Working from Home Ergonomic and Posture Tips

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With the outbreak of the corona virus, many more of us are suddenly working from home.

Perhaps your workstation setup is less ergonomically friendly than in your office and you’re wondering how best to set yourself up successfully?

There are some quick and easy principles you can follow to keep strain and pain off your body, so I filmed this video for you to watch.

Ergonomic and posture tips working from home

So take a look at these quick and easy, also inexpensive tips that will help you feel fabulous and stay productive working from home.

If you’d like to get your hands on my favourite stretches and exercises to do at your desk to take strain off your body and improve your flexibility you can grab them here.

How to choose a Schoolbag that’s good for your student’s posture and back

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Are you getting your kid’s bags packed and ready for the start of the new school year in 2020?

One of the things parents often ask me is if their student’s school bag might be making their posture worse, or causing them strain and pain.

The short asnwer is ‘YES”. There are a number of ways that bags can contribute to poor posture and strain on children’s bodies.

The good news is there are also a number of things we can do to help minimise this strain and improve their posture 🙂

 

Firstly, choose a bag that helps them distribute weight more evenly across their back.

A backpack is obviously ideal, and even better is a backpack that has a waist strap. This can keep the weight of the bag closer to their back (especially helpful when they’re running!) and distribute some weight lower around their hips and pelvis, taking some load off their shoulders.

 

A satchel with an adjustable shoulder strap is the next best choice. The longer strap allows weight of the bag to be distributed across the body on both sides. The strap whould be longer rather than shorter, to keep the weight close to the pelvis. When the weight is dangling down around the legs it’s very hard to walk evenly.

 

Next, talk with your student about how it’s best for them to carry their bag.

It’s all very well to have selected a great looking bag that should, in theory, help their posture and unload their back and shoulders, but the way they carry it on a daily basis is possibly the most important factor.

We’ve all done it- slung our backpack over one shoulder so we end up taking all the weight through one side!

The key to success is their understanding that carrying their bag unevenly makes a BIG difference. Getting into the habit of putting both straps of a backpack on, or slinging a shoulder strap over their head and across their body takes so much strain off their back and shoulders. 

The more often they can remember to wear their bag properly the better- little healthy choices all add up to help them feel less strain and improve their posture.

 

Finally, try to limit their load. 

The lighter the bag the better… so if they need to use textbooks for home study, see if you can source some second hand ones to stop them needing to carry them to and from school.

Lighter tablets and laptops help, as does clearing out the junk in the bottom on their bag regularly 😉

Lots of gentle reminders during the school term and encouragement when you see them doing the right thing will help.

REmember, kids are only human, and the best prompt for making change will happen when their start to feel their symptoms… so if they’re complaining of a sore neck, back or shoulders, that’s your cue to help them problem solve the ‘Why’?

The wrong bag, worn incorrectly and loaded up, can be part of their problem. Other factors could be their device or desk setup,  poor strength and flexibility, or simply spending too long sitting. These are worth asking about, and you’re welcome to reach out and ask me any questions.

If their soreness or tightness persists, even at a low level please seek help for your student- there’s often a quick and easy solution!

If you’d like some exercises for your family members to do at their desk to help lessen pain and improve their posture and productivity just click on the button below.

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead for you and your students in 2020!

Best exercises at your desk

Suffering Neck tension & Sore Shoulders? The BEST NECK STRETCH EVER will help you!

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Still suffering with tense, tight neck muscles from the end of financial year push or end of semester exams?

You’re not alone!

Students and workers alike are feeling the pinch- literally- in their neck, upper back and shoulders 😖

If you’re keen for relief and want the most effective stretch I know of to stretch out those knots then take a couple of minutes to watch this short video…

You’ll feel your neck and shoulders unwinding in no time!

There’s a very specific way you can help your muscles release and stay looser for longer 😃, so make sure you know how!

Click this link to the best neck stretch you’ll ever get or click on the picture below


Stretch out knots in your neck and shoulders

For weekly tips on feeling amazing – less pain & strain and more productive- at your desk, enter your name and email address below

Strategy #2 for setting yourself up for Success at your desk

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Keen to feel less Pain, Strain and Drain- so can feel at your Best and Be more Productive- at your desk?😁
Here’s strategy #2 to help you with just that! ✅

It’s a quick tip to kickstart your week the right way!

 

Strategy #2 to set yourself up for success at your desk

Click on the picture above or Click here to get the low down on Tip # 2 to feel amazing while you beaver away at your desk!

If you and your team would like a lunch n learn or practical workshop that walks you through targeted exercises and tips that help you boost your brainpower, energy levels and unwind tight muscles… feel free to reach out to me 😊

#movemore #posture #healthyhabits #workplacehealth #wellbeing #befit4study #befit2sit #education

Strategy #1 for Setting yourself up for Success at your desk

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My 31 strategy to set yourself up for success at your desk! 😀
Discover How to Feel your Best and be far more productive with this Top Tip, plus a bonus awesome desk exercise! ✅

End of Semester and the End of Financial Year is fast approaching and you might well be feeling the strain and drain of sitting at your desk more than usual? 😳

This is the first of 5 key steps to beating fatigue and fighting off sore muscles that I can’t wait to share with you👍

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Stiff and Sore no more! Grab this Easter Holiday Travel Tip that keeps your back and hips happy while you Sit

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Travelling this Easter Break? Does you back groan at you just with the thought of sitting for hour in the car, train or plane?

