As the weather warms up and we start to increase our outdoor activities such as gardening and spring cleaning we want to be mindful of our body movements so we can reduce the likelihood of injury.  We have usually heard plenty about bend and lift from your knees and not your back but less so about the importance of minimizing how we twist our backs.  Simply bending forward with only our body weight creates around 700 pounds of compressive force on the low back.  If we are bent forward and twist that force will be shifted more to one side of the spine instead of being evenly distributed, this increases the potential for injury.  One of the most common joints we see injured in these cases is the facet joints in the low back (lumbosacral region) followed by sacroiliac joints (where the bones of the pelvis meet).  Additionally, excessive repetitive twisting like this can start to injure the discs in the area potentially leading to a more severe injury with a longer recovery time.

According to the World Health Organization, ergonomics are important for safety management which falls under the category of health promotion and wellness. As health care providers, ergonomics goes hand in hand with the work we do at Vallejo Chiropractic to help patients achieve wellness.

A study done by the national safety council looked at the causes of workplace injuries and found:

•  88% of injuries were due to unsafe acts or behaviors (poor posture, repetitive motion, etc.)
• 10% of injuries were due to unsafe conditions (poor workstation design, slippery floors, etc.)
• 2% were due to unknown causes

Wellness is an interactive process of becoming aware of and practicing healthy choices to create a more successful and balanced lifestyle. Since wellness is an interactive process it is something we should continually work at to maintain the lifestyles we strive for. For this month's newsletter we wanted to give our patients information they can use to improve wellness at home and in the workplace. Enjoy! 

Posture
Poor posture is a factor in all cumulative trauma injuries (including but not limited to carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, and sciatica) and is the major accelerator of almost any injury.