Posture and breathing

Can you better one without the other?

This blog post on posture and breathing has been written by Dr. James Zheng. He is one of our Chiropractors from our Crows Nest Chiropractic centre. He talks of the significance of our breathing along with the impact it can have on your posture. If reading this article raises any concerns with your posture and breathing please contact your chiropractor, or health care practitioner.

The way we breathe can impact our whole body, as it helps to regulate vital body functions such as heart rate and blood pressure. It can also reinforce proper body mechanics that put less stress on our bodies as we move.

Breathing pattern dysfunction

Poor posture can lead to breathing pattern dysfunction. This is most commonly seen in people who spend long hours sitting each day. Rounded shoulders and a forward head posture cause the muscles around the chest to tighten and also depress your sternum. That tightening and depression limits the ability of the rib cage to expand and causes people to take more rapid, shallow breaths.

Research on posture and breathing

Research 1. has shown that people with ongoing neck pain or sore/ stiff neck muscles have difficulty using their lungs and respiratory system to their full capacity. Research 1. can be seen below

Pulmonary Function of Patients with Chronic Neck Pain: A Spirometry Study, Zacharias Dimitriadis, Eleni Kapreli, Nikolaos Strimpakos, Jacqueline Oldham, Respiratory Care Apr 2014, 59 (4) 543-549; DOI: 10.4187/respcare.01828

Contact us

If you have ongoing neck pain, sore neck muscles or you think you need to focus more on your posture and breathing to help better your posture, please contact us.

You can call either our Crows Nest or North Sydney chiropractic clinic.

North Sydney phone number: (02) 9955 8055

Crows Nest phone number: (02) 9460 8459

Email us at info@spineandhealth.com.au

March 26, 2019April 4, 2024

Osteoporosis and Bone health part 2 – This article focuses on other lifestyle factors and the role they play in bone health for youth.

Bone Health and Youth.

Our last blog spoke of the importance of nutrition to maximise Bone Health and help prevent Osteoporosis or Metabolic bone disease. Today we will outline other factors such as lifestyle and activity, especially for youth.

Building bones in early life.

For optimal Bone Health, the most crucial time to lay down the foundations of our bones is in the years before we reach our mid-twenties. As outlined by the International Osteoporosis foundation “Approximately half of our bone mass is accumulated during adolescence.” Our genetics will determine up to 80% of the variability in individuals peak bone mass. Factors such as nutritional intake and physical activity will help develop optimal bone strength.

Calcium and protein-rich nutrition boost bone development.

Getting adequate calcium and protein especially between 9 – 18 years old will help reach adequate Bone Health.

The peak age for bone building for girls in 12.5 years and boys is 14 years.

Getting enough of the sunshine vitamin.

Due to an increasingly indoor lifestyle, young people often will not get adequate amounts of vitamin D. Parents can help children maintain a healthy level of this key vitamin. This is done by ensuring children spend more time outdoors playing and being physical, rather than inside on screens. The recommended daily dose of Vit D is 800-1000IU daily.

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM)USA, the recommended daily intake of key nutrients is as follows:

1 – 3 years

700mg calcium and 13g of protein

4 – 8 years

1000mg calcium and 19g of protein

9 – 13 years

1300mg calcium and 34g of protein

14 – 18 years

1300mg calcium and 46g of protein for girls and 52g of protein for boys

Exercise and lifestyle matter.

Physical activity is most important for youth to enhance bone density as young people who exercise regularly show a significant increase in bone mass. However physical activity and diet work hand in hand for people of all ages to enhance bone development.

All information from this information article was sourced from the International Osteoporosis Foundation. You can find more details on the below link. If you have questions about your child’s bone health please contact your local general practitioner or chiropractor for more information.

http://www.iofbonehealth.org/

September 18, 2018December 21, 2023

Are We Sitting Too Much ?

This article addresses the question “are we sitting too much?”

It is a great insight into how much time we spend sedentary throughout the day. Chances are you are reading this post while sitting! If this is you, know that you’re not alone. The Chiropractic Association of Australia (CAA) have recently looked into this issue and discovered that we spend a majority of time in our day sitting!

How long do we spend sitting?

The video featured above provides an analysis of how long the average office worker spends sitting throughout their day. Here are the statistics:

On average, 429 mins sleeping

81 mins commuting

97 mins sitting without a computer

337 mins sitting at a computer (that’s 5.5 hours)

71 mins sitting at their home computer

115 mins of personal use on their home computer

102 mins for other leisure activities sitting at a desk

132 mins on their couch usually watching television (2.25 hours)
That leaves only 73 mins on an average working day for standing, walking and exercising!
The CAA says “that is a fact worth making a stand about” it sure is!!

We are not designed to be sitting for extended periods of time. Yet it is still a common feature of many work environments that we are sitting too much!

How to minimise the effects of sitting too much.

It is not all doom and gloom as there are some things you can do which will help minimise the negative effects of sitting.

These include:

1. Setting up your workstation ergonomically. Here is a website with information on the best way to sit at a computer.

2. Take frequent breaks from sitting. Now, we know this may not be the simplest task when you are busy at work, but there are tools that can help! We recommend using the “Straighten up” App which notifies you to get up and move regularly!

3. Regularly seeing your local Chiropractor.

For more information you can visit www.sitright.com.au this is an initiative of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia.

This article was written and sourced from:

https://chiropractors.asn.au/resources/health-initiatives/sit-right-2

https://chiropractors.asn.au/images/stories/videos/SitRight.mp4

http://www.ergonomics.com.au/pages/400_useful_info/420_how_to_sit.htm

Category: Articles