Newsletter by Balance Rehabilitation
N E W S L E T T E R
How Posture Affects Neck & Back Pain
See Inside • Overcome Back & Neck Pain With Improved Posture • Improve Your Posture At Home • Eating Habits & How It Affects Your Joints • Healthy Recipe
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N E W S L E T T E R
Overcome Back & Neck Pain With Improved Posture
Remember back when your mother used to tell you that if you wouldn’t stop hunching your shoulders, they’d be stuck that way forever? An idle threat, one that barely anyone took seriously. Yet, fast forward a few decades and it turns out that mom might have been on to something, after all. A poor habit of bad posture can have a lasting impact on your neck and back. The worse your posture is, the more intense your back and neck pain can become. Unfortunately, once you start experiencing neck and back pain, simply squaring your shoulders isn’t likely to be much help. Working with a physical therapist can help you to train the muscles in your back, neck and shoulders so that you can improve your posture permanently, and in doing so bring relief to your chronic neck and back pain. The Posture & Pain Connection. Not all back pain is caused by poor posture, and it is true that you can have poor posture for years without feeling the consequences of that slouch right away, but in time the habit is likely to catch up with you. There are certain ways that you can tell if neck or back pain may be a result of poor posture, including: • The pain in your back is worsened at certain times of day. For example, after you’ve spent a day at the office, or after a few hours on the couch.
• The pain frequently starts in your neck and moves into your upper and lower back. Pain that seems to travel from one area of the back to another is frequently an indication of posture concerns. • The pain will subside after switching positions, such as switching from sitting to standing or vice versa. • Back or neck pain that develops soon after a change in circumstances, such as starting a new job with a new desk chair, or getting a new car. After years of practicing poor posture, your back, shoulder and neck muscles will likely find standing or sitting with straight posture to be uncomfortable. This is because your muscles have grown accustomed to the slouching, and standing up straight will require some thorough stretching. That doesn’t mean that once you have bad posture you can never correct it. Working with a physical therapist to improve your posture is a great way to overcome chronic neck and back pain. In physical therapy, you will be guided through a series of stretches and strength building exercises that can help you begin training your body to practice better posture, thereby reducing your back and neck pain.
Call us today to setup an initial consultation and see just how well you can feel with physical therapy.
IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE AT HOME
BROCCOLI-CHEDDAR QUICHE Healthy Recipe
EASY & PORTABLE BREAKFAST IDEAS FOR THE BUSY ATHLETE You Wouldn’t Skip Your Workout – So Why Skip Breakfast? We have all heard the old saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast breaks the overnight fasting period, jumpstarts an athlete’s metabolism (calorie burning engine) and most importantly kicks the appetite stimulating hormones into gear so that they can alert you to eat during the day. In order to get the most out of your workouts and compete a high level, you have to properly fuel your body all day long! Food Is Fuel! To get the MOST out of your training you have to consider FOOD as PART of your training. Ifyouareexperiencingchronicneckandbackpain, there isagoodchance that it could be related to your posture. Contact your physical therapist to learn more about how you can take steps to start improving your posture today. There are ways that you can improve your posture at home, as well. Here are several strategies that are typically helpful: •Try tostand tallwheneveryouarestandingorwalking.Holdyourheadhigh andsquareyourshoulders,butmore importantlyworkonbeing the tallest version of yourself. Hunching over is the leading cause of poor posture. • Use support when you sit to keep your posture correct. Lumbar support in officechairsandcarseatswillhelpabit,but for improvedpostureyoumay need toaddadditionalcushioning thatwillhelpyoukeepyourbackstraight. • Be mindful of how you lift heavy objects. Keep your shoulders square and yourchest forward.When liftingsomething that isover50 lbs it is important to take extra care. Lead with your hips and try to keep the weight close to your body. Lifting something improperly can lead to injury to your neck or back, which may make proper posture uncomfortable. What Can Good Posture Do For You? There are a lot of benefits of having good posture. Aside from saying goodbye to neck or back pain, improving your posture can provide several unexpected benefits to your lifestyle and personal well-being. Here are a few of the additional benefits of having good posture: • Proper posture creates quality exercise for your core and back • Improved respiratory health • Added protection for your organs, bones, joints and muscles • Reduced risk of arthritis
