Refresher course on our 7 tips for surviving the lock down
Yep. We are as over it as you are. A few weeks ago, Martin and I were excited as we thought it looked like we could ease some of the social distancing restrictions in the practice. We were both looking forward to working together on the same shift again and being able to see the other staff members we have had to keep separate to protect the practice.
Sadly, this has not turned out to be the case.
It goes without saying that I hoped never to refer to this blog post again. I never wanted members of our community to need a survival guide to another lock down, even less than I wanted to update it.
The good news though is that we know how to get through this, and even though it seems like this one is a little more stubborn, and we are all a bit more frustrated than last time and lets face it, wearing face masks all the time is uncomfortable and boring, it is important to remember that we are in fact all in this together and we WILL pull through sooner or later.
So without further ado , please feel free to refresh your memory of Align’s top 7 tips for surviving the lock down.
7 LOCK DOWN SURVIVAL TIPS
Recognise that it is OK to be sad/angry/frustrated at the current situation.
Even if you don’t think your concerns or issues rate highly on the scale of how disastrous your issues can be, they still can have a large effect on your life and are therefore valid reasons for you to feel bad.
To recognise that how you feel about it all is important and you need to deal with that, not just say “it could be worse”. It could be, almost always, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t being affected now.
If you feel hard done by that the things you would normally be doing to feel like you aren’t happening at the moment, then you are allowed to be annoyed by that. Don’t carry stress around thinking that you help people by not complaining. You don’t, you just get more irritated. Recognise it’s OK to be mad and express it healthily, exercise vigorously or speak up if need be.
Exercise.
I know right? obvious and boring, but it’s more powerful than you realise and usually overlooked.
One of our clients recently told me that they have discovered that without commuting and the incidental exercise they used to do purely from working in the city in an office, they have gone from averaging 8000 steps a day to fewer than 800.
In times of stress, volume of exercise is frequently one of the first casualties. Ironically, It’s also one of our best natural stress managers and anti depressants.
Ever regretted exercise? Ever felt MORE stressed after exercise even when it was only a small amount of it? No. No one has. Our nervous system registers stress by putting us in fight or flight, or survival mode. Still living on the other side of exercise tells our brain that we have successfully overcome a stressful situation and therefore we don’t need to be in survival mode.
Take some time out.
I know what you’re thinking, easier said than done right? Where are you going to find time or space when locked in your house with your family to have some time off?
I get it, sounds like a classic “this guy doesn’t have any kids” thing to say, but I don’t mean try find 45 minutes to fully relax. We all have lives to live, work to do and/or people to look after.
What we are talking about here is finding even quick “mini breaks” throughout the day that allow you to reset for a second.
Meditation is a great way to help relieve stress (as well as lots of other benefits). If you're looking to use your self isolation time to up your meditation game we highly recommend the Oak and Smiling Mind apps. Both are free and excellent!
The Resilience Project has an app that is a daily well-being journal. This app is suitable for and has programs designed specifically for primary & secondary school students, as well as adults of all ages wanting to improve their mental well-being.
Alternatively if meditation isn’t your thing, you can replicate some of the same effects by listening to songs you find especially soothing. The research into this phenomenon used the songs ‘Strawberry swing’ by Cold play, and “Someone like you” by Adel. Feel free to mix it up and don’t be afraid to admit to yourself that ‘Only time’ by Enya is your relaxation jam.
Watch your posture.
Never underestimate the importance of posture. Just like how research has shown that trying to have confident posture has been shown to release testosterone in our body that increases our feelings of strength and confidence, the opposite is true.
There is a reason that if I ask you to do an impersonation of a stressed or anxious person you slump forward and hold your shoulders tight and up near your ears. It’s because universally, that’s what our body does under extreme or chronic stress.
This posture increases stress chemicals in our body and just happens to be replicated by sitting for long periods, especially if using a computer, a laptop, a tablet or our phones. Sound familiar during iso anyone?
Lie on a foam roller along your spine from your head to your backside with your arms at 4 and 7 o’clock. Then just LIE THERE. If you can only manage 2 minutes, that is better than none. If you’re comfortable or have time to, then 15 minutes is better again.
If you can’t get access to a longer foam roller or posture pole, then in a pinch you can roll up a few beach towels, but a roller is best.
