Health Tips
General Health:
When it comes to your health it is important to keep a well-balanced approach. You must first decide what being healthy means to you. After that you must find the resources to help you achieve your goals. For this reason I hope to simplify things for you by providing links to and reviews of services, products, and information to help you in your search. See the links page for the ever-growing list of resources. To be healthy you must pay attention to the physical, mental and chemical components of your lifestyle. In other words you have to move (Hint: choose something that you enjoy), eat nutritiously (most of the time), watch what you put into your body, and make sure that you are taking care of your emotional needs (this is the most neglected and can lead to problems in the other areas). Most importantly: Keep it simple and have fun!
Back health:
This is just a quick synopsis of things to do to keep your back healthy. For more information Dr. Hinck is available for "Back Health" talks to your company, group, or club. In general, there are some simple things that you can do to help prevent injuries. Exercise: A regular exercise program can help strengthen muscles tendons and ligaments so that they are less susceptible to injury. Stretch: A proper stretching routine can help to keep muscles at a proper length so that they can do their job properly. How many of you know someone who suffers from "Weekend Warrior" syndrome? They work hard all week and then go play a sport on the weekend, without properly warming up, and they injure themselves. Sleep and relaxation: Your body must rest to recuperate. Your body does most of its healing while you are sleeping. When you skimp on it you cannot fully heal. When you are tired you are less likely to be fully focused and are thus more likely to accidentally injure yourself.
Water:
Your body requires a regular intake of water to not only function properly, but to help lubricate your joints and keep your discs hydrated. Remember: the 8-10 8 oz. glasses per day that are recommended are just for basic survival and function. Sadly, most people don't even meet this minimum requirement. Body awareness: One of the most important preventative measures is awareness of body posture as you go about our day. Most people don't want to be bothered with having to pay attention to their posture, however anyone who has sustained a back injury will tell you that it is well worth it. Dr. Hinck is available for talks on injury prevention. The last thing to consider is that the #1 predictor of a future back injury is a previous one. Why is this? When you injure the low back there is a miscommunication to the muscles that stabilize the low back (multifidi). From then on whenever you go to bend over or pick something up, instead of contracting before you act (as they normally should) they don't figure out that it is time to go to work until after they are needed. By that time it is too late and a new injury occurs. This is the same reason that people have a tendency to sprain the same ankle again and again. It is important to retrain the muscles and nervous system to do their job properly. This takes special training, as it is completely different than you might normally do in the gym.
Ergonomics:
Obviously we can't cover everything you ever needed to know about ergonomics here. One reason is for the sake of brevity. The other is that each situation is different and must be addressed on an individual basis. If you would like a complimentary ergonomic evaluation for your company feel free to contact Dr. Hinck. The following are some general tips for safety at the job and at home.
Your computer monitor:
Most people pay no attention to the height of their computer monitor and then wonder why they have neck pain, headaches etc. at the end of the day. Ergonomics "experts" have been teaching workers to keep their monitor at 15 degrees below eye level. Unfortunately, this is based on studies where the only criteria used were comfort level. They did not take into account the effect on the person's physiology or long-term effect on their spine, posture, nervous system etc. Current information tells us that the computer monitor should ideally be at or slightly above eye level.
Your keyboard:
To reduce stress an strain to the neck, shoulders and wrist, your keyboard should be dropped down to a little bit above your lap. A lot of computer desks these days have this feature built in. There is a slide out tray under the desk that the keyboard sets on. This slides out of sight when not in use. If your desk does not have this feature you may be able to install one to your desk. Check your local office supply store for details.
Your mouse:
Soon after the widespread use of personal computers people began developing all new injuries, in this case to the shoulder. When you have a standard mouse in an upraised position (on your desk) for extended periods of time it can put considerable stress and strain on the shoulder. This has resulted in what I call "mouse shoulder." (By the way I have also found this in people who ballroom dance frequently) There are several options for this. The first is, if you keep your standard mouse, move it down onto the aforementioned tray. My personal favorite is a tracking ball mouse. With this you can have it on the tray, on your lap, or you can even hold it sideways.
Your chair:
Your seat height should be positioned with the center of your hip slightly higher than your knees. The armrests should be low enough to allow the arms to hang naturally without the shoulders hunching up. There should be a good lumbar support. There are many more qualities that make a good chair. Talk to Dr. Hinck for more information.
In the car:
Unfortunately, most cars (unless they are very high end) don't allow you to have ideal ergonomics. Here are a few things to allow you to reduce the damage done by today's cars. Adjust the seat to a position where your arms hang naturally. If it is too close you end up hunching your shoulders. If it is too far away you have to reach, sit up and slump forward. Keep your head in line above your shoulders. No, pushing your head forward while you are driving does not get you there faster! A good rule of thumb is that your head should be within one inch of the head rest. This brings up another point. Put your headrest all of the way up. The way most cars are designed today, even with the headrest pushed all of the way up you would still sustain a considerable whiplash. Here is why. Using the example of a rear-ender accident, when you are hit from behind your body goes through what is called "ramping." What this means is that your body will slide up the seat and so when your head moves backward it will snap back over the head rest. Ouch! Ideally the top of the head rest should be one inch above the top of your head. Now, going back to ergonomics, lets talk about how you can make sure to keep your head up. First, position your head in proper posture. Next adjust your rear view mirror while still in proper posture. That way when you notice that you can't see out of the mirror you are reminded to sit up straight! Talk to Dr. Hinck about an ergonomic evaluation for your car.
