Back/neck/body advice (chair, strentght and stretching?)

cormie

Hi,
I'm currently enduring a pretty bad back after pulling it on the job the last day. It'll be ok soon I'm sure but it happens to me quite regularly. I was just recovering from a neck injury before that (that happened playing basketball after throwing the ball some strange way).

I want to reduce the chances of it happening again and again. I'd spend quite a lot of time at the computer too and have done for years and wouldn't be in a good position while doing so at all, usually crouched over. I'm thinking I should buy a decent chair and was looking at one of them kneeling chairs, I've found one for 20euro actually. I'm not sure if they are gimmicky though or really work?

I found this video quite good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tG1y0gYRcw

was wondering if there's any other advice? Would something like Yoga make me a lot less likely to get injury doing the work I do (furniture/piano removals) if I'm more flexible? My flexibility is shocking by the way!

Would like to get on top of this as it's really inhibiting and it's not just the back but overall body I'd like to improve.

Any advice appreciated!

Glowing

If you use a computer at work, I'd advice getting an ergonomic assessment done at work before doing anything else - you should be entitled to one every few years. Even something as simple as getting a laptop stand to raise the screen up to eye level will make all the difference in the world and prevent you having to hunch over. Caused me no end of issues before I got my desk properly set up.

cormie

I'm self employed so all responsibility is on me

Dathai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfg_e6YG37U (Kelly Starrett @ Google)

Might get a few tips from this also.

cormie

Thanks for the link, watched 18 minutes of it so far but will have to watch the rest soon

So what about these kneeling chairs? I've a chance to get one for 20 quid, there's no brand name or anything on it, but it's a wooden one and I think it's adjustable. Gimmick or back saver I wonder?

cormie

Good discussion on this page regarding chairs: http://slashdot.org/story/06/06/23/1924214/do-ergonomic-chairs-really-work seems the kneeling chairs don't have too much good feedback, but an Aeron chair seems to have great feedback. Don't really have space for an Aeron though

cormie

Would anyone know, what would be the best way to go about minimising future injuries at all? Considering I do a lot of heavy lifting (pianos etc) in my job and play a good bit of sport when I'm not injured, would yoga be a good thing to take up to make the body more resilient to injury, as well as building back muscles and the likes? Any help appreciated!

cormie

Another option I'm thinking of going for is a saddle chair, they seem to offer the same benefits of a kneeling chair but tackle problems of knee and shin pressure as the legs are more free to move.

Hanley

cormie wrote: »

Would anyone know, what would be the best way to go about minimising future injuries at all? Considering I do a lot of heavy lifting (pianos etc) in my job and play a good bit of sport when I'm not injured, would yoga be a good thing to take up to make the body more resilient to injury, as well as building back muscles and the likes? Any help appreciated!

Mobility, soft tissue quality, good lifting technique, more strength.

Mobility - being able to get into the right positions to use the right muscles to do the job

Soft tissue quality - foam rolling etc to ensure knots/adhesions etc etc aren't too prevalent and puling you in ways you shouldn't go

Good lifting tekkers - pretty self explanatory

More strength - a bigger "strength reserve" means you'll be less likely to be at the limit on your job and should therefore be less likely to injure yourself.

RE: chair - I don't know if it's been said, but have a look at standing desks, Kelly Starrett did a good thing on it on his mobilitywod.com site. Failing that, lots of hip flexor stretching and glute activation.

cormie

Thanks for that, that's 2 posts now mentioning Kelly's talk so I must have a proper look at it again! Just had a look at what foam rolling is too, never heard of that before, is that something that should be done daily or just before undertaking work/exercise? I'd be quite used to how to lift things and what my strength will allow for too but getting stronger would definitely make things easier and hopefully reduce injury further. Pulled my neck again the last day, didn't even know how, had a full day of work, piano and everything and felt fine all day, went to a coffee shop and put my leg up, no sudden movements or jerks and felt my neck slightly tight then it got worse again. Pissed off with how easily I'm getting injured. I know I don't prepare enough before each job and sit too much when not on jobs so I'll just have to cop on I think

traco

I'm far from an expert but it might be worth seeing a PT or physio. It could be possible that the injuries you're feeling could be triggered by other muscles. Tight back from all the lifting and then moving your neck the wrong way when everything is too tight type of thing.

As I said I'm no medical expert but there'd be no harm to get someone to check it out particularly if you are doing heavy lifting, suspect poor posture and are having recurring issues.

If it is muscle tightness and knots, fibrous muscle tissue and good session or two will get the process started and then foam rolling might help maintain it.

They can also have a look at your posture and give you some pointers, Kelly's vids are excellent and if you adjust your posture and get a bit of professional advice you can address a lot of the ergonomic stuff yourself.

cormie

Thanks a lot for the input. I'm just back from a physio session, crazy how much an hours work can improve movement! She also recommended foam rolling and doing stretches (which I'm very bad at remembering to do!) and just overall posture improvement etc. Now I just have to apply the advice I've been given!

Hanley

cormie wrote: »

Thanks a lot for the input. I'm just back from a physio session, crazy how much an hours work can improve movement! She also recommended foam rolling and doing stretches (which I'm very bad at remembering to do!) and just overall posture improvement etc. Now I just have to apply the advice I've been given!

Best tip I can give on getting the most out of your physio is bring a smart phone along and get her to take pics/videos of the exercise while you do em. Always try to do it when I'm there.

cormie

That's a good tip alright, takes me a while to recap on the exercises when I do get around to doing them. She's a friend too so it wouldn't be a problem with her