This position has the added bonus of improving your body and spinal health by decreasing stress and strain on your body, especially you neck, head and upper back.
Improved posture can decrease headaches and risk of injury.
If you have more questions about this position, want a photo of your posture that we measure to know exactly where you are at or want more information about what improved posture can do for you, please do not hesitate to get in touch as Martin and I would both love to be there to help.
Get Adjusted.
This can also work towards your taking some time out, but do not neglect your health during this period.
Do not put up with ailments that make it even harder to get through the day. Or if there is some annoying issue that you have had for ages that you haven’t felt like you have had time to manage or keep injuring because of your daily routine, now that you’re out of your normal routine is the PERFECT time to get on top of it.
Don’t lose any momentum you had heading into this situation!
Tune out the news every now and then.
I know the temptation is to try stay up to date on every little bit of coronavirus news, but eventually it can become fatiguing. Every now and then avoid hearing about it or reading the new story on your newsfeed.
This goes hand in hand with having a time out, but I wanted to keep it separate as it is it’s own addiction to break. It doesn’t always help us to know the latest doom and gloom. It will still be there tomorrow.
Take the time you would spend on the news to have the time out I mentioned earlier.
Ask for help.
Speak up. Let people know how you are feeling. It is OK not to find this situation easy, I know I haven’t. Find someone you can have a vent to or speak to someone professional who can help you if you’re feeling like you need specific help.
It goes without saying this but obviously, check in on your friends and family. We don’t want people coming out of this in worse shape if it can be helped.
Remember that you are not alone in this. Although the lockdown and it’s effects are felt individually as all our circumstances are our own, we are all in this situation together. We will all understand where you are coming from and everyone wants to help everyone else get through it.
How to set up your car seat
If you spend a lot of time in your car then this post is for you…and let’s face it, if you're reading this you most likely live in Melbourne, so there is a good chance you DO spend too large a portion of your life driving, sorry, I mean, in traffic.
If reading this whole post isn't really for you, then feel free to skip down to the end where I will summarise how to set yourself up in your care in a checklist.
Note how her head is sitting comfortably above her shoulders? Ideally shed have 2 hands on the wheel also…
What is the issue?
As a society, we appear to give a lot of attention to ergonomics for when we are setting up an office work station, or using a computer, but thats often where our attention to the issue ends.
We are guilty of it too!
If you follow this blog you will know that we have recently posted about how best to set up your computer or your laptop, we have talked about ways to avoid text neck when using your smart phone or tablet. We have even discussed how to sit and the importance of limiting how long we sit for, yet all of those are predominantly centred around screen time, or when you are in an office.
The reality is, the office, be it at work or at home is only a PART of how we spend every day. Important as good ergonomics are during these times, we need to remember that improved spinal health, being mindful of our posture and maintaining high levels of function are 24/7 activities.
We are the result of what we do the most.
To be more precise, our body will get better at whatever we ask it to do the most, so it is important to ask yourself regularly throughout the day:
“What am I asking my body to do right now?”
This is why we often tell our clients that the most important thing they can do for themselves throughout the work day is to get up out of their chair and move around.
One place where getting up and moving around is not really an option however is when we are in the car.
Kieran, I will not be getting a beaded car seat cover so don’t even mention it.
Fair point. I wouldn't want one either. I am far too car proud for that.
Most of my clients will probably already know that I am into cars and that I love driving.
I am fortunate enough that my commute is very short, so much so that I mostly get the opportunity to walk or ride my bike to the practice. I do however get to spend a lot of time in the car though, as I enjoy driving almost everywhere else and spend most of my weekends heading out of the city to go camping, hiking or traveling to visit family in Bendigo.
One thing I don’t like about driving though, is how easy it can be to make myself very sore if I haven't set the car up properly.
A poor driving position can lead to (among other things):
Low back pain,
headaches,
sore shoulders,
pins and needles in your legs or arms,
fatigue,
Sciatic pain and most dangerous of all,
an inability to control your car properly.
Setting your car up is easy
Fortunately we live in a world where other people have done most of the hard work for us and your car is no exception.
