Thursday, August 30, 2012

Think about Posture and get Healthier

http://www.triplicate.com/Opinion/Columns/House-Calls-Think-about-posture-and-get-healthier

House Calls: Think about posture and get healthier

Written by Kristine Vargas

House Calls runs every other Saturday. Today’s column is written by Kristine Vargas, a physical therapy student at Sutter Coast Hospital.

Summer is here, and school is out. This may be the perfect time to address some of those aches and pains you have.

Most of us don’t realize how our posture could be causing us pain whether we’re fishing, running, swimming, window shopping, working at our desk or just sitting in front of the television.

Your spine has three natural curves, a cervical curve (your neck), a thoracic curve (your mid-back), and a lumbar curve (your low-back). Proper posture helps maintain these curves. Poor posture can cause extra stress on joints, leading to fatigue and pain in your neck, shoulders, back, and hips. This can also contribute to headaches, numbness and tingling in arms, wrists, and hands in people of all ages.

Standing

Look in the mirror. Make sure your head isn’t tilted and isn’t too forward or backward, ears line up with your shoulders.

Relax your shoulders, keeping them down and back. Your knees should not be locked; feet shoulder-width apart and weight evenly spread through your feet. Pull in your belly button and buttocks in order to engage important muscles that support your spine.

Sitting

Have a friend or co-worker take a picture of you at your desk. Your feet should lay flat on the floor, with your knees level with your hips.

Again, your head should be straight and your belly button should be engaged. Arm rests should be moved up or down to allow shoulder’s to stay relaxed as opposed to shrugging. Your back should be firmly against a back rest, but still be able to look at a computer screen without tilting your head.

You may benefit from an ergonomic assessment of your work station. This can usually be set up through your human resources department or a physical therapist.

Keep moving

Sometimes we can’t avoid sitting or standing for long periods of time. Take frequent breaks, a minute every half an hour, to stretch out your arms and legs. If you’re sitting a lot, try to take a brief walk every hour.

Good posture takes practice! It may feel unnatural at first if your body is used to poor posture, but leave little reminders for yourself to use proper posture at the computer, the sink, or in the car.

If you continue to have issues with pain, numbness and tingling it may be worth your while to see a physical therapist.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

For more information, go online to mayoclinic.com/health/back-pain/LB00002_D

Email suggestions for future House Calls columns to Beth Liles at Sutter Coast Hospital,

ADVERTISEMENT: www.SpinalQ.com , rehab jacket, posture Jacket, posture brace, Spinal que, Spinal Q, TOS, TLSO, L0456, www.L0456.com, Q Brace, Spinal Q Brace, alignment brace, improve your posture and improve your life. www.spinalq.com www.qbrace.com www.rehabjacket.com spinal q, spinalq, qbrace, q brace, rehab jacket, TLSO, L0456, posture jacket, Posture brace, improve your posture, spinal que, www.L0456.com , dewall, Posture Protector, DPP, L0430 www.spinalq.com www.qbrace.com www.rehabjacket.com spinal q, spinalq, qbrace, q brace, rehab jacket, TLSO, L0456, posture jacket, Posture brace, improve your posture, spinal que, www.L0456.com , Dewall Posture Protector, DPP, l0430
, www.L0430.com , spinalq, spinal q, Rehab Jacket, Posture Brace, Improve Posture , Posture Bra, L0456

Scapular Dyskinesis & SICK Scapula

All,

The Spinal Q Rehab Jacket is Prescribed A LOT for Scapular Malfunction, often referred to as: SCAPULAR DYSKINESIS, and sometimes Also called a SICK SCAPULA.

Many common pathologies that have Scapular Dyskinesis or a SICK scapula include: Rotator Cuff Repairs, SLAP Tears, Impingement, and various other shoulder ailments.

Below is a Short summary of various forms of Scapular Malfunction.

Scapular Dyskinesis

View of the right shoulder from a postero-lateral angle

Abnormal movement of the shoulder blade (scapula) is known as scapular dyskinesis. This occurs in a variety of shoulder problems. It is an important sign of an underlying shoulder disorder and a guide to shoulder rehabilitation.

In the clinical situation 3 types of scapula dyskinesis can be identified, although there is some overlap between the 3 types.

