The Kitchen - Don't make it an ergonomic disaster!

The Kitchen – an Ergonomics Disaster!

Several of the activities we do in the kitchen are easy and painless, until you have a back problem.  By developing healthy habits in the kitchen and around the house you can help prevent poor posture and help relieve or prevent future problems.

• Try to avoid leaning forward over the kitchen sink.  Instead, try opening a cabinet door under the sink and resting your foot on the shelf to give your back more stability.  Also, try to tighten your lower abdominal muscles as you are standing and moving.
• When reaching into lower cabinets to get those pesky plastic containers and pots/pans, squat from your knees and avoid bending forward from your hips.  This allows your back to stay in a more neutral position and uses your leg muscles, instead of straining your back muscles.
• If you are going to be doing something where you are standing at the counter for a prolonged period of time, take a break and pinch shoulder blades back for 5 seconds a couple times. 
• Be mindful of how your body feels.  If you start to feel aching in your neck or back, change positions or stop and switch to a different activity.
• If you experience pain, contact your physical therapist or physician.

Shannon L. Lasowitz, DPT

Physical Therapist 

An Ergonomic Workspace is Important for Good Posture

When resting or sitting at a desk, not many people think about their posture.  However, this is very important.  While you may think that your body is resting, there are actually many muscles working to keep you upright.  Prolonged positioning in awkward or incorrect postures can potentially contribute to neck pain, upper back pain, and headaches.  This may be especially prevalent in people who work in sedentary or desk jobs.
            A good question to ask is how is your environment set up?  Think about your job.  Are you sitting at a desk all day?  If so, then the computer monitor should be straight ahead at eye level.  You should not have to turn your head to look at your monitor.  The keyboard should be sitting at a height that allows your elbows to be bent and resting comfortably.  You should have a good chair with good back support and feet fully on the floor.  Do you answer the phone all day?  If you do, do you have to turn your head or body repeatedly to reach it?  Do you cradle the phone between your ear and shoulder? Any of these motions can contribute to neck or back pain.  A hands-free headset can eliminate some of these problems.  If any of the above aspects are off, then that may predispose you to incorrect posture.
Also be sure to think about home life and how you sit when looking at the computer/TV or reading.  Any prolonged postures can potentially contribute to neck or back pain.  It is always a good idea to periodically check how you are positioned to make sure that your posture is good.  A good rule of thumb for correct posture is to overexaggerate good posture and then relax.  To do this, sit fully straight with your shoulders back and head in line with your trunk.  Then relax about 10 percent.  This should be about the position that is appropriate for your body.

            There are many other aspects that can contribute to neck pain, headaches, and back pain.  If you have any further questions, our physical therapists will be glad to help.  We are able to screen where your pain is coming from, assess your posture, help correct it, and talk through your work/home environment to see if any changes are necessary.

Is Physical Therapy Painful?

No pain no gain is an exercise motto that promises greater rewards for the price of hard and even painful work. As a physical therapist, I hear this motto almost on a daily basis and unfortunately it does not always apply to the work that needs to be done during physical therapy treatment.

Pain is a subjective unpleasant sensory experience associated with actual or perceived damage to tissue. Individuals receiving physical therapy are there as a result of damaged tissues. As a result, therapy revolves around healing of those tissues. In physical therapy there is a certain amount of “pain” depending on the stage of recovery. Normal pain sensations could be either associated with stretching tightened tissues or strengthening weakened muscles. In other cases, therapy will focus on decreasing swelling or inflammation of an injured area. During this stage, pain should be avoid due to the risk of increasing swelling or inflammation ultimately slowing down the healing process

Due to the subjectivity of pain varying from person to person it is important to report any sensations of pain to your therapist when receiving treatment. They will be able to distinguish whether the pain you are experiencing is a normal sensation or pain that should be avoided.  As physical therapists, part of our job is to monitor the pain elicited carefully and on an individual basis in regards to the patient’s diagnosis.

Remember no pain no gain does not always apply to physical therapy despite popular opinion!