We love this great video that has been created for World Spine Day. This year’s campaign, ‘Straighten Up and Move’ promotes the importance of physical activity for a healthy spine.
Watch the video, sing along and get moving:)
Here at Cliffs Chiropractic Clinic we totally support the campaign and our Back to Business exercise programme is designed to help people straighten up through a series of exercises to counteract everyday actions like using your mobile phone or sitting down at a desk for hours on end.
Arif says “We all need to be more aware of how we sit, stand and walk. It’s all too easy to slouch. I’m treating more and more back conditions than ever before and my patients are getting younger, under 30, and this is a direct result of our more sedentary lifestyles and our near-addiction to mobile devices. This is putting additional strain on the spine as we bend our necks to send and receive texts and emails, leading to early wear-and-tear on the upper spine and spinal degeneration. It’s even got a name – ‘text neck’.”
(The term ‘text neck’ was made famous in 2014 by Dr Kenneth Hansraj, Head of Spine Surgery Research at New York Spine Surgery & Rehabilitation Medicine in 2014. His research revealed that constantly staring down at our mobile devices increases the effective pressure on the neck, from 27lbs at a 15-degree angle to 60lbs at 60 degrees, leading to early wear-and-tear on the upper spine and spinal degeneration. He said that this condition, which was reaching epidemic levels, could result in permanent spinal damage.)
Arif recommends that his simple exercises (there are only six) should be done every hour to alleviate stiffness, prevent back pain, develop better posture and improve energy levels. His intention is that they will become second nature, just like brushing your teeth, so it helps that each exercise has been given a memorable name: The Sway, the Squeeze, the Sit Down, the Cuppa, the Chin Tuck and the Thinker, and only takes seconds to perform.
You can watch the Back to Business videos here.