Type 1 - Infero-medial scapula border prominence

This becomes more evident in the cocking position of overhead sports. It is often associated with tightness at the anterior side of the shoulder (in flexibility of the pectoralis major/ minor muscles) and weakness of the lower trapezius and serratus anterior muscles. posterior tipping of the scapula is responsible for functional narrowing of the subacromial space during the overhead motion, leading to pain in the abduction/externally rotated position. This is often noticed in the early stages of shoulder disorders.

Type 2 - medial border prominence

This pattern is winging of the entire medial border of the scapula at rest. It becomes more prominent in the cocking position and after repetitive elevation of the upper extremity. It is caused by fatigue of the scapula stabilizing muscles (trapezius and rhomboids).

Type 3 - supero-medial border prominence

This type of dyskinesis is displayed as a prominence of the superior medialborder of the scapula and often associated with impingement and rotator cuff injury.

The "SICK scapula"

The term SICK scapula was introduced to describe the pathological state of the scapula characterised by:

Scapula malposition
Inferior medial border prominence
Coracoid pain and malposition
Kinesis abnormalities of the scapula

This syndrome is characterised by a drooping of the shoulder and is often seen in overhead athletes. It is thought to contribute to the development of shoulder injuries. In most overhead athletes, abnormal positioning of the scapula can be detected. Although it seems that the affected shoulder has a lower position compared with the healthy side, actually there is scapula malposition consisting of forward tilting and protraction. According to Kibler, this clinical picture is associated with anterior coracoid pain, posterosuperior localised pain and pain at the superolateral side of the shoulder (subacromial space and acromioclavicular joint). The anterior localised pain can be confused with other causes of anteriorshoulder pain, such as instability or a SLAP lesion. The pain at the posterior side is caused by insertional pain over the scapula and is due to chronic over tension by the abducted and protracted scapula.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

FW: The Ultimate Guide to Good Posture: Office Edition

http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/17/the-ultimate-guide-to-good-posture-office-edition/

The Ultimate Guide to Good Posture: Office Edition

Greatist is the fastest-growing fitness, health and happiness start-up. Check out more tips, expert opinion and fun times at Greatist.com.

Read other related stories about this:

Friday, August 10, 2012

FW: Beauty Pageants in the 50's were graded on POSTURE

http://keranews.org/post/you-think-beauty-skin-deep-youre-not-chiropractor

You Think Beauty Is Skin Deep? You're Not A Chiropractor

Credit Wallace Kirkland / Time

Contestants Marianne Baba (left), Lois Conway and Ruth Swenson stand next to plates of their X-Rays during a chiropractor-judged beauty contest.

When the nation's chiropractors descended on Chicago for a weeklong convention in May 1956, they threw a beauty contest.

The judges crowned Lois Conway, 18, Miss Correct Posture. Second place went to Marianne Caba, 16, according to an account in the Chicago Tribune. Ruth Swenson, 26, came in third.

But this was no ordinary pageant.

"All three were picked not only by their apparent beauty, and their X-rays, but also by their standing posture," the Tribune reported. "Each girl stood on a pair of scales — one foot to each — and the winning trio each registered exactly half her weight on each scale, confirming the correct standing posture."

At the time, contests like this were pretty common. They were held to burnish the reputation of the profession. "Basically, chiropractic had a PR problem. We were unlicensed in those days," Dr. P. Reginald Hug, a past president of the Association for the History of Chiropractic, tells Shots. "We were the new kids on the block and medicine didn't like us."

By crowning posture queens, the chiropractors could build goodwill without making waves with traditional doctors. "It was a way to get PR that was kind of middle of the road," he says. The message, he says, was that good posture leads to good health. And chiropractors were the people to get you on the right path.

Hug, a retired chiropractor in Birmingham, Ala., has written about the contests in Alabama and elsewhere.

Hug says the contests date to the 1920s, but they became the rage during the '50s and '60s. Contestants were typically judged on beauty and poise, posture, and X-rays to evaluate their spinal structure. "In those days, nobody was concerned about radiation," Hug says.

Physical fitness tests were added to many contests after 1963, when President Kennedy's Council on Physical Fitness drummed up interest in regular exercise.

There were some contests for men, too. But they weren't as popular and didn't last very long, Hug says, adding, "The guys always slouched."

In 1967, the reigning World Posture Fitness Queen appeared on CBS's game show To Tell The Truth. Hug says other winners snagged national TV appearances, too.

But the pageants began to wane as chiropractors achieved their licensure goals. The last big contest was held in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1969. "Their time had come and gone," Hug says.

Hat tip to Retronaut, where you can find even more photos from the Chicago contest in 1956.