Car companies have employed a literal team of people to make your car so that it is able to get you to YOUR ideal driving position, however most of us rarely use all of the functions they have bent hundreds of hours developing.
It doesn’t matter whether you drive something fun and sporty, or purely as a taxi you use to ferry your children, the following suggestions should be able to apply to nearly every car you drive.
Step 1: Seat height and distance
When it comes to how high you sit in the car, too much of anything is a bad thing. Too high and you have to bend down to see out of the window clearly, too low and you will struggle to see everything you have to avoid.
You want to be a comfortable height to be able to see everything easily over the steering wheel without extra effort. Seems like a no brainer I know but you do wee some weird things out there.
Distance from the pedals is important too. You never want to be reaching for the pedals…obviously but you don't want to have your knees too bent either.
If you are too close, you have to actively position your feet for too long leading to hip issues. On top of this, if your knee is close to or is resting on the dash board, then your leg bones will have to act like an air bag to slow you down in an accident…which is less than ideal if you're the kind of person that enjoys having legs.
Ideally, the best distance from the seat to the pedals would mean that in a manual car, your knee should be *almost* straight but not quite when you press the clutch in all the way. About a 5 degree knee bend in that position should be it.
In an auto, the same rule applies for you to be able to leave your foot on the foot rest (look for it, you most likely have one to the left of the brake pedal) but if you don't have one, you should have that same 5 degree knee bend when your foot rests on the firewall (thats the carpet behind the pedals).
This should also mean that when you take your left hand off the steering wheel it should be able to rest comfortably on the gear stick without having to reach for it, allowing your shoulders to remain relaxed.
Step 2: Steering wheel position
Have the steering wheel at a distance where you can relax your hands onto the 10 and 2 positions on the wheel without leaning forward and having to round your shoulders, keeping a relaxed bend in your elbows.
This means you have the most control of the wheel without having to grip onto it, strain your shoulders or your low back to reach for it.
Another easy way to know if its in a good spot, is when you rest your wrists onto the top of the steering wheel, it should sit *just* at your wrists.
Move it to a height where your hands can sit at 10 and 2 roughly in front of your shoulders, you don't want to have to go reaching up or down to find the steering wheel.
Most cars now have an electric steering wheel movement, but if not, its easy to unclip the handles on the steering column and play around with its position, moving it up and down or forward and back. Take your time with its one, when you get it right, you’ll know.
Step 3: Head position
If you have done the other two right then this should already be set, but just make sure your head isn't having to lean forward too far and is relaxed over the top of your shoulders.
If it is leaning forward, readjust your steering wheel closer to you.
Watch out for car seats that push your head forward. Bad posture is so common that engineers in some car companies have started building their seats to have the head rests moving forward to meet where they assume people with poor postures heads will be.
This forces you into a bad position and over time will GIVE you forward head posture. Personally I have not been able to buy certain cars because of this, and I know it has meant Martin has had to choose a different brand when replacing one of his.
You also shouldn’t need to rest your head back on the head rest.
The name is deceptive, you should have active control of your head, it shouldn't have to be pushed back into the head rest. Its the name of a safety feature in a crash, not a suggested use.
Step 4: Lumbar support
If your car has inbuilt lumbar support, don't be afraid to use it. When you find the right spot for you, you will be amazed that you ever drove without it.
If need be, you can always buy a lumbar support pillow to use when you are driving for long periods or on longer road trips.
Step 5: Never drive with something in your back pocket.
Thats right men who keep a wallet in your back pocket when you're driving, I am talking to you. I don’t care how long you have done it for, it causes an unevenness under you that WILL eventually lead to back pain and even sciatica in some cases.
The same goes for mobile phones. They seem small but even on a short trip they make a difference to how you have to sit. I don’t care HOW short the drive is.
Again, it seems obvious but people do it.
Step 6: Take breaks regularly.
Especially if you are driving a distance. They don't only stop you from feeling fatigued, they allow your body to wake up as well, and they don’t even have to take long! Even a 2-5 minute walk can do the trick.
As promised, here is the checklist:
Step 1: Height and distance
Seat at a height where you can see everything without straining to have your eyes above the wheel or below the sun visors.
Sit at a distance where your foot can relax at the back of the foot well with your knee bent slightly to around 5 degrees.