Ingredients • 1 (9 in) frozen whole-wheat piecrust shell • 1 (8 oz) package broccoli florets • 1½ tsp olive oil • 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 4 large eggs • ½ cup evaporated milk • 3 oz sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded • ¾ tsp kosher salt • ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Let piecrust thaw at room temperature 10 minutes. Place in preheated oven, and bake until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Cook broccoli according to package directions, until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Coarsely chop larger pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high; add onion and cook until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Whisk together eggs and evaporated milk in a medium bowl. Stir in broccoli, onion, cheese, salt and black pepper. Pour mixture into prepared pie crust. Bake at 375 degrees F until just set and edges are golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Source: quiche/
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/275920/make-ahead-broccoli-cheddar-
• Greek yogurt squeeze tube or smoothie and a banana
• Individual peanut butter packets like Jif to Go and sliced apple or banana • Trail Mix – nuts, dried fruits, cereal • Yogurt and fruit
• Bagel or 2 mini bagels and peanut butter and a milk box • Peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chocolate milk • Leftovers from Dinner
• Cheese stick and a granola bar. Some of my favorite bars: Cliff, Cliff Whey, Luna Protein, RX, Kind, Balance, Zone, and Detour Smart. Look for a bar that has at least 8 or more grams of protein Noreen Gallo MSRD, LDN is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Your Forever Nutrition Counseling. For more tips and motivation, contact Noreen at 603 553-1334 and follow her Healthy Living Blog at www. yourforeverdiet.com
No Time in the Morning? I’ve Got You Covered! • Toaster waffles with peanut butter smeared on top • 2 hard-boiled eggs and a container of OJ • Yogurt and granola parfait
Call Balance Rehab at 603.890.8844 , or visit our website at balance-rehab.com to schedule your appointment today!
EATING HABITS & HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR JOINTS
Exercise Essentials Improves Posture SCAPULAR RETRACTION Hold your hands behind your back and slowly raise them off your back in a backward direction.
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Relieving arthritis or joint pain may be easier than you think! The solution may be as simple as paying attention to what you are eating in order to avoid inflammatory foods that often lead to pain. What Inflammatory Foods Lead to Pain? Eating highly processed foods (such as pasta, bread and crackers—especially those containing gluten) creates inflammation in the body. This inflammation then leads to the actual physical pain that you may feel in your knees and joints since the joints are particularly vulnerable to inflammation. Foods with gluten, trans fats, found in snack foods like chips and pastries, and high sugar, that handful of M&M’s from your coworkers desk, all cause inflammation. For many people, dairy products are also inflammatory. Eating these types of foods over a long period of time means more and more inflammation throughout the body and ultimately more pain. While changing your food sounds simple, many need more guidance and support, which is why a nutrition consultation, is often helpful. However, you can take our tips above and start alleviating your pain today!
Always consult yourphysical therapist orphysicianbefore starting exercises you areunsure ofdoing.
Balance Physical Therapy is seeking physical therapists to join our fun and dynamic practice! At Balance, we maintain a high standard of clinical expertise with a friendly, relaxed, and patient-focused approach. Our services include physical rehabilitation, post-operative care, sports medicine, injury prevention, orthopedic manual therapy, spinal rehabilitation and so much more! To expand our team-oriented staff, we are looking for a hard working and reliable therapist who is outgoing, friendly, self-motivated, and fitness-conscious. The qualified therapist should be able to work independently and also be adaptable to a variety of patient types. Professional Qualifications: The eligible candidate will be a graduate of an APTA accredited Physical Therapy Programand licensed by the State of NewHampshire. Candidate should have manual therapy skills & certifications with advanced problem solving skills. Five years + experience in outpatient orthopedics preferred. We will consider new grads. Job Description: Thehiredphysical therapistwilleffectivelymanageacaseloadofpatients, providing one-on-one care for 40-minute treatments while maintaining documentation of all patient notes using our EHR system (WebPT). This position will have defined evening hours. Salary dependent on experience; Health insurance, Simple IRAmatching, Vacation included in compensation.
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