Poor ergonomics causes a lot of musculoskeletal injuries like back pain, neck and shoulder pain, RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches and eye strain. It also causes people to fatigue quicker, makes them irritable and generally less productive. So how should they set up their desk, chair and computer?
The chair should be adjustable so their feet touch the floor (or a footrest) and they are at a good height relative to the desk. The desk should not be too high so they are reaching, or too low so they are slumping …

Hi! Thanks for being patient with me, I know from the calls, emails, and the waiting list that there are a few of you out there hoping I’ll be starting back soon and I have good news – I spoke to someone at the registration board yesterday and my return to work is imminent! I will be going back to Bondi Junction to my old clinic, I have that funky picture of the castle already hung, and a fresh batch of pool noodles to hand out for rolling on.
Just to …

The results are in. Our survey, which was answered by the parents of students from all the big schools here in Singapore found the following:

85.7% of parents want to learn more about the links between nutrition/exercise and academic performance
84.9% of kids aren’t hitting the suggested daily “2 and 5” of fruit and vegetables
90.2% of you acknowledge that a heavy backpack has a medium-large impact on a child’s spine
80.9% of parents rightly believe that substituting study time for exercise would improve your child’s academic performance
Over 80% of kids are doing a …

Hello,
We are conducting a survey regarding the health habits of students in Singapore, so if you are the parent of a child attending school here we would greatly appreciate you helping us with our research. The more answers we can get the better, so by all means forward this to any other interested parents you may know.
Your answers will help us put the finishing touches on a talk and booklet we are preparing which looks at the links between diet, posture and exercise on the health, happiness and academic performance …

There has been a spate of articles lately, all on various health-related topics, but all with the same theme; prolonged sitting is bad for you. I’ll outline the take home points of a few of them in the hope that I can convince you to get up from your seat every now and then, or, if you work at Mac Bank, that your boss will let you up from your seat every now and then…
I have spoken about this in a general postural sense before when I mentioned that as …

More people miss work for back pain than any other ailment except the common cold. These are just some of the disorders associated with Office Tasks: Neck/shoulder tension, Headache, Tendinitis of the wrist & forearm ,Carpal tunnel syndrome, Mid back/shoulder blade pain, Lower back pain, and Sciatica.
The Number 1 mistake people make is that they sit in one position for too long.
Studies have consistently proven the amount of time you sit at the computer (hours keying per day/per week) is more important than posture. And the studies have shown that …

So sitting at work all day is no good for you. Duh. Now what can we do about it?
It is essential to break the cycle of repetitive strain, muscle fatigue, and pain. To do this we should recharge our muscles and take strain off our joints and discs every 20 minutes. Even if just for 10-30 seconds!
The first and most important thing to do is to stand up frequently. Micro breaks every 20 minutes are crucial to preventing the muscles from tightening.
Simply standing up and extending the lower back a …

If you want to give your self the best possible chance at preventing disc degeneration, follow these guidelines:
Low back flexibility – stretch low back muscles (eg rolling knees side to side), glutes (eg hugging your knee to your chest), hip flexors (eg lunge stretch), and hamstrings.
Core Strength – Deep abdominal strength/endurance as developed in Pilates; see figure (from http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/lbp involves drawing in your abdomen to contract the deep abdominals – get me to check you are doing it right next time you come in!)
Use correct Lifting Technique. Don’t combine movements …