The Talk

So I've been giving this talk all week to patients as they come into my clinic with their shoulders up around their ears and hunched over like Mr. Burns. Its getting closer and closer to Christmas and many (including me) are frantically trying to finish gifts. Please don't end up like that. Here are the 2 essential things you need to have to minimize the damage:

lighting, lighting, lighting- if you are finding the you are squinting to see your work, bent over nose to the table, or you are holding your work up right in front of your nose then you don't have enough light. Its best to use natural light but most of us don't have that so OTT lights rock! (no affiliation)

Egg timer- not just for perfect soft boiled eggs anymore. Set the timer for 30 minutes. When it goes off the 1st time you need to look up from your work, roll your shoulders, stand up and basically squirm around a bit in your chair. Reset the timer to another 30 min.
The second time the timer goes off you know its been an hour so you have to take a break- 5 minutes minimum. I know, I know you are in the middle of something and you'll finish it any second but get up anyways. "Finishing in a second" can turn into hours. You need to get up and move around to get blood flow (which will make the cloudiness go away) and to give your muscles are rest. Its easy to let a lot of time to go by without a break.

Doing these 2 things are a big start in avoiding that cramped, pressed down feeling you get when you work for hours. A few moments of prevention go along way. On the other hand Chiropractors, Massage therapists and Physiotherapist all need to make money for Christmas so maybe just ignore me- you'll be done in a second anyways. (just kidding)