texting & your health

 

With the advanced technology allowing us to constantly connected using smart phones, tablets, laptops, no matter where you are. People of all ages can develop ‘Text Neck’, a repetitive stress injury that caused by inappropriate posture resulting in neck, upper back, headaches as well numbness and tingling of the arms and fingers.

Research(1) shows that 91% of people text with their neck bended. Staying neck bending down position for a long time repetitively throughout a day, while carrying handphone, or Ipad, will subject our neck’s vertebra and disc to lots of pressure.  According to another research carried out in 2011, 53% of young adults suffer from neck, and back pain that associated with usage of computer and handphones. In another preliminary study done in 2009, the prevalence of pain and neck pain during texting is 83%.

No doubt these technologies have become integral part of our life, we are spending more and more times looking at our mobiles or computers, it is important for us to learn the correct and ergonomic beneficial way to use it.

Steps to reduce text neck pain:

  • Hold your phone up when you text or play games, instead of looking down. Position it at a proper reading angle, directly in front of your mouth at a comfortable viewing distance, a few inches across from your chin. This allows you to avoid strain because you can look at the screen by gazing down with your eyes rather than bending your neck. Your shoulders should also feel relaxed when you are interacting with the screen. If they’re not, adjust your position.
  • Voice command. If your phone’s texting app has a dictation program, use it – again, holding the phone in front of your mouth.
  • Take frequent, regular breaks. Excessive use is a key factor in text neck, so avoid prolonged bouts of texting, gaming, surfing or reading emails. If you tend to lose track of time while using your smartphone or lack the self-control to put it down, download a timer app (eg: workpace) and set it to remind you to take a break after 5, 10 or 15 minutes.
  • Support your range of motion. When you take time to exercise something other than your texting thumbs, focus on movements that strengthen your neck, back extensors, rhomboids and latissimus dorsi muscles.
  • Stretch the tight muscles. Neck, upper trapezius, upper back, chest, fingers muscles are commonly tighter if you text for a long time.
  • Stay hydrated. Proper hydration all day long eases stress throughout the body, from your neck down.
  • Communicate with other way. Leave a voicemail, send an email from your (hopefully ergonomically correct) desktop computer, or better yet, get together in person to share a cup of coffee, with your phones safely stowed away.
  • Get rid of your neck and shoulder pain. It is wrong to think that pain is a normal ageing process.

If you have tried to improve your workstation posture and not helping, then it is time to seek professional help with one of our experienced physiotherapists.

Take ACTION now. Physioclinic will help you beat technology related pain.

 

 

Reference:

  1. Postures, typing strategies, and gender differences in mobile device usage: An observational study. Applied Ergonomic, Volume 43, Issue 2, March 2012.
  2. Physical symptoms in young adults and their use of different computers and mobile phone. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE) 2011, Volume 17, No. 4, 361-371
  3. Psychophysiological Patterns During Cell Phone Text Messaging: A Preliminary Study. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, March 2009, Volume 34, Issue 1, pp 53-57

This is a common question asked by some people before seeing a physiotherapist- Can physiotherapy cure completely and guarantee 100% recovery?

Cure is the permanent end to the specific medical problem, disease, illness or sickness. It is a treatment, a REMEDY, to restore health back to normal.

There are thousands kinds of medical problems, disease or illness in the world. Each medical problem varies with their cause.

Unfortunately, even the best medical doctors or surgeons in Singapore or even around all countries will not guarantee a 100% cure from certain disease or illness. That is why modern science is continuously keeping up to date with researches and finding better treatment to help patients get the best solutions to their medical condition.

physiotherapy

It is important to note that one should seek medical help as early as when once you detect some health condition changes. Eg if you first start to notice signs or symptoms of back pain or backaches, do seek advice from a doctor or physiotherapist early. If treatment of back problem is delayed or inadequate, it can lead to chronic persistent back pain. The sooner a physiotherapist can see you, the easier it is to fix your injury and guarantee the best outcomes and the faster you recover and return to living a pain free life. Whether physiotherapy treatment can cure 100% and recovery will be dependent on other factors such as patient’s age, other medical condition, participation of patient, following physiotherapist’s advice, home exercises done.

