MONTHLY MOBILITY MOMENT MAINTAINING PROPER POSTURE DURING THE HOLIDAYS
Its that time of year. Everyone is preparing their home for guests and holiday festivities. But wait! Don’t deck the halls so fast without thinking about your body when you go to do those laborious chores! First of all, find FOUR good strong children to do all your housework... as luck should have it… I found some! Here’s the Clay kids ready to put in their time, all in the name of Santa being good to them this Christmas! First, let’s look at Ben (11) . What a rock star! Look at his bent knees while holding that vacuum and keeping his upper torso straight. He said, “Dad, move your feet often. And when you go to reach forward with the vacuum, make sure you keep your back flat and bend at the hips and knees. Your chest, NOT YOUR HEAD, will move down toward the spot you are reaching to.” Whoah! This guy is serious. Next, we see Sam (14) loading the dishwasher, a task he has told me many times he loves doing… Normally you would think this is easy, but over several repetitive bends through the torso, the strain can really put a bad taste in your eggnog. Check out Sam’s sweet style here as he props his body weight on the counter every time he goes low to the bottom rack. Back is straight, bending at the hips and knees, are we seeing a common theme here? Looking sharp Clay! Hey Liv! The in-laws are coming and you’re on bathrooms! Ouch. The first picture shows Olivia (15) in horrific posture whilst she gets after the bowl. Go low Liv! The better posture here (hey Nova you’re in my shot!) is getting down onto one knee (use a cushion if you need to) and keep that back flat. Engage the shoulder and keep the elbow close to the body whenever possible to avoid tweaking that nasty yuletide rotator cuff. Who wants to go to physio over the holidays?! Finally, we leave the heavy lifting for the youngest. Poor Luke (9) , is tasked with restocking the firewood and those pieces are heavy! Look at his straight legs and rounded back. He looks like the Grinch after a bad turkey... The second picture of him lugging the lumber is green and mean. Legs bent, chest out, back flat. Lifting mechanics a physio dad (and mom) would be proud of. Use this for all your lifting needs of decorations boxes, recycling bins, and that wee case of goodness from your local distillery….for your guests of course!
Enjoy the Holidays everyone!
Belmont Clinic Belmont Centre for Physical Medicine 564 Belmont Avenue West, Suite 301 Kitchener, Ontario N2M 5N6 TEL: (519) 743-4355
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Elmira Clinic Behind Wellness Centre (Clock Tower) 3 Wyatt Street East, Suite 2 Elmira, Ontario N3B 2H4 TEL: (519) 669-1212
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