2 More Christmas Stress Busters- Eating Frogs and Rewarding Yourself

1. Eat the frog first! This well known expression, to me anyway makes a massive difference to all poor time planners. Whatever you do not want to do or are avoiding doing, do it first because if have to eat a frog, he won’t get any prettier looking at him! So if you know you must do those exercises, get out of bed and do them, then you can feel virtuous for the rest of the day. Or at least until lunchtime when you are supposed to do them again.
2. Reward yourself frequently. It’s amazing how little things can help so much. A short walk round the garden with a cup of coffee or 10 minutes with your magazine and a cup of tea can create a natural change of pace that will help the brain to rest and refocus. I personally set the oven alarm so that as I work at the computer I know that when this goes off I get up and stretch and then have a 10 minute break with a book in another room.
3. Book a relaxing de-stressing treatment at the clinic-aromatherapy or reflexology.

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Have great day

4 Top Tips to Avoid Christmas Stress

I am highly disorganised this time of year. Thoughts start to spin in my head but over the years I have found a few simple ways to deal with those thought so that I feel productive and not panicked.

Short and simple they do work.

1. Brain Dump everything you have to do onto a large sheet of paper. This can be done for the week or the day.
2. Now be utterly ruthless and ask which tasks are an absolute must and which are really not urgent, not important and if they never get done it really won’t matter or can be crossed off for some other time. E.g. cleaning under the beds because your mother WILL look.
3. Then set your goals for the week or the day. Your absolute musts that will make a significant difference to your stress levels. E.g. Writing Christmas cards so that you can catch the second class mail and your overseas ones will arrive before January 15^th.  Placing the delivery order with Waitrose  etc so that you won’t have to join the last minute scrum and also buy ‘stuff’ you don’t really want.
4. Ideally spend about 10 minutes planning the most important things you need to get done tomorrow before you finish your day. This might be at work or perhaps 10 minutes before you start to prepare supper. It is amazing what a difference this can make to your evening and day knowing that you have already got tomorrow worked out.

A couple more soon. Have great day.

Back Pain- How it is Caused and Exercises to Prevent

Back pain awareness week has just finished and was  important to highlight back pain as a problem within our society, one which can touch each of us on a daily basis. 

There are many structures within the spine which may emit pain.  The Disc is the most commonly affected, it is the central shock absorption structure and enables the spine to bend smoothly.  The problem comes when the disc is static for long periods or abnormally loaded during movement.  It requires a fine interaction of movement and the flowing of fluid in and out keeping the cells hydrated and healthy. 

The Disc is loaded with fluid it is sensitive to pressure changes so it is vital we bend properly and in a controlled manner.  During static postures the disc can be subjected to the starvation of fluid  carrying nutrients and oxygen and therefore the cells will become dysfunctional.  This can accelerate degeneration and further make the structure susceptible to injury. 

The joints either side of the disc, the facet joints, are responsible for allowing each vertebrae to sit on top of one another.  The joints follow the same basic properties as any other joint in the body.  They have cartilage to protect bone surfaces and enable movement, fluid to nourish the cartilage and a membrane to encapsulate the area.  Like any other joint in the body it can become stiff is its not moved. 

The spine has a primary role of housing the spinal cord as it descends through the body to supply respective muscles, joints, organs etc. with a nerve impulse and reciprocally carry information on a return journey to the brain. 

Looking after your spine is a way to enhance to general well being.  Maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise will ensure you muscles are adequately conditioned to deal with the stresses and strains of daily living.  Diet will provide the body with appropriate nutrients to nourish cells and keep them healthy.

Sounds a lot?  Ok, then let’s start a little smaller.  Here are some very simple stretches with the aim of enhancing flexibility and therefore reducing the chances of getting back pain. 

1: Flexion     Lie on your back with your knees to chest- clasp arms round

2: Rotation   Lie on back with both knees bent. Cross one leg over the other and then gently rotate spine to other side. Repeat on other leg.
    

3: Extension     Put hand on buttocks and gently lean backwards                                                                     

 4: Flexion (also called angry Cat!) On all fours with arms below shoulder baldes gently arch the back.

The names of each exercise relate to the direction of movement the spine is subjected to.

They are easy and require no special equipment.  They should be done GENTLY, SLOWLY, and IN A CONTROLLED MANNER. 

Do not rush exercises and always make sure you are in complete control of the manoeuvre.  

Aim to perform these exercises twice a day repeating each 5 times and holding the stretch for 10 seconds at a time. 

If you have an existing problem or you are not sure if these exercises are for you then consult one of our physiotherapists in person or by telephone.  In general they are safe, however you should discontinue use if encountering pain.

Written by Adrian Wagstaff Chartered Physiotherapist at The Warr Physiotherapy Clinic Wokingham
http://www.warrclinic.co.uk/