Our Osteopath Dr Jerome Smith put together a daily schedule to help people incorporate more movement into their day.

Working from an office, or anywhere that is not your home, requires a certain amount of incidental exercise. You might have to walk to a bus stop, or from a train station to your workplace. You might pop out for a coffee mid morning, or out to get some lunch in the middle of the day. Walk to a meeting, or to talk to someone in another part of your workplace. Commuting home. It’s surprising how many steps a day come just from this.

So you should try to stick to some of these routines. Even though you don’t have to commute, you should walk for 10 or 15 minutes in the morning before you start working. Don’t just get up, make a coffee and sit at your desk. Do this at lunchtime too – after having something to eat walk a lap of your block, get some fresh air and sunshine before resuming work. And once more at the end of the day.

Here is an example of a way to structure movement into your day:

Let’s say you start work at 9am. At 830, go outside, walk to the end of your street and back.

At 10 am you should lay on your back and stretch your glutes and hips

At 11am lay on your roller for 5 minutes 

12noon stretch your neck 

1pm Go outside, walk around for 15 minutes in the sun, then use the roller again for 5 minutes, 

2pm do some theraband exercises (like seated rows) to strengthen your scapular retracting muscles

3pm do some neck retraction exercises

4pm stretch your hip flexors and hamstrings

5pm use your roller for 5 minutes while doing slow breathing (5 breaths per minute) – this has been shown to reduce stress in your fight or flight nervous system. That way you get to finish your work day, de-stress and feel good.

All you really need is a foam roller and a theraband and you can maintain your mobility and strength when working from home. 

Looking after your health at a time like this takes on greater importance than ever, and we take your health very seriously. As such we will be staying open and operating normal business hours for you.

With the current concerns we would like to reassure you that we are following WHO and Australian Government updates daily with respect to minimising the spread of the virus.

We can all play a part in helping to minimise the spread of the Coronavirus. As such, we are taking every measure and appreciate your understanding and cooperation while we all work together to do so.

We understand that some patients are choosing to remain at home and reschedule existing appointments in an effort to align with social distancing. In this instance please ensure you notify us if you will be not be attending. Please contact us if you would like to explore the option of a skype consultation.

This is an evolving situation and we will keep you updated as things change. Our priority is to always ensure the health and safety of our amazing patients and team.

Some additional measures we are implementing effective immediately:

Understandably, our practitioners will no longer be greeting you with a handshake. A warm greeting and smile will still show you the love is there.

We will be regularly changing all linen between appointments, and using antiseptic wipes and santisers, as well as good old fashioned soap and hot water. This is to escalate our already stringent hygiene procedures.

Please remain calm and resilient in these difficult times. It is often the fear of the unknown that fuels anxiety contagion. We are all in this together and will be more resilient to the stress it brings if we keep the lines of communication open.

Modern humans have an inherited herd mentality, and its influence is being felt throughout society today. We simply want to feel safe and prepared. But this is not a time to be stupid and inconsiderate. Don’t think you’re the exception. Don’t do things that benefit you, at the expense of others.

The goal now is to flatten the curve.
⁃ To slow the spread of the virus until our hospitals can handle them.
⁃ To prevent the unnecessary spreading of the virus.
⁃ To prevent unnecessary overloading of medical professionals, emergency services, airlines, and other critical infrastructure, so that the people who actually need it can access it.

No one individual can accomplish this by themselves, but each of us, acting rightly, collectively, can make a big difference. Now is the time to offer compassion, support and gratitude for our communities and loved ones.

This too shall pass. In the meantime, above all, be kind — to each other and yourselves.

We are keeping up to date with the latest advice from the World Health Organization and will let you know more as soon as we do.

WE are here for you! ️

The working year is now well underway and people are back spending long hours in front of computer screens. 

One of the common conditions we see is something called Upper Cross Syndrome, and yes, even this early in the year we are already having people coming in for osteopathic treatment for this.

This “syndrome” refers to a particular configuration of overlapping overactive and underactive muscle groups in the neck, chest, and shoulders – a bit like ‘slouching’. 

Typically, poor posture causes the syndrome, including the forward head posture, overuse of upper shoulder muscles, shortening of the chest (pec) muscles and weakening of mid back muscles. One of the aggravating causes is from sitting in front of computers for long periods of time.

