Being active is an essential part of your well being. Not only does it facilitate a healthier body, but it drives a healthier mind and helps you stay young.
They say adults need approximately 2 ½ hours a day with activity, and yet how many of us make that a priority? Busy lives and sedentary habits create many reasons why we don’t choose activity every day.
But what does that mean for our long term health and wellness? Unfortunately common conditions such as obesity, diabetes, mental instabilities and body discomfort can be a product of inactivity. We support lifelong activity with the help of the right remedies, to keep you moving and feeling strong.
When you choose a healthier lifestyle, this is what your life could look like day-to-day:
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At Home:
- Spend less time being inactive like watching TV or playing computer games.
- Stay strong lifting groceries or doing your gardening and yard work.
- Try a new activity each month. Let one family member pick an activity they would like to try and do this as a group.
- Plan active outings such as bike rides, walks or hikes.
- Take your kids to the park and join in their fun – skip, toboggan, push a swing or play tag.
- Explore the area where you live by taking an afternoon to go hiking or cross country skiing with your family – make it a day trip and take a picnic.
- Learn from your kids, let them teach you what new activity they learned in gym class.
- Join a playgroup or swimming class with your toddler or child.
At Work or School or in your Community:
- Walk wherever you can – get off the bus early and use the stairs.
- Use the fitness facilities at your school, worksite or local community centre.
- Check out what workplace exercise programs are available. If none are available organize lunch hour exercise with your coworkers.
- Check out your local community center for events and activities.
- Recruit people in your community or at work to join a walking club. Walk at an indoor track or shopping mall if it is too hot or cold outside.
- Get out and play…soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, badminton, volleyball or whatever you like.
Everywhere:
- Move more each and every day – every step counts including taking the stairs to do your laundry or walks to the mailbox, video or grocery store.
- Keep flexible – bend and stretch throughout the day or try tai chi or yoga.
- Put on some music and dance.
- Use a pedometer to track the number of steps you take each day and try to increase them each week.
- Enjoy activities with family and friends.
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One thing we talk about quite frequently is if your workstation is setup properly. Workstation ergonomics is incredibly important to assess and adjust when your body is experiencing discomfort (and even beforehand for prevention).
Checklist for Your Workstation:
- The front of your chair seat should contact you just below your kneecap for proper seat height, when you stand in front of your chair.
- When you sit on the chair if the seat pan adjusts create a slight forward tilt so that 50% of your trunk weight is on the back of your thighs and 50% on your sit bones.
- The back of your chair should support your trunk in a vertical position, tilt the back of the chair up so it supports your lower back.
- Hips and elbows should be at approximately 90 to 110 degrees.
- Your wrist should be in a neutral flat position when you place your hands on the keyboard.
- Monitor height – the visual top of your monitor should be at your eye level.
- Monitor distance should be roughly an arm’s length away.
If you are still experiencing pain while sitting for a long periods, you may want to consider purchasing a lumbar roll to keep you more upright, or ball chair to sit more actively during the day. If pain still persist, call and book an assessment. If you have any questions, we pride ourselves in taking the extra step to helping you feel educated and prepared.
Call our Thorncliffe location to help this condition and start feeling better. John our Physiotherapist has a passion in this area and can help you in many ways!
Nose Creek Sport Physiotherapy Thorncliffe Clinic
(403) 275-7728
Blair balances his busy professional life by staying active. He enjoys cycling, swimming, working out, hiking, camping and snowboarding, depending on the season. Blair shares his free time with his wife, son and daughter outside on the weekends. He has learned to enjoy the journey, as life really is too short.
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