I was delighted to see that BackCare, The Charity for Back and Neck Pain, chose to publicise one of my pet subjects for their Awareness Week this year – the sedentary lifestyle of office workers and the damaging health issues relating to this.
With our busy modern lives and overflowing schedules, sleep never seems to appear on the ‘to do’ list but rejuvenating sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. Our bodies and minds need the time to relax and repair tissues, process the day, calm our mood, balance hormones and boost our immune system. Without it we are far more vulnerable to developing physical or mental illnesses.
A surprisingly large number of the people that I see think it is normal to have headaches regularly and that they are just part of everyday life. However, there is often no need to suffer like this.
I have now been practising as an osteopath for over 20 years and am horrified at the number of patients I treat with issues related to a sedentary lifestyle. With the fast advances in modern technology, those that are office based seem to have less and less reason to get up from their desk or be out and about from the office.
Footwear can be responsible for many symptoms such as back pain, foot, ankle, knee or hip pain. I always take note of the shoes patients wear. But before you decide to not read on, I am not going to be a complete killjoy by telling you never to wear certain footwear, but merely advise you on how you might minimise potential damage.