The list of symptoms that this will lead to ranges from headaches and neck pain to jaw pain and pain thru the shoulders, upper back and ribs, numbness and tingling in the fingers and decreased range of movement

The big tip for you during you working day is to get up from your desk at regular intervals and do a few simple stretches thru you upper back and neck and squeeze you shoulder blades down and together, have a quick walk around – get that cup of tea or glass of water, before sitting back down 

Click on this link https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318897.php#prevention for a bit more information about this and what you can do to help. 

Management of your body is the key to injury prevention. Call us for an appointment here at Harley Place Health to help out. Our team are here across the week from Monday to Saturday.

When you experience sudden, sharp pain in your back, it can be pretty scary. How do you tell if something serious is going on, or if it’s something more straightforward?

Here is a link to a great article I just read which outlines in basic terms the key differences between back pain that is musculo-skeletal in nature (ie straightforward), and back pain that is coming from a more serious underlying condition. A lot of times when the pain is severe it can be extremely concerning, and this article helps explain a lot of what is going on.

Some key points:

People understandably assume that if their pain is very intense, then that means it is a really bad problem. In fact, pain intensity is a poor indicator of back pain ominousness.

Herniated discs aren’t actually that big a deal, most back pain goes away on its own (even “chronic” low back pain! especially if you’re Australian), and simple muscle knots can be shockingly intense without ever being dangerous.

If you are experiencing true numbness around the groin and buttocks and/or failure of bladder or bowel control, please consider it serious — do not wait to see if it goes away.

These symptoms indicate spinal cord injury or compression and require immediate attention.

The article also has a list of the more serious causes (cancer, infections, inflammatory arthritic conditions) and their features. The names of the conditions link to carefully chosen articles from good sources.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

Osteopaths are trained to differentiate between serious underlying pathology and normal musculoskeletal causes of back pain. They study for 5 years and are registered with AHPRA as Doctors in Australia. If you have back pain and want to ask us a question, email harleyplacehealth@gmail.com any time and we will be happy to have a chat to you.

For those of you who are lucky enough to be jumping on a plane to head somewhere this holiday season, we wanted to outline a few tips and tricks to make your trip as pain free as possible.

Travelling is great, but it’s also easy to hurt yourself. Sitting on planes for long periods of times, lifting heavy bags, sleeping in weird beds, using a different pillows, and getting out of your normal exercise routine. All of these things can conspire to cause injury or pain and ruin your holiday.

Here are a few things to think about.

One of the most common times people get injured is right at the start of their trip. Lifting a bag into an overhead locker can do it – if your bag is heavy, or you are being squashed in the aisle by other passengers, or the space you are trying to fit the bag into is cramped. Any of these can make a relatively easy lift much more difficult. Take your time, look for the gap, or get some help if you think you need it.

When you land and are picking up your bags is another risky time. You may have been sitting for many hours on your flight, and be stiff as a result. You may be dehydrated. You will almost certainly be tired. These are risk factors. So when you get to the baggage carousel, be careful. The two worst things you can do when lifting are reach a long way, or bend and twist at the same time.

So get as close as you can to the carousel, and lift from front on. Don’t let other people cramp your style, and don’t rush to grab your bag and do it the wrong way. Take the extra minute to find a place you can lift safely from and do it properly, your back will thank you.

I take a massage ball when I travel in my carry-on luggage. I use it to massage my hamstrings, plantar fascia, and glutes to keep them loose. You can also use it when you get to your hotel room to release between your shoulder blades. A foam roller water bottle is also a good idea – you need a bottle to stay hydrated, and having a foam roller at the other end is a godsend after that 24 hour trip to the other side of the world.

The other key thing is to keep moving. I don’t sit a lot at airports. I’m about to be sitting for a long time, so I walk around, do a couple of little stretches, and drink lots of water before I board. That way if I do happen to get stuck drinking gin n tonics for a few hours watching B grade movies I’ve at least given myself a good headstart. Same in transit – walk the corridors of the transit airport, stretch, get the blood flowing. The more you move, the better you’ll feel at the other end.

Safe travels and if I don’t see you, have a fantastic holiday period, take some time to relax and recuperate, and my best wishes for a happy and health 2020!