your knees using a stress wedge or tilt the back of the seat slightly higher than the front, If you recline your backrest also tilt the seat backwards^[4].

2. Postural Breaks / Change Position

Take regular breaks from sitting, Get up to stretch and walk every 30 minutes, Change the height of your chair periodically, Do some work standing, Sit on an exercise ball at your desk.

It’s easy to get lost in your work. Some patients set timers that remind them that they should get up and take a walk. Your best work happens when you are relaxed and feel good. Don’t press on when your body tells you it’s time for a break. Do so and you will be better for it.

3. Core Strengthening / Conditioning

Muscles of the back and core fire constantly to maintain stable, upright/sitting posture. Eventually, these muscles can become tired and that makes the back sore and prone to injury. Therefore, strengthening and stretching muscles of the core and deep muscles of the back can help prevent pain and low back injury.

I would recommend starting with 4 exercises that require no equipment:

• Cat-Camel
• Curl-up
• Side Bridge
• Bird Dog

Descriptions of these exercises can be found at the American Council on Exercise website.

4. Chiropractic Care

The dangers of prolonged sitting are well documented. In fact, it has been shown that sitting changes the curvature of the spine and increases pressure in the discs^[5][6]. Chiropractic treatment in my office can help combat the muscular pain and spinal fixation that result from maintaining the spine in stressful postures.

A basic rule of thumb is if it hurts, it needs to move. Drink lots of fluids, take breaks, stretch it out, and as a part of a wellness program get chiropractic adjustments.

Do you have a tip or story you’d like to share about fixing the workplace to better suite your back? Please share them with us.

1. Kyphosed seated postures: extending concepts of postural health beyond the office. Pynt J, Mackey MG, Higgs J. J Occup Rehabil. 2008 Mar;18(1):35-45. [↩]
2. The response of the nucleus pulposus of the lumbar intervertebral discs to functionally loaded positions. Alexander LA et al. Spine. 2007 Jun 15;32(14):1508-12. [↩]
3. Effectiveness of a lumbar support continuous passive motion device in the prevention of low back pain during prolonged sitting. Aota Y et al. Spine. 2007 Nov 1;32(23):E674-7. [↩]
4. Lumbar spine curvature during office chair sitting. Lengsfeld M et al. Med Eng Phys. 2000 Nov;22(9):665-9.
   [↩]
5. Lumbar lordosis. Effects of sitting and standing. Lord MJ et al. Spine. 1997 Nov 1;22(21):2571-4. [↩]
6. Ergonomics of posture–review of various problems of standing and sitting posture. Grandjean E, Hünting W. Appl Ergon. 1977 Sep;8(3):135-40. [↩]

Matthews Chiropractic Center wants you to stay well. With the upcoming cold season creeping closer you need to be at your best so your downtime is little and recovery swift. We welcome October and the spreading of National Chiropractic Month!

Staying Well is Staying in Flow

Chiropractic is an alternative health discipline which aims to remove interruptions to the flow of normal nerve transmission. The spinal cord is the main pathway for nerve messages to and from the brain. These signals allow our brain to perceive sensations, control our heart, lungs, and other organs and allow us to direct movements of our body. The nerve branches, which bring signals to all parts of the body, exit the spinal cord through holes on either side of the vertebral column. Each of the 26 bones of the vertebral column are separated by discs, which form joints with the vertebrae above and below. These joints are what connect the spine and give it flexibility. The vertebral column also surrounds and protects the spinal cord.

Inhibiting Your Wellness

Should a vertebra move out of alignment, say from trauma, emotional stress or another cause, it is likely that the nerve signals will be compromised. The chiropractic profession believes that this compromise negatively impacts the ability of nerves to carry messages and therefore a person’s health. Likewise, emotional stress, muscle tension, and poor ergonomics can stress the body/spine and also reduce the transmission of normal nerve messages. Chiropractic medicine is based on the belief that the body has an innate ability to heal itself. Chiropractors work to remove impediments to spinal motion and normal nerve transmission to aid the body in self-healing. Chiropractors primarily use adjustments to improve spinal motion. In this way, patients can be relieved of back, neck or joint pain, and headaches without drugs or surgery.

Recognizing Your Health through Chiropractic Care

National Chiropractic Month is a consolidation of two previous observances: Correct Posture Month and Spinal Health Month. Since good posture and proper ergonomics helps to eliminate stress on the body and spine, training to improve and maintain good posture is one of the things I usually stress during treatment. Considering how integral posture and spinal health are to chiropractic, it is very fitting that these endeavors be recognized this month. Poor ergonomics and lack of joint motion today could be the cause of your back pain or headache tomorrow… Call to make an appointment and have your spine checked today!