Step 2: Steering wheel
Bring it close enough to have a slight bend in your elbows when your hands are at 10 and 2, you should be able to rest your wrists on the top of the wheel without reaching for it with your shoulders.
Step 3: Head position
Like sitting at a computer, above your shoulders, not poking forward at the steering wheel.
Step 4: Lumbar support
Play around with it until it feels good for extended periods. This might take some experimenting. If you need to, buy a support cushion.
Step 5: Nothing in your back pockets.
Step 6: Take breaks.
If you have any questions or concerns, would like to chat about how to set up your car please contact us at Align, we would love to help you.
However, if you're happy with your car set up but would like to chat about cars specifically, please feel free to talk to me about it…don’t bother talking about them with Martin…they aren't really his thing.
Kieran
The most important step to choosing the right pillow
If you are one of the many people who are not sure where to start when selecting a pillow then please watch our quick video on what we think is THE most important step when making your choice.
Let's face it, there are too many options for pillows out there. There are so many materials, shapes, and seemingly random options for you to choose and the hardest part for a lot of our clients is that nearly all of them seem incredibly expensive!
Choosing the right pillow for you is very important but it shouldn't be something you lose sleep over.
At Align we believe that there is one simple factor that you need to consider above all else before settling on a new pillow.
If you have any further questions after you have watched the video about choosing a pillow or how best to approach sleep to manage your issues (be it posture, neck pain, low back pain or headaches), please do not hesitate to contact us at Align. We have a select range of pillows on hand at any time that are available to you even if you have never been in before.
Knowing how important sleep is to our community, we are always happy to offer a complimentary pillow fitting for you so that you can be confident that you are making the right choice.
Watch our video below to hear what advice Drs Martin and Kieran start with for anyone who is considering an updated pillow. If you'd prefer not to watch, the clip has been transcribed below.
Hi, Martin Harvey from Align Chiropractic here.
One of the most common questions that we get asked in practice is: “What sort of pillow should I be sleeping with?”
We have people coming in who have entire collections of pillows, made out of everything from feathers, through to the latest space-age materials, and they wonder:
“Why can't I find a pillow that’s comfortable for me?”
The first thing that we always want to make sure is that the pillow is the right size and the right fit for you.
Obviously some people are different sizes and there are also people who choose or are most comfortable in, different sleeping positions.
Make sure you check out our “which sleeping positions should you be using” video as well, but if you’re somebody who predominantly sleeps on your side, then you're going to need a larger pillow.
In side sleeping, the idea of the pillow would be to take up a significant amount of the space between your shoulder and your neck, so that it’s supporting your neck.
If it is not, when you’re sleeping on your side and it's too low, your pillow is going to force you to tip over quite a bit that way, and at the same time if it's too big for you, it's going to tend to tip you the other way.
If you're somebody who mainly sleeps on your back, then wanting to keep your head fairly balanced over your shoulder, you’re not going to want to big a pillow because a really big pillow is going to tend to force you forward quite a bit.
To that end, the type of pillow that typically is the best compromise if you're one of the many people who sleep a bit in both is a contoured pillow.
The contour allows the thicker part of your head when you're lying on your back to be in the contour and it also supports your neck without forcing you too far forward.
This is a low-profile pillow and this would be for somebody who primarily sleeps on their back or they're a smaller person who sleeps on their side.
If you're a bigger person who's a side sleeper, then you're going to want to go to a larger, higher profile pillow.
You can see here that it's much thicker than the other pillow, again it's the same basic structure.
So there you have it, a simple way of getting a bit of an idea of which pillow you should be using.
The most important first thing is that it's less about the material that it’s made from these ones are made out of latex which is a really comfortable and durable material but the most important thing is to make sure you get the right size based on how big you are, as well as your preferred sleeping position.
Simple exercises for people with neck pain
If you have neck pain, tight shoulders or headaches that come from your neck then I suggest you watch the video below.
In the video I run you though some very simple movement exercises to keep you mobile, try and get your neck moving again and hopefully help make you more comfortable as you go through your day.
I have tried to keep them very quick and easy so that you can incorporate them into your day simply and without having to make it too obvious that you're doing them.
If you are concerned about your neck pain or you have any questions, or if you experience discomfort doing them, then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.
