Bone and Joint Action Week is an annual, global event which takes place from 12th to 20th October 2016. With the focus on back pain, osteoporosis, arthritis and trauma; health professionals, patients and organisations are aiming to increase awareness of how to prevent these conditions, as well as manage and treat them.
At Solihull Osteopathic Practice we regularly see patients who experience all sorts of pain and health conditions, some with short term issues which can be treated in just a couple of sessions, as well as others with chronic conditions such as arthritis, which require more regular appointments to help to manage the pain. Whilst some conditions develop through no fault of the patient’s own, other disorders can be prevented by making just a few small changes.
Let’s take a brief look at the type of everyday activities which can cause issues with our bones and joints:
- Poor posture. If you’re sitting at your PC or laptop right now, are you sitting straight, or are you hunched over? Many of us are guilty of sitting incorrectly when using a computer, and if you’re an office worker who spends many hours per day staring at the screen, chances are you feel tension in your neck and shoulders, and even your lower back. Try to get up and walk around every 20 minutes or so, stretch whenever you can and try to avoid sitting for long periods of time to prevent a whole host of posture-related aches and pains.
- Lifting heavy items. Whilst most of us understand the rules of lifting heavy items – keep your back straight, bend your knees to lift the item, or even better separate the item into smaller sections, it is very tempting to just lift a heavy object by bending to the floor to reach underneath the box.
- Sports injuries. We certainly wouldn’t suggest not taking part in sports just in case you get hurt, but there are things you can do to reduce your risk of injury. Ensure that you warm up properly, stretch your muscles carefully once you have finished your activity, wear the right shoes and relevant protective gear if necessary and try to reduce risk.
Bone and Joint Awareness Week also aims to ‘keep people moving’. At Solihull Osteopathic Practice we are keen advocates of exercise and the benefits it brings – with Jeremy’s 100 mile bike ride in June and the team effort for the Stratford Triathlon relay in May (Jake even ran the 5km section barefoot!) and whilst we don’t suggest this is what all of our patients should be doing, we certainly believe that keeping the body moving to encourage mobility and flexibility can certainly help to manage a whole host of sometimes debilitating physical conditions.
If you would like to find out more about how our osteopathy services may help to prevent, manage or treat a condition which you are currently experiencing, give a team a call on 0121 705 4499 to book an appointment.