Do you feel hunched over with stiffness or soreness in your low back and hips from being stuck sitting for ages… then take a bit of unwinding while you straighten up again?

I’ve got some good news for you!

I recorded a video of my favourite way to keep your back and hips from stiffening up while you travel… this tip has saved me many times 🙂

It’s also a great way to keep yourself alert if you’re driving or stuck sitting in a meeting or conference when you can’t move as much as you’d like to.

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Relieve Neck, Back and Shoulder tension with this Quick Tip

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Take tension off your Neck, Back and Shoulders with this quick tip

I often prescribe my clients the ‘Smiling Collar-bones’ exercise that gives them a quick and easy way to improve their posture and take tension off their neck, shoulders and upper back.

It’s also one of my favourite ways of explaining healthy posture habits for your head, neck and shoulders and clients can’t believe how easy it is to remember… so they do it more often!

The other thing is, your don’t have to even leave your chair to do it! Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you can ‘Smile’ your collarbones and feel the difference in your body!

That’s a win-win all round!

This week saw us celebrating April Fool’s Day… and National ‘Smile Day’ in Australia. So I thought I’d bring a smile to your dial and share this awesome exercise with you…

 

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New evidence that Exercise Boosts our Brainpower!

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New research has unlocked another piece in the puzzle of how exercise improves our brain function.

A discovery has identified what triggers the brain to boost brain function through exercise.

Many of us will be familiar with the ‘post-exercise high’ that is often what motivates us to get our joggers on in the first place. We can always look forward to feeling more awake and ‘alive’ post-workout, even if we are physically exhausted!

The Hippocampus is an important area of our brain for memory and learning. When we exercise, stem cells in this region multiply to form new nerve cells (neurons) which leads to improvements in learning and memory.

And now we know more about how…

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Try this Exercise to boost your Brainpower while you work!

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This week is Brain awareness week, so in honour of raising awareness about brain research and developing healthy habits for your brain, I’ve got a great Brain- Boosting Exercise for you!

Exercise helps you wake up the centre of your brain that helps you stay alert, increases the flow of blood and therefore oxygen to your brain, and even has an anti-depressant effect…

So it’s well worth trying exercises like this one at your desk, or getting up to move regularly.

Rather than drone on about the exercise that I love the most for energizing me throughout my workday, I filmed a short video to show you!

This is hands down my favourite exercise for a couple of reasons

  • it wakes you up by encouraging deep breathing down into your lower ribs and lungs
  • it helps you reverse your posture from slouching
  • it uses the best ‘anti-slouching muscles’ in a way that helps them stay working after you finish exercising
  • Takes the strain off your back, neck and shoulders and encourages your body to maintain a better posture

I’d love you to let me know how you go with it and tell me how you feel afterwards!

Or if you have any other questions about how to best keep yourself energised and ditch the strain of sitting at your desk, computer or on your device I’d be happy to chat via email at kym@kymsiddonsphysio.com.au

Time-saving tips for feeling fabulous, leading an active life and aging gracefully… in celebration of International Women’s Day

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March 8th is International Women’s Day, and on this day we celebrate everything awesome and unique about women!

 

One of the most special things about women is that they tend to be ‘nurturers’ of those around them. They’re often carers in the form of mothers, grandmothers, sisters or daughters and supportive friends or colleagues of the many people in their community.

 

And women often feel their greatest sense of satisfaction and worth in giving of themselves to others- they’re time, their listening ear, their advice, their hospitality and their heart.

 

In our increasingly busy world, however, this selfless commitment to giving and putting other’s needs before their own can take its toll.

 

Yes, as women we tend to wear many hats and, sadly, the ‘hat of self-care’ is usually donned the least.

 

The sad reality is that I speak to many women daily who aren’t feeling great about themselves. They find it hard to see, let alone celebrate their amazing qualities amidst their struggle.

 

They’re often worried about their weight, worried about how stiff and sore they feel, how exhausted and sluggish they feel, worried about the increasing hunch of their shoulders, worried about their health and the little time they have to devote to taking care of themselves.

 

Does that resonate with you?

 

Well, I want to encourage you today!

Firstly, I assure you that you are doing a great job.

 

And secondly, I want to remind you that you can’t help others unless you fit your own oxygen mask first…

 

While it certainly is tough to prioritise your own physical and mental health when you’ve got deadlines at work, family and social commitments, household chores to get done and hungry kids or pets hounding you…

 

I’d like you to stop for a second and take a deep breath, then exhale, and read on.

 

If I told you that you could skyrocket your physical and mental health in just 2 minutes, would you want to know how?

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