As always, the video has been transcribed below, but I recommend you watch to get a demonstration...and to see me in my solo video debut. Enjoy.
Hi I'm Kieran from Align Chiropractic. I just wanted to run you through a quick exercise for getting your neck moving.
Now if you're somebody that suffers from neck pain, a tight neck or headaches that feel like they come from your neck then this video is for you.
One of the main group of exercises that we recommend for our clients regularly are to get their neck moving again.
It's really important that your neck range of motion is even to both sides, it should be pain free and it shouldn't feel too tight one side compared to the other.
The important thing to remember when doing these exercises is don't push through a pain barrier or push to the extremes of your motion.
What we are wanting to do is get to the point of restriction and just relax into that position.
So its very simple to do; first of all we're looking at rotation.
Turning your head to one side holding it at that point of restriction for three seconds come back to the middle then turning the other side.
You're looking for it to be even on both sides and pain-free, hold for three seconds, back to the middle.
Next we go straight to side, lateral flexion for three seconds, back to the middle and then to the right-hand side for three seconds and finally, back to the middle again.
Remember, it’s three seconds on each side and you cycle through all four of those five positions 5 times to keep things moving.
If you are finding a lot of restriction or are particularly uncomfortable on one side more than the other, that can be an indication of a more significant underlying imbalance.
If you are feeling that or have any concerns about how your body is moving, I'd recommend that you get on to us and let's figure out what's happening for you.
What to expect when you visit us with Neck Pain
This post is for anyone with neck pain wondering what to expect as part of your initial assessment with us at Align.
Neck pain is one of the most common issues people will come to visit us for. We are chiropractors after all.
The goal of your first visit with us is to determine not only the likely cause of your neck pain, but the best course of action moving forward for you as well.
If you have been watching the other videos about initial visits that we have posted recently, you will notice there is a certain level of commonality between the different assessments.
This is by design.
The video outlines the common elements to our cervical assessment.
We want our examination process to be accessible to people with various levels of pain, injury or disability, and at the same time give us enough scope to individualise our assessment on an individual basis.
There is a transcript of the video below. Although why WOULDN'T you want to see it filmed live?
Hi, Martin from Align Chiropractic and Kieran...also from Align Chiropractic. This video is just going to give you a little bit of an idea of what to expect if you're coming to see us and you're concerned with having neck pain.
The first thing we're going to do, Kieran if you’ll pretend that you’re the person with neck pain is make sure that you get to tell me all that you need to tell me about your neck pain.
Certainly I have some questions about when it started, what makes it better, what makes it worse etc, and for a lot of people it's really important for us to understand what is it that their neck pain is making it harder for them to do, or stopping them from doing that they need to get back to.
It’s really important that you get to tell all about neck pain so that we know what's going on.
Step two: Palpation
When we're assessing somebody who's come to see us with neck pain is a palpatory exam. A plapatory exam is where we use gentle pressure to assess what is happening in your neck, are there areas where the joints are restricted in their ability to move? Are there areas where there's tenderness or discomfort? Are there areas where there's increased muscle tension?
Once we've assessed the neck, often, because the spine is one
integrated system it's all part of one whole system, we extend our palpatory examination through the rest of the spine.
Sometimes we will also assess other related areas such as your shoulders or your jaw.
Step 3: Show us your moves
When we are assessing somebody who's come to see us with neck pain is to assess how they bend, move and twist.
Often when you have neck issues that will affect how far you can go one way compared to the other. The way we measure that is we use inclinometry, which is where we use an accurate measuring tool to see how far you can bend to the left comfortably and then compare the left side to how far you can move to the right. Simple as that.
Step 4: Assess Alignment
When we're assessing somebody who's come to see us complaining of neck pain is that we have a look to see if there’s any alteration in alignment of their spine.
The way that we do this is we can use specialised software to take a photo of the person and then digitising that photo to see if there’s any misalignment or alteration in their posture.
The software works by taking a photo and it uses the iPad to make sure that we have a photo that is absolutely vertical.
The software then places our grid around exactly where straight up and down is and then we can compare landmarks on your body to measure against.
Your body's landmarks should also be aligned so we can then see exactly how straight up and down or symmetrical your posture is.