Get Vertical!

National Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM) kicks off in October 2013 with the theme of "Get Vertical!"

Get Vertical focuses on the importance of joint health at all stages of life and what you can do to keep your joints functioning properly. The NYSCA, in conjunction with the America Chiropractic Association (ACA),  encourages everyone to use the month of October to get off their couches and office chairs, stand up and move! In other words, Get Vertical!


Workplace Tips for Joint Health: Lifting

Our sedentary lives decondition our joints. When we use our bodies for tasks that are different from the norm, such as lifting a heavy box, deconditioned joints may break down. Protect your joints by following these simple suggestions:

1. When lifting anything from the floor, keep the spine straight and lift with the legs. Do not bend over at the waist and lift with the muscles of the low back. Injuries to the low back are often the result of poor lifting habits.
2. Keep the object being lifted close to your body.
3. Keep your elbows flexed.
4. Keep your head up and your neck straight as you lift.

Get Vertical

If your body feels stiff when you stand up after working at the computer for awhile, you have been sitting too long. Spending hours working at a computer helps keep the finger joints in good shape (for those who use all 10 fingers to type), but it can be hard on all of the other joints in the body-especially those joints that make up the spine. The body was designed to move.  

Experts tell us that we should optimally get up and stretch at least every 20 minutes.

The best way to protect our joints is to use them properly and often.

- information provided by the NYSCA and the ACA