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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An Ergonomically Friendly Desk Tidy-up + Awesome Desk Exercise for you!

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This week we had some fun on social media…
It was ‘Clean Up Australia Day’ for Businesses on Monday, so I set us all a little challenge!

We went through the simple things we can all do every day to help keep our nation and our office safe (and beautiful) by picking up rubbish and things lying around. 

AND I showed you how to give your own workspace an ‘Ergonomically Friendly Clean-up’ to inspire you to get you in the tidying mood!
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An Energy Boost and Encouragement for you

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Do you ever feel a little sluggish, even stiff or sore sitting at your desk?

Or maybe you get frustrated there’s not enough time in the day to exercise as much as you’d like…

I want to inspire you, your workmates and even your family with this quick exercise tip!

You see, 30mins of daily exercise is awesome (and typically recomended), but it’s difficult for so many people that they end up doing nothing at all! 😳

I see so many poor souls struggling with wearing so many hats- they might be team leader or business owner, an employee, a parent, a student, then pile on top heaps of other committments- that they wrestle with finding time to prioritise the self-care things they should.

Does that ring true for you?

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Are you (and your team) ‘Fit to Sit’ at your desk?

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Do you ever feel…?

Knots, Niggles, Tension

Tight muscles, aches or even pains

Brain fog, Nodding off, productivity waning

Sluggish from hours at a screen, slouching

Eyes glazing over, grab another coffee

Frustrated by no time to exercise, Too much on your plate

Your weight creeping up, metabolism slowing down

Do any of those phrases resonate?

Or can you see yourself heading there if things don’t change?

There’s nothing more upsetting to me, as a health professional, than seeing people in a state of distress, suffering from combinations of the above symptoms.

Especially because most of those issues can be pretty easily avoided… if you know how.

Most people have no idea that this shouldn’t be ‘your normal’ and that a few simple strategies can empower you to take control and get your health back on track.

That’s good news, right?

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Feeling Neck Tension? Sick of Niggles and Knots? Check this out…

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I’ve seen so many people- workers, students, even stay-at-home mums and retirees- complaining of stiff, sore necks and tight, tense shoulders this year…

People struggling with headaches and feeling like their head weighs a tonne upon their shoulders.

Folks sick and tired of the dull ache in their upper back and between their shoulder blades.

Others irritated by niggling neck pain and tension.

Even kids complaining of soreness and strain while they study!

There’s always one thing in common…

Looking down for long periods!

We look down so much of our day 😳

Whether it’s looking

Down at your laptop or keyboard

Down at your phone or tablet

Down at your documents or books

Down at your kitchen or work bench…

I could go on and on.

Basically, we look down a lot.

Considering our head is like a bowling ball and, as it moves forwards, it hangs off our poor neck, shoulders and upper back, it’s no wonder those areas are feeling the strain.

How often, and for how long, do you look down each day?

This week, while you work,

While you study,

While you use your phone

and while you potter around the house

… try and keep tabs on how much of the day you look down.

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All I want for Christmas… NO MORE KNOTS in my neck, back & shoulders!

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Do you work from a laptop- at home, out and about, at school or uni?

 

Perhaps you even use a laptop at work?

 

Well, there’s obviously some great benefits to being portable while you work, a laptop can create major problems for you.

 

Here’s one of the biggest ones I see bothering my clients, a lot…

 

They get tension, knots and even pain in their neck and shoulders.

 

Some people even get headaches and upper back pain.

 

Is this normal? No!

 

Is it common? Yes!

 

Is there a solution? Luckily, Yes!

 

You see, the inherent problem with a laptop is the fact that the screen is connected to the keyboard.

 

Your keyboard needs to be at desk or table height for you to type without getting sore wrists and arms.

 

Your screen needs to be up at eye height so you can look straight ahead and not strain your head, neck, shoulders and upper back while you work.

 

The weight of your head is similar to a bowling ball…

And if it falls forward even the slightest bit while you look down, an incredible amount of strain and tension is put on the ligaments, joints and muscles of your back and neck.

 

Imagine the strain on your poor neck and upper back after you’ve been sitting for even 20 minutes!

 

Let alone hours on end while you finish off that urgent piece of work late into the night L

 

It’s a situation that often creates long term problems like pain, stiffness, arthritis and numerous injuries, if you don’t get ahead of the game…

 

Luckily I have a perfect solution for you!

 

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Sore Back At Work? Try These Simple Steps

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It’s National ‘Safe work month’ this October, so create some healthier work habits that your back will thank you for with some ‘physio approved’ advice.

On any given day in Australia, one quarter of our population is suffering some degree of back pain, and nearly 80 per cent of adults in Australia will experience back pain at some time during their lives.

Are you among them?

Research by the University of Sydney found that one third of all work related disability, world-wide, was from low back pain linked to workplace factors.

So I’ve teamed up with the Workscore’s Wellhub team to bring you some simple steps to combat back pain while you work!

If you sit at a desk a lot, you really must move often. Moving for 2 minutes every half hour is the gold standard. But that doesn’t mean you have to get up from your desk!

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