Do you get out of bed feeling tired, sore and achy, even after having slept for 8 hours?

Do you come home from work, at the end of along day, your neck and shoulders screaming at you, tight and tense?

Does your knee wobble, give out, and curse every time you try to jog around the block or even tackle a set of stairs?

The bad news: you’re probably hurting yourself every single day without even knowing it.

Sounds strange doesn’t it? But for most of you out there, it’s true.

From back pain to neck pain to shoulder pain or even knee pain, there is likely something you do everyday that keeps you in pain.

The good news…

It can be fixed!

There’s a good chance that with the appropriate steps, a splash of education and a dash of dedication, you can be pain free and doing the things you love. And usually, these fixes don’t have to consume your free time or even cause huge changes in your life!

So what’s the fix?

Postural Awareness!

Postural awareness is your awareness of your posture throughout the day. Since a large number of injuries, aches and pains (such as those described above) can be attributed to repetitive strain and overuse, being aware of your posture can help you decrease the chances of this happening.

How is posture implicated in repetitive strain and overuse injuries?

For example, if you work in an office setting all day, you likely spend a large amount of time sitting at a desk. This would likely involve using a computer, talking on the phone, writing etc. But overall, it’d be fair to say that you’d spend most of your time seated. If you’re like most people, you also likely slouch when seated. And again, like most people, you probably slouch the same way you always do, in the same position.

By holding these sustained slouched postures for a good chunk of the day (5 or 6 or more hours), the various components of your body such as your joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments are forced to do more work or different work than they’re designed to do. Over time, these repetitive stresses build up and cause small injuries called micro-traumas to these structures. As time goes on, these micro-traumas accumulate causing changes in how you move or use your body (compensations).

At first these compensations are quite small and you probably won’t even notice them. It may be something as simple as a slight weight shift onto one hip more than the other when you’re sitting or a sneaky elevation of the shoulder when you reach for something.

As these compensations continue to take place, the micro-traumas become bigger problems, which we call macro-traumas. Think of this as the straw that breaks the camel’s back. These are the ones you’ll notice. This is where the pain stops you from doing the things you love doing and really starts impacting your life.

What can you do?

1. Change your postures often: You can do this by getting up and moving around more. Or change your position every time the phone rings. Our bodies are designed for movement. The more they move, the better they function and the healthier we are!
2. Improve your fitness: If your fitness level is higher, you, and your body, can tolerate more stress before hitting a breaking point. Plus, as an added bonus, exercise can be a great stress buster! Who couldn’t do with less stress in their life?
3. Improve your nutrition: In fact, this component may be one of the most most important steps you can take to change your life for the better. As your mama always told you, you are what you eat! Unfortunately for many North Americans, life is busy. And that means that we try to find fast and convenient ways to feed ourselves. Sadly, our choices tend to be sub-optimal which will then impact our body’s ability to prevent injury or recover from injury.

How we can help

Our highly trained team of physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, personal trainers can help you get back to the business of life by consulting with you to design a personalized treatment plan to assist with a variety of injuries, aches and pains. Contact us to start on your journey to your Optimal Health and Ultimate Performance.