Although we may not be able to get out and about visiting friends and relatives as much as we would have hoped, we hope that you all are able to enjoy Christmas and stay healthy. We are sure that the last thing you want to do is to injure yourself and Shelley Terry, our Chiropractor has put together some practical tips and suggestions to keep you in the comfort zone!
This is what Shelley has to say:
As we look forward to a potentially very different festive season to ones that we have known before, there are still a few classic areas to consider in order to reduce the likelihood of a festive back strain! We love to see our patients, but we do generally see an increase at this time of year with new strains which could be avoided with a few simple steps!
- If you’re planning on putting up a tree, make sure you have help on hand to manoeuvre it into place.
- Try to place boxes of decorations on a raised surface so that it is in easy reach, to avoid constant bending down to the floor. And instead of reaching and straining to get those decorations up high, use a step or a step ladder to make it less of a stretch.
- When wrapping presents, try to wrap on a raised surface such as a table or an ironing board. The floor may be an easy option, but the sitting positions and bending involved may make you feel that little bit creaky on getting up!
- Food prep – if you have a lot to do, try to complete some of it at a table; such as peeling veg. Long periods of standing over a work surface are not ideal for backs and can end up with you feeling a bit achy.
- If current restrictions allow and you are able to visit family for an overnight stay, take your favourite pillow with you, especially if you usually suffer with an uncomfortable night’s sleep when not in your own bed. We all know that our own beds take priority, and those spare beds don’t necessary get the same supportive, comfy pillows!
- With visitors in mind (Covid restriction dependant), make sure that if you are planning a deep clean in preparation for visitors, do it in small manageable chunks, so that you are not spending hours bent over scrubbing!
- During the festive period we usually spend a bit more time sitting, whether it be on a sofa, dining chair or armchair. Make sure you have a small cushion behind the small of your back supporting your natural lumbar curve and avoid sitting in a twisted position, crossing legs or sitting on the floor for long periods.
- Get out for regular walks. We all need a bit of movement and after all, ‘motion is lotion’!
We hope with this little bit advice you avoid the common pitfalls that the festive season can bring and have a happy, comfy Christmas!
We will be open as normal during most of the Christmas period so we are here to help you if you need physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic treatment or if you need to see our pain clinic or MSK doctors for back, muscle and joint pain requiring injection treatment.
