Working from home during COVID-19? We’ve got your back.

Protect your posture with at-home ergonomics

Working from home is the new normal due to global concerns over COVID-19 (CoronaVirus). How can you look after yourself during this time? Adjust your work – from – home office ergonomics.

The majority of us will be sitting most of the day, if not all day long. You may have heard that sitting is the new smoking. This is because research suggests sitting more than 6 hours a day decreases the lifespan of men by 20% and women by 40%. If we sit more than 10 hours a day, moderate exercise for 30 minutes cannot undo the risk of lifestyle diseases. Therefore, the right ergonomic setup can help offset these risks.

So how do you make your home office more ergonomic?

Simple changes are best!

Desk Height: Desk height should be equal to elbow height (right angles/90 degrees) to equally distribute the load on your wrists, shoulders and neck.
Screen Height: Ideally the top of the screen should be at eye level to limit excessive looking down to protect your neck
Screen Distance: Aiming for one arm’s length away from the screen
Screen Brightness: Adjusted to comfortable brightness, contrast and font size (ensure free from glare, reflection from light sources or shadowing)
Back Rest: Unfortunately replacing your fancy ergonomic chair will be hard. Alternatively, using a lumbar support roll or pillow will provide you with a 10-20 degree recline to minimise the risk of low back and neck pain.
Standing Desk: Converting your kitchen bench top to a standing desk to break up sitting is a good start. How, might you ask? Using books, boxes, mini stools, board games etc. Stack them neatly to form a tower for you to place your laptop on. This will allow you to create and adjust your ideal screen height. The final step would be using a keyboard, wireless keyboard or mouse to adhere to the desk height and keep your body injury free.

In conclusion

Once again there is nothing better than exercise, especially during this social distancing period. By identifying the risks and implementing early strategies we can reduce the risk of aches and pains in the neck, back and wrists. At BOSIC, we suggest implementing incidental movements to break up sitting and standing times. A simple strategy would be to take regular breaks to exercise or take a walk (including hydration breaks & toilet breaks).

As always please keep up your good hygiene (regularly wash hands, avoid large gatherings and be nice).

If you are getting stiff or sore whilst working from home we can cater to your specific needs and home setup, as we run regular ergonomic setups to clients. For more information and questions at BOSIC we have a video review option via our Telehealth to help you from home, interstate or internationally.

March 20, 2020March 27, 2020

Stretching – Why do we need it?

Stretching for recovery

By Physiotherapist, Vanessa Boon

Why?

Stretching keeps your muscles healthy, flexible and at its optimal length. Flexibility is key in maintaining joint range of motion. Muscles that are tight and short do not perform at their optimal making them weaker which increases our risk of injury. Though there is poor evidence to show that stretching reduces overall injury, it does reduce the risk specific muscle injury.

How much and when?

Ideally daily for at least 5-10 minutes, try to add it into your daily routine. You can try stretching before bed or doing it before and after exercise.

Important: Stretches should remain gentle combined with proper breathing technique, never stretch into pain! Hold a stretch until you feel your muscle relax or hold it for as long as you like.

What are the benefits?

Injury prevention
- Regular stretching allows us to maintain joint mobility and muscle length. Stretching before exercise helps with warming your muscles up and gets it ready for the exercises. Stretching after exercise can reduce DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) which is the soreness/ache you feel for a few days after a workout.
Better posture
- Poor sustained posture can cause quite a few issues in the long run. Muscles start to tighten where they should not and cause postural compensations. Stretching can lengthen those muscles that are tight and allow you to reset.
Reduces stress
- Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles while stress reduces it. Reduced blood flow = muscle knots and increased tension. Increased blood flow = decreased tension in muscles and increased blood flow to brain = improvement in mood!

Whether you are looking for a specific stretch routine, warm up, cool down, injury prevention advice or to better your posture, our physiotherapist here at BOSIC can tailor a program that is specific to your needs. Give us a call at 85999811 or visit us @barangarooclinic to find out more today!

March 18, 2020March 27, 2020

COVID-19 (CoronaVirus) Safety Measures

What is Barangaroo Clinic doing in response to Covid-19?

We know and understand that many people are feeling worried about the current world situation. It’s hard not to when you open social media, turn the news on, or tune into someone’s conversation. We’ve never experienced something like this before, so it’s okay to feel a bit anxious about it.

At the present time, the Team at Barangaroo Orthopaedic and Sports Injury Clinic will continue running as normal although we will be taking some extra precautions.

The health and safety of our team, our client community and their families is paramount in the midst of the current COVID-19 outbreak. BOSIC is keeping up to date with the latest information in regard to this matter.

In order to minimise the spread, BOSIC has and will continue to:

Disinfect equipment/surfaces regularly throughout (before and after), and in between clients
Increase daily cleaning procedures in all areas of the clinic
Treating therapists and clients are to wash or sanitise hands before and after treatment
Minimising contact – no high fives, hand shakes etc.
To ensure further safety we will try to minimise back to back consultations to maximise social distancing as your health is priority
TELEHEALTH! It is a 1:1 online video consultation to continue to conquer your goals where we continue communicating from wherever you are (internationally, working from home etc.) Simultaneously we can review, implement or progress your rehabilitation program and management plan. Click HERE to learn more.
Have some of our administrative team work from home / remotely
We are a low volume clinic, we have adjusted our practitioner timetables to reduce the volume of client’s in the clinic at any one time

How can you help?

Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth as this is how the virus can enter your body
Stay at home if you are sick or feeling unwell
Speaking to friends and family about hygiene, hand washing and minimising unnecessary contact
Cough or sneeze into a flexed elbow or tissue, dispose of the tissue and wash your hands

If you have further questions or concerns, please view the previous email about our updates in regards to COVID 19.

Enough about the sad news, let’s finish with how you can stay active and healthy. As we have learnt previously your immune system is the body’s mechanism to fight invasions and stop you getting sick, So we suggest:

Continue to eat healthy foods via a nutritious and balanced diet (vegetables)
Reduce the consumption of junk/fast foods
Stop smoking and reduce your alcohol consumption
Regular EXERCISE (with social distancing), as we all know this helps boost your immune system

The above we consider daily common sense, but the media fails to tell us how to try to live healthier.

Unfortunately things are going to get worse before they get better, but here at BOSIC we believe “The comeback is always better than the setback.” As long as we continue to practice active, healthy living and good hygiene it will not only boost your immune system but minimise the spreading of this virus.

We appreciate your cooperation on this matter and will keep you informed if we receive any further information from the Government and Department of Health as this is a fluid situation. If you have further questions, please feel free to call us at 8599 9811.

March 18, 2020September 29, 2023

ONLINE/VIRTUAL PHYSIO

VIRTUAL PHYSIO CONSULTATIONS via PHYSITRACK

CLICK HERE TO BOOK NOW

Many of you will be familiar with Physitrack for your rehab programs. We also use it a lot to communicate with our clients internationally and who are travelling with work as well as those who just want an individually designed program just for them.

What is a telehealth consultation?

A tele-health consult is a video face to face consultation with your treating practitioner. They are not a replacement of treatment or assessment in house but can be used well when people are unable to get to their on site appointment. They are very helpful for those working remotely, on the go, or frequent travelers.

How is it different to an on-site consultation?

As therapists, we are very reliant on our hands to assess and feel what we think maybe going on which we cannot do over the phone. However, these consults are great if people have questions about certain exercises they’re doing, while others may want to discuss their injury process, certain postural or movement problems and need help finding a solution.

We are also able to show and tell, demonstrating exercise progressions, correct technique and testing certain movement and strength parameters.

How do I book in?

Just book in for your usual scheduled appointment, either online or give our team a call on 8599 9811. Please mention “Telehealth” so our team can send you our information document with how to prepare and set up!

BOOK HERE

What are the inclusions & fees?

You will get 1:1 video consultation with the practitioner of your choice. The therapist will assess via video, taking a progress report and ask you to perform movements as required.

Review, implementation or progression of your rehabilitation program and management plan

Consultations are offered with a fee reduction of $25 on our on site fees. If you have additional questions, feel free to call us at 8599 9811.

March 6, 2020March 6, 2020

What do we REALLY know about recovery?

By Physiotherapist, Paulina Backiel

The Oxford Dictionary defines recovery as:

“a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.”

All these things are so important in our daily lives, and they mean something a little different to each of us. In the paragraphs below, I will take you through the 3 main topics of recovery.

1. Normal State of Health

First of all, you have to think about what health means to you. This does not necessarily mean that you should go on an aggressive diet or start fasting. It is important to create health goals that are achievable. This could be: an appointment with a dietitian to get your diet on track, an appointment with a personal trainer to guide you through an exercise program, a massage to help decrease stress, or simply giving yourself an extra 30 minutes of sleep every night.

2. Normal State of Mind

This can be challenging for anyone. It’s so hard in this day and age to get a piece of mind when your phone is going off every minute or when you are staring at a computer screen for hours without a break to get some fresh air. To recover your mind, it’s important to try and remove all of the stressors crowding your mind for at least one hour every day. Some people do yoga, some meditate, but for me it is my running and my gym time. It’s the time that I intentionally set aside for myself and my form of meditation.

3. Normal State of Strength

This does not mean that you have to be like Arnold Schwarzenegger or the world’s strongest male or female. This can be a fitness goal that you set for yourself that involves strengthening the body. Whether you go see a physiotherapist because you want to train for a swim, or you want to be able to run 5km for the first time, any goal can be adapted to work best for you. The stronger our bodies are through exercise, the better we feel! Plus, exercise decreases the chance of developing certain diseases, depression, and lowers our risk of cancer.

Recovery in Sports

This is the recovery that everyone is so familiar with, however as athletes (anyone who plays a sport) we tend to ignore this crucial part.

When we play a sport or exercise, we apply stress to the body’s tissues. This is how we are able to stimulate growth in our muscles. I bet most of you can really feel a hard workout the next day. That feeling is called DOMs, meaning “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.” This is when the muscles have been worked to their limits and are now in recovery phase which could last 24-72 hours post exercise.

Recovery for athletes can mean you work on a different set of muscles the next day to give your sore, healing muscles a rest. It can mean treating yourself to a massage or going to the beach for a relaxing day in the sun. Whatever recovery you choose, don’t forget that sleep is critical for the body to be able to recover and is one of the hardest things to accomplish in our busy schedules. So make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep if you are an athlete that trains consistently. This will drastically decrease your risk of injury, and can increase your performance.

Want to learn more about my self-care and recovery routines? Feel free to shoot me an email at paulina@bosic.com.au. I am happy to chat and would love to meet you!