Cure also depends on what causes the problem and the state of affected tissue, joint, organ of the person’s body. Conversely, joint problems like cartilage degeneration or osteoarthritis that is due to aging and rheumatoid arthritis which is caused by autoimmune disease are examples of chronic illnesses and they cannot be cured. Nevertheless, person with chronic illness can still live well. For example, person who suffered either rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis can still be functional with the medications prescribed by the doctor and the treatments given by the physiotherapist. Their goal is not to cure the patient but to prevent further damage to the body and prolong the remission phase of the disease. Physiotherapy treatments can be done to relief pain, improve their joint flexibility; strengthen muscles to ease pressure on the joints. It is also the same way from people who have Diabetes, cure is not the solution but to learn about the different ways to maintain the normal blood sugar level in the body in order to stay functional and to prevent complications. In fact, person who has chronic illness doesn’t mean, he or she is unhealthy. As the world health organization defines health as, is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Hence, cure doesn’t really matter as long as one remains active and independent.

So, a physiotherapist is not a miracle to solve ALL medical problems and guaranteed that problem will not recur in future. Physiotherapists do not overpromise or give empty promises that medical problem such as back pain will not reoccur forever again. If someone suffered from a back pain and recovered with physiotherapy, it does not mean there will not be any back pain relapse in future. A physiotherapist will provide all necessary back care tips and prevention to the patient. It is up to the patient whether these advices are strictly adhered to. Even if these advices are adhered, who can stop an accident such as falls or near slips from happening? Or stop an aging spine or body?

bestservce

At Physioclinic, we guarantee you that you are in safe, experienced hands of the physiotherapists. We believe that physiotherapy plays an essential part of everyday healthy living – pain relief, correct a dysfunction, improvement to a disability before it becomes a debilitating injury or problem. Prevention is much better than a cure!

Runner Painful Injuries Hips Knees AnklesA recent article explains that when you run, the impact is not so much on the knees. Do you believe that the impact of running is focused on your knees?

 

While running, our knees are often the first part to be injured. But do not disregard other areas, such as the hips and ankles too. Injuries while running depends on the person’s current condition. As a runner, if your ankles have lesser stability than your knees, there is a higher chance to develop ankle injuries rather than knee injuries. Hence, it is hard to conclude that all runners will end up in knee injuries.

 

Our joints and movements

Every joint of our body is naturally designed to move in different planes in order for us to perform functional activities such as running and walking. This helps different joints of our body to keep lubricated and nourished. However the consequence is the joints will be stressed (wear and tear) by forces. These various stresses received by the joints are also a natural effect and can be countered by taking enough rest for proper regeneration. In other words, balance between activities and rest is essential for us to protect our body and prevent injuries.

 

Building a Strong Body

Our joints, tissues and organs are capable to adjust for any stresses and demands that the body receives. For example our muscles can naturally be stronger if we will work on it by doing weight lifting. Our bones can be more solid if bone will receive forces from standing posture. Our heart can increase its endurance when a person runs.

 

Weight lifting, standing and running are examples of stressors of our body however these stressors can benefit our body if it is controlled and regulated. It’s important to have controlled and regulated stresses to prevent injury. This can be learned from medical experts like doctors and physiotherapists.

 

The Importance of Body Awareness

It is important not only for runners but also for people engaging in different sports, to be mindful about their body’s reaction from whatever activity they have done. Reaction such as pain, fatigue and skin discoloration are some of the few signs that can indicate that you need to take some break. Sports people can also benefit from the advice and programs of the medical teams such as doctor, physiotherapist, and nutritionist, psychologist and even from the sport trainers like coaches and personal trainer.

 

Proper body awareness is the key to preventing injuries. Achieving this is not easy, but understanding the basic concept of anatomy and physiology can be learned by finding the right physiotherapist and doctor medical team.

 

Through the right physiotherapy exercises, body awareness gained will help keep your body well lubricated and in top form for any sports you undertake.

 

We have a running talk coming up end of this month, and our Principal physiotherapist from Physioclinic will discuss about several tips and techniques of proper running during the Optimum Run event organized by Usports.

Go to http://www.usports.com.sg/events/optimum-run/